So, you’re interested in losing weight and are wondering where to start. You have a limited amount of time and resources, so you want to start with what will have the greatest impact.
“You can’t out train a bad diet”. I don’t recall where I first heard this saying but it makes sense and it stuck with me over the years. Think about it, if you eat a couple of cookies, that’s about 170 calories depending on the brand, and it would take about 20 minutes of jogging to burn that off! Another great saying is “Abs are made in the kitchen“. Sure, exercise will help burn off calories and spark your metabolism, but if you’re scarfing down burgers and fries on a regular basis, it will be extremely difficult to fit in the amount of activity necessary to maintain let alone avoid gaining additional weight. With that said, how does your body feel after eating a fast-food meal? Personally, after an unhealthy meal I know my body would rather I hit the couch than the treadmill!
You may be considering one of the many fad diets out there toting how you can lose weight quick. One school of thought suggests you need to cut down on carbs, focusing on eating primarily protein and fats. Or how about following the diet from the Stone Age? Many people have had success with these, however, I’ll suggest their success has more to do with having a plan and sticking to it than the particular plan itself.
Not all calories are created equal, and when you focus your attention towards nutrition rather than just hunger, it can make a world of difference. Trading in processed and packaged foods for whole foods is a way of packing in more nutrients while decreasing your calorie intake and still feeling satisfied after a meal. A lot of the fad diets do help with shifting your attention towards healthier options. This is great but if you treat the diet as a means to an end and not a lifestyle change, what do you think the chances are of sustaining your results once your plan is complete? I know when I focused on dieting, rather than nutrition, I would stick to the plan, see the results, and when the diet was over, I’d revert back to old habits and put all the weight back on, and sometimes more! When it comes to dieting and drastically restricting calorie intake to lose weight, the majority of people will quickly regain the weight back and often times more.
So, you may be thinking, ok, well I’ll just stay on the diet plan forever then. If you’ve tried some of these fad diets in the past, that’s likely easier said than done! Also, not all diets are created equal so depending on the plan, you need to be careful. Restrictive diets may be ok for the short term but can deprive you of essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals that you need. Without them you may notice the onset of symptoms such as fatigue and mood swings to name a few. This is where following a whole food, primarily plant-based diet, incorporating calories across the various food groups can provide a more sustainable approach.
So, what about exercise then? To lose weight you need to have a calorie deficit. This can occur in two ways, take in less calories, or burn off more. Think of exercise as your booster pack. As mentioned earlier, exercise can boost your metabolism, which means an increase to the number of calories your body can burn each day. Through low to moderate physical activity like walking, cycling and swimming, your body burns fat and helps maintain and develop lean muscle mass. Contrary to popular belief, frequent exercise actually has an appetite suppression effect, reducing the amount of calories you take in. Exercise provides many more health benefits beyond just weight loss including decreasing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
It makes sense to include both increased mindfulness around what you eat and physical activity into your daily routine. As suggested earlier, starting with nutrition is helpful and incorporating changes you can live with for the long haul are essential to maintain the results you are able to achieve. Finding ways to integrate physical activity into your daily routine, ideally activities you find enjoyable, will help accelerate your results and increase your ability to sustain them over time.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/does-exercise-cause-weight-loss
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/do-diets-make-you-gain-weight#success-rate