Are you thinking about going on a diet to lose weight? After all, it seems you can't open any magazine without reading about the latest fad diet -- whether low-carb, low-fat, or low-calorie.
The reality is, diets are like fashions. They come and go; some work, some don't. While many teens lose weight on diets, not so many keep the weight off.
Studies show that approximately 95% of people who go on weight loss diets will gain all or some of the weight back within a year. In fact, some studies have found that after a period of five years, not one "advertised" diet program was successful in keeping the weight off.
In the past five years, research has shed light on the impact of strict diets on weight loss, and the findings have consistently held true: diets alone don't work. Sure, these diets can help you lose weight at first. Yet for most teens, one-third of this loss is muscle -- not fat. And lean muscle (as opposed to body fat) is what helps burn calories.
Studies show that each day, the body burns 2-3 calories per pound of fat -- and 35-50 calories per pound of muscle. The more muscle mass your body has, the more calories you burn all day, even while you are sitting around studying or surfing the Internet.
So How Do I Lose Weight?
The best way to maintain or reach an ideal weight is to burn more calories than you take in. That means increasing activity and decreasing calorie intake -- but not severely.
The safest, most effective diet for weight loss is a healthful, balanced one including:
Fresh fruits and vegetables.
Low-fat dairy products.
Legumes.
Whole grains.
Lean protein such as chicken and fish.
Healthy oils, in moderate amounts.
Cutting junk food, sugary sodas, and sweet, undiluted fruit drinks out of your diet is an easy way to lose weight over time. For example, cutting out 10 potato chips a day saves 100 calories. Over a year, giving up those chips would translate into 10 pounds of extra fat lost.
Likewise, adding 20 minutes more of exercise (such as aerobic dancing, walking, jogging, biking, rowing, or swimming) to your current routine will burn an average of 100 calories of fat a day. Over a year's time, that extra 20 minutes of exercise should allow you to lose 10 pounds.
Portion control is also important when you're trying to lose weight. One problem many overweight teens have is that they underestimate how much they really eat. So stop super-sizing, and learn what a healthy portion looks like.
It may also help to eat more frequently. Six small meals per day appears to be the best approach to eating, especially when you're trying to lose weight.
If you feel you are overweight, talk to your primary health care provider or a registered dietitian. There are plenty of medically supervised diets that work well for teens who need to lose more than 10 pounds. Just be sure to include exercise, or you'll find that the weight comes back as easily as it left you.
No matter if you're overweight or simply trying to trim a few pounds in time for bathing suit season, aiming for healthy weight loss is integral for losing weight safely and effectively.
Unfortunately, like our America cousins who spend upwards of $30 billion per year on diet treatments, us Brits love to buy the 'quick fix' diet schemes we see advertised on TV, displayed on supermarket shelves and send to our e-mail inboxes each day.
Though these 'miracle cures' and diet schemes may sound great and might even cause short term weight loss, they never work in the long run. Most people gain back all the weight and sometimes even more. Healthy weight loss is about making certain changes in your overall lifestyle; more important is your ability to stick to them.
Experts agree that healthy weight loss equals one to two pounds per week. The human body must burn 3,500 calories to lose one pound of fat; this means cutting 500 calories out of your daily diet (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories per week). Any more than this and our bodies will go into 'famine mode;' genetically programmed for survival, the human body will actually slow down its metabolism to conserve calories rather than expend them. This is one reason why short term calorie-restriction diets fail, as the body works extra hard to prevent loss and replace mass.
The fact that our bodies will work against us is part of why losing weight can be so difficult; to lose weight effectively you have to reduce your caloric intake yet increase how many calories your body burns. This is accomplished with a healthy combination of exercise to boost your metabolism and a nutritious, well-balanced diet built around the right foods.
Most fitness gurus recommend exercising at a moderate intensity (breathing heavily but still able to hold conversation) for 30 to 60 minutes at least three to five times a week. The other part of the puzzle is eating right; you need calories to think, jump, walk and live. The wrong way to lose weight is to restrict your caloric intake to the point that you put yourself in danger or rely on fad diets that don't provide the correct nutrition. Healthy weight loss relies on the appropriate amounts of fresh fruit, vegetables, lean protein, dairy and whole grains.
People vary so dramatically in size that finding the 'right' weight for you can be confusing. Experts agree that calculating your Body Mass Index (BMI) is the best way to check whether your height and weight are proportionate to one another. Try the online calculator from the National Institutes of Health (at nhlbisupport.com) or exercise your brain and grab a pen and paper:
Take your weight (in kilograms) and divide that number by your height (in meters) squared.
A normal BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9
Under 18.5 is considered 'underweight'
Between 25 and 29.9 is considered 'overweight
Over 30 is categorized as 'obese'
Over 40 is classified as 'severely obese.'
(Editor: admin)