Loose Weight and Keep it off

Understanding the Link Between Calories and Activity Levels

Aug 6, 2009 Kim Ford

Many people struggle to loose weight while others will loose weight but then find it hard to keep the weight off.

Understanding how the body looses and gains weight will help an individual get to grips with their own weight. Changes in weight are most commonly due to two elements: food and activity levels.

Calorie Intake and Activity Levels

If an individual consumes more food or calories than he burns off through exercise or daily activities the result will be weight gain. If he consumes an equal amount of calories to the amount of calories he burns off on a regular basis his weight will remain the same. Finally, if the individual consumes fewer calories than he burns off he will loose weight.

This doesn’t mean keeping a strict calorie count each and every day but an individual should be able to judge how much food his body will require each day to maintain a steady weight. If the individual then wishes to loose or gain weight they will then be able to adjust their food intake. A healthy weight loss or gain is a gradual process therefore only slight change to normal eating habits is needed.

Diets Don’t Work

As a long term weight loss plan a diet will not work. Diets often involve limiting the amount of food an individual is allowed to eat and banning ‘bad’ foods such as chocolate, cake, pizza and chips. As a result of this the individual is likely to crave the ‘bad’ foods and find it hard to stick to the programme. To loose weight and keep it off in the long run an individual must make healthier eating an everyday choice and understand that it is ok to eat ‘bad’ foods every now and again but only in moderation.

How to Burn Calories

The body uses food to fuel every action it takes however if an individual consumes more than they are able to burn off the excess food will be stored as fat in the body. Exercise will burn a lot of calories as will everyday tasks such as gardening, washing the car and everyday housework such as hovering and dusting. Anybody looking to loose weight should aim to include exercise or some kind of activity into their lives.

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends than a healthy adult under the age of 65 should participate in a minimum of 30 minutes of cardio activity five days a week to maintain their health and reduce the risk of chronic disease. The 30 minutes can be broken down into either two 15 minute or three 10 minute chunks if need be. Appropriate activities include walking, jogging, swimming, skipping, dancing or even hula hooping!

The copyright of the article Loose Weight and Keep it off in Weight Loss is owned by Kim Ford. Permission to republish Loose Weight and Keep it off in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Healthy lifestyle choices will aid weight loss