Considerations of Weight Loss

I wrote a post the other day called How I Lost 70 Pounds And How You Can Too. This is a continuation of that theme.

First of all, you have to understand that the goal of losing weight is to lose unhealthy amounts of fat, not just achieve a number on kilograms or pounds on a scale.

If you are losing weight for cosmetic reasons only, you might be making a mistake. You might have an unrealistic expectation in terms of health and sheer enjoyment of life.

Being overweight usually means having unhealthy amounts of fat, and to most eyes, having an unhealthy amount of fat is not a pleasing look.

I am supposing you want to lose weight and have gotten the okay from your doctor for a diet and exercise program (you did get a checkup as I advised here, right?)

Did you know your body burns calories no matter what you do? But muscle tissue burns calories much faster than fat tissue.

Avoid Crash/Fad Diets

Crash/Fad diets cause weight loss in terms of muscle, bodily fluids, as well as fat. It’s the fluids and muscle that you lose first. Then soon you feel tired, weak, and irritable. When you fall off the fad/crash diet, as you will, it will because you feel terrible. And the ratio of calorie-burning muscles to fat drops, and you are ravenously hungry. You gain weight back more in terms of fat, less in terms of muscle.

The keys to losing weight by losing fat are these:

1. Consume fewer calories than you burn
2. Eat a well-balanced diet.
3. Exercise your muscles to ensure you don’t lose muscle tissue, or even optimally gain muscle tissue.

You need to come up with a life-long eating plan and exercise plan.

Later, I’ll post more on designing a diet, designing an exercise program, and living as healthily as you can.

Regards,

Alan OldStudent

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