Weight Loss Fundamentals: A Scientific Perspective for Lazy People
To achieve weight loss, caloric metabolism must exceed caloric intake. Metabolism is a complex series of chemical actions in the body necessary to sustain life that involves the use of energy from food known as calories. Simplistically speaking, metabolism is the burning of energy from food. Therefore, if calorie burn exceeds calorie intake, weight loss occurs. Conversely, if the calorie intake exceeds the number of calories used, weight gain occurs.
Life-sustaining bodily activities that require metabolism include growth and development, various cellular functions such as digestion, healing, respiration, immune system function, and many of the chemical reactions that occur in body tissues. body, as well as muscle movement. When the number of meals exceeds the number of calories burned for various life-sustaining activities, the extra calories are stored in the body. Unfortunately, one of the main forms of stored body energy is fat.
Approximately 100% of the calories in an average diet are derived from three main types of food. Those types of food are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. The caloric value of each type of food is expressed as the number of calories per gram. There are 4 calories per gram of carbohydrates and protein and 9 calories per gram of fat. Our bodies use more than just energy from food, but also the smallest chemical particles in food, known as molecules, as building blocks for body parts and to make enzymes, which are proteins that speed up chemical reactions in the body. body. For this reason, the total daily caloric intake cannot be from a single type of food, but must be balanced between carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
Carbohydrates include simple sugars and more complex chemical particles known as starches and fibers that are present in foods like bread, pasta, potatoes, and grains like rye. According to most authorities, carbohydrates should be between 50% and 55% of total daily calories.
The main sources of protein in the diet are nuts, eggs, meat, beans, soybeans, soy products, and dairy products. Between 10% and 15% of the total daily caloric intake should be in the form of protein.
Due to the higher caloric content of fat, high-fat diets cause greater weight gain and are associated with more difficult weight loss. The amount of fat in the diet should be limited not only if the goal is to lose weight, but also because of the link between fat intake and heart and blood vessel disease. Authorities generally recommend that less than 30% of daily calories be from fat.
When we have been fasting for 12 or more hours, our bodies begin to break down or burn calories to store stored fat, carbohydrates, and protein in our bodies to support vital bodily activities at the cellular level. The fixed amount of energy required to maintain life-sustaining chemical and biological bodily functions when our digestive tract is inactive and we are not physically active is known as the basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is expressed as calories per day. BMR decreases with age and is generally higher in men than in women. BMR also increases with increasing muscle mass and decreases with obesity.
Because muscle cells and other tissue cells require more energy during physical activity, the body breaks down stored energy sources (particularly fat) during exercise, resulting in weight loss if the amount of energy used is not replaced or exceeded by calorie consumption. after or before physical activity. The increased metabolism associated with physical activity explains why exercise is so important in weight loss programs.
There are basically two forms of exercise, aerobic and anaerobic. Walking briskly, jogging, and playing tennis are examples of aerobic exercise. Weight lifting is the most common form of anaerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise is generally of moderate intensity and is sustained for long periods. This is more breathing and more fat burning than anaerobic exercise that is not sustained for long periods of time, but is high intensity. Anaerobic exercise tends to be more associated with the use of non-fat body energy stores than aerobic exercise, and therefore is not as effective in producing immediate weight loss as aerobic exercise in conjunction with diet. to lose weight.
Although immediate weight loss is not usually seen with anaerobic exercise, scientific observations suggest that anaerobic exercise raises BMR due to the resulting increase in muscle mass. Therefore, in the long run, anaerobic exercise may be beneficial for weight gain and may be more effective in maintaining weight loss once it has been achieved.
Because of the relationship between calorie intake, calorie burn, and weight loss, the most successful weight loss programs include a combination of a healthy, well-balanced diet for weight loss and safe exercise. Using a weight calculator can be extremely helpful in helping to coordinate a weight loss diet and exercise into your weight loss program.