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Health & Fitness

5-Smartest Things You Need to Know To Succeed at "Weight-Loss"

5-Things You MUST Know to Succeed at WEIGHT-LOSS:

1 - How Many "CALORIES" Should You Be Eating per Day?
Use this formula: Your Desired body-weight (the "weight" you're trying to reach) multiplied by twelve. For example, if you weigh 187 lbs., but would like to weigh 145 lbs. Your math equation would look like this 145 X 12 = 1745 Calories per-day. This is a good ball-park-figure. It allows you to select ...a logical starting point to your own calories per-day. It is VERY IMPORTANT that you DO NOT go below 1200 calories per day, regardless of what the "math" says. The resaon? It'll be too difficult to "stick to", or meet your basic nutritional needs.

2 - Which is BEST; 3, 4, or 6 Meals per Day?
It really doesn't matter...DON'T over-think it. Your weight-gain or weight-loss is a result of your calorie-in/calorie-out balance, over days, weeks, and months. It does not matter "when" a calorie is consumed. That said, even though the "math" would support it, it would be foolish to eat 2000 calories a day in one sitting. The "3 meals", "five meals," when to eat, and how often, issue is a matter of individual preference. Unless there are specific "blood sugar" or "hypo-glycemic" issues in-play…Eat, drink, and be merry, WHENEVER it suits you.

3 - Eating LESS or Exercising MORE - Which is BEST for WEIGHT-LOSS? Whenever I hear somebody say, “SHE CAN EAT ANYTHING SHE WANTS, 'CAUSE SHE WORKS-OUT”, I always think to myself, "WRONG ANSWER!" Exercising is NOT capable of canceling-out regularly Stuffing Your Face - no matter HOW MUCH you exercise. Here's Why: The amount of calories burned in even the most strenuous exercise session is not nearly as much as most people think. A few hundred calories (at most) is all that you'll burn. Even if Exercise Instructors want to throw in the "Exercise After-Burn" argument, they will STILL lose this argument. You can easily wipe-out the calories-burned in an hour of exercise with a low-fat yogurt or a few handfuls of nuts - and these are "good foods".
WEIGHT-LOSS will ALWAYS be about REDUCING YOUR CALORIE INTAKE. The BEST WEIGHT-LOSS RESULTS are accomplished by reducing your calorie-intake. And then, for reasons having more to do with physical appearance and good health, by all means, EXERCISE!

4 - Which DIET Is "Really" Best?
By now, most smart people understand that ANY reasonably healthy diet will work, as long as you stick with it - that's the hard part. Weight-loss really is a calories-in vs. calories-out energy equation - it's the Golden Rule of weight-loss. Therefore, the secret to seeing your body-fat melt away is to simply tip the energy-equation scale in your favor by consuming fewer-calories. So, what's the easiest diet for most people to master? "PORTION CONTROL". And don't be fooled by its simplicity. It's a powerful and effective strategy, when done correctly. Portion Control is best, simple because it's the least restrictive form of eating. It's hard to stick to any diet that says you can only eat from a small group of food selections, or that "fat" or "carbs" are a no-no. When your family eats lasagna - you can eat lasagna too - just don't be a pig. Portion control and a little common sense will allow you to eat ANYTHING you want.

5 - DO NOT Exercise Too Much (Say Wut?)
"TIP" of the Day: Nothing screws-up a diet more than over-exercising. It can cause you to become rundown, which very often leads to lack of motivation, or even binge-eating. To engage in a proper exercise regimen doesn't mean to plod-along on the treadmill 7-days/week for an hour or more, or to attend high impact exercise classes every day, or even multiple times per day. That’s just crazy. Consider high-intensity strength-training...it's time-efficient...and produces the BEST body-changing results. If you're hooked on ZUMBA or some other exercise class, so be it, but any more than 3-4 days per week is nUtS.


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