Weight loss is a matter of energy consumption (calories you are eating) vs. energy expenditure (calories you are burning). To lose weight you need to burn more calories than you are consuming. Energy expenditure is composed of daily activity, resting metabolic rate (how many calories you burn at rest), and thermic effect of food (the energy expended by eating).
Daily Activity
Basically this means becoming be more active, because physical activity burns calories resulting in weight loss. 45 minutes of moderate physical activity 5 times per week has been shown to maximize weight loss. However, if you don’t have 45 minutes you can get greater benefit in less time with interval training which is bouts of high intensity work followed by periods of rest or low activity…more on interval training later. If you are currently inactive remember to start slow and build up. If you can only walk 10 minutes before you get winded, start there and increase by a few minutes every week. A little is better than none at all. The goal is to move more, which results in greater energy expenditure.
Resting metabolic rate
To increasing your resting metabolic rate make sure you add circuit style resistance training and interval training to your regime, as both are important tools to increasing your metabolism at rest. A study at Ohio University took a group of men through a circuit consisting of three exercises for four circuits (12 total sets) in 31 minutes. Their metabolism remained elevated for 38 hours after the workout was complete.
Interval training has been proven to result in greater fat loss than steady state aerobic training. The beauty of interval training is not only the calories you burn during the workout, but the extra calories that are burned after your workout is over. For more on interval training see Burn Fat Fast.
Thermic effect of food
A study done in the UK looked at the impact of meal timing and thermic effect of food. They found when meals were irregular; thrermic effect of food was decreased in healthy lean women. Those who had a regular meal pattern (six meals per day) had a higher thermic effect of food, which resulted in burning more calories even though they consumed the same amount of calories. To increase your thermic effect of food, aim to eat six meals per day. The key is to keep the meals on the smaller side. Remember you aren't trying to eat more calories, but the same amount spread throughout those six meals.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Train Smarter, Not Harder
Q: I feel like I’ve been slaving away for hours on the treadmill for several months, but my weight won’t budge. What do I need to do to start seeing results?
A: If you feel you’re not getting a fair return on your time investment spent on the treadmill take a step back and look at your overall program. Is it solely cardio training? What intensity are you training at? How often do you train? Do you do any resistance training? How are your eating habits? These are just a few questions to think about because if you’re not seeing results chances are something is being out of balance.
If you’re looking to lose weight and you’re not doing any resistance training you are making a huge mistake. All the time I hear people tell me they only do cardio and once they lose weight then they will start lifting weights. Why? Stop limiting yourself to the number of calories you burn during the workout itself. What’s more important is the number of calories you burn after the workout. Weight training helps you lose weight faster than traditional cardio because not only do you burn calories during your workout, once you’ve completed your workout your metabolism stays elevated for some time increasing caloric burn, something that doesn’t happen with traditional steady state cardio. For more see Achieve Faster Fast Loss.
As far as the treadmill goes try including high intensity interval training. The benefits are faster fat loss and shorter workouts. Similar to resistance training this style of training is great because you burn calories after you workout is complete as well as the workout itself. For more on high intensity interval training see Burn Fat Fast.
Remember, what you do outside of the gym counts too. Eating small frequent meals can also give your metabolism a boost. Japanese researchers took two groups and fed them the same amount of calories for a two week period. The first group ate only twice a day and the second group ate six meals per day. The group eating only twice a day lost more muscle and the group eating six times per day lost more fat.
To lose more fat and retain your muscle plan to eat every three hours and keep meals small. Include weight training and high intensity interval training at least three times per week to maximize your results.
A: If you feel you’re not getting a fair return on your time investment spent on the treadmill take a step back and look at your overall program. Is it solely cardio training? What intensity are you training at? How often do you train? Do you do any resistance training? How are your eating habits? These are just a few questions to think about because if you’re not seeing results chances are something is being out of balance.
If you’re looking to lose weight and you’re not doing any resistance training you are making a huge mistake. All the time I hear people tell me they only do cardio and once they lose weight then they will start lifting weights. Why? Stop limiting yourself to the number of calories you burn during the workout itself. What’s more important is the number of calories you burn after the workout. Weight training helps you lose weight faster than traditional cardio because not only do you burn calories during your workout, once you’ve completed your workout your metabolism stays elevated for some time increasing caloric burn, something that doesn’t happen with traditional steady state cardio. For more see Achieve Faster Fast Loss.
As far as the treadmill goes try including high intensity interval training. The benefits are faster fat loss and shorter workouts. Similar to resistance training this style of training is great because you burn calories after you workout is complete as well as the workout itself. For more on high intensity interval training see Burn Fat Fast.
Remember, what you do outside of the gym counts too. Eating small frequent meals can also give your metabolism a boost. Japanese researchers took two groups and fed them the same amount of calories for a two week period. The first group ate only twice a day and the second group ate six meals per day. The group eating only twice a day lost more muscle and the group eating six times per day lost more fat.
To lose more fat and retain your muscle plan to eat every three hours and keep meals small. Include weight training and high intensity interval training at least three times per week to maximize your results.
Friday, September 12, 2008
What's a Portion?
You know proper diet and exercise are the keys to lasting weight loss. You also know that one way to maintain or lose weight is through portion control. Many people underestimate the amount of food they eat simply because they overestimate the amount in a single serving.
I recently purchased a food scale which can measure foods in grams or ounces. This is one of the coolest toys I’ve got in a while. While I’m not on a weight loss diet this is an amazing tool for anyone
looking to monitor their portion sizes. A serving of cheerios is 30g. I like cereal and knew that I usually eat more than a single serving, but didn’t know how much I really ate. I measured out 30g and it was less than I usually eat. I kept pouring until I eyeballed a serving that I eat. It was 58g, nearly twice a serving size! While cheerios are a pretty healthy whole grain cereal and not a bad choice to eat as part of a healthy breakfast, two servings is twice the calories. One serving only 110 calories, so what is an extra 110 calories going to do? Well over the course of a year eating an extra 100 calories a day can lead to a 10 pound weight gain. The good thing is the reverse can lead to weight loss. 100 less calories a day for a year can lead to 10 pound weight loss.
Not enough you say then double it! Eating 200 calories less per day can lead to 20 pounds loss in a year. The best part about it is 200 calories in a day easily goes unnoticed. Now add in exercise into your daily routine and your weight loss adds up even faster. Exercise will also help improve your muscle tone, strength, stamina, and flexibility something you won’t get with diet alone. The bottom line is you can eat healthy foods and still fail to lose weight, decrease your portion size and know what a real portion is.
I recently purchased a food scale which can measure foods in grams or ounces. This is one of the coolest toys I’ve got in a while. While I’m not on a weight loss diet this is an amazing tool for anyone
looking to monitor their portion sizes. A serving of cheerios is 30g. I like cereal and knew that I usually eat more than a single serving, but didn’t know how much I really ate. I measured out 30g and it was less than I usually eat. I kept pouring until I eyeballed a serving that I eat. It was 58g, nearly twice a serving size! While cheerios are a pretty healthy whole grain cereal and not a bad choice to eat as part of a healthy breakfast, two servings is twice the calories. One serving only 110 calories, so what is an extra 110 calories going to do? Well over the course of a year eating an extra 100 calories a day can lead to a 10 pound weight gain. The good thing is the reverse can lead to weight loss. 100 less calories a day for a year can lead to 10 pound weight loss.
Not enough you say then double it! Eating 200 calories less per day can lead to 20 pounds loss in a year. The best part about it is 200 calories in a day easily goes unnoticed. Now add in exercise into your daily routine and your weight loss adds up even faster. Exercise will also help improve your muscle tone, strength, stamina, and flexibility something you won’t get with diet alone. The bottom line is you can eat healthy foods and still fail to lose weight, decrease your portion size and know what a real portion is.
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