Healthy Weight Loss
Posted by: Maurice Mcchesney on
Apr 26th, 2009 |
Filed under: healthy weight loss
Healthy Weight Loss
I’m sure you have noticed just how many people are carrying around extra weight. This has become a very serious health issue and the problems will continue to grow unless people take their weight more seriously. There is no magic bullet when it comes to losing weight. Or should I say no magic pill…or exercise equipment…or diet! It just takes some common sense and some will power to achieve healthy weight loss.
When it come to weight, women seem to have a bit more difficulty at losing those extra pounds than men do. There could be several reasons for this. Women have more body fat throughout their lives as compared to men. After menopause, women generally gain weight. Research is still conflicting as to whether this is due solely to menopause or solely to age (because men also typically gain weight as they become older), or perhaps a combination of age and menopause. Our ability to maintain weight loss is hampered also with age. I myself feel this also may be caused by my creaky knees and legs, which makes long walks a bit more difficult.
It does not matter how much weight you have to lose, you still have to make certain changes in your life style. If you fail at making those changes you will fail at any healthy weight loss plan. Whether you are trying to lose 5 pounds or more than 50, the same simple laws of physics determine whether or not you will lose weight and how fast your weight loss will occur. Remembering these simple guidelines and putting them into practice can lead to weight loss without the aid of any special diet plans, books, or medications.
Healthy weight loss should be the goal of all who need to lose weight. We are in total control of our weight and how we approach this issue will determine how effective we are at losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight. As individuals, we regulate the amount of food we consume each day, so our intake of calories is something we can control. To a major degree, we can also control our output of energy, or the number of calories we burn each day. The number of calories we burn each day is dependent upon our basal metabolic rate (BMR), the number of calories we burn per hour simply by being alive and maintaining body functions and our level of physical activity.
There is no question that our work and leisure time play a significant role in our weight gains and losses. Lifestyle and work habits partially determine how many calories we need each day. Someone whose job involves heavy physical labor will naturally burn more calories in a day and have faster weight loss than someone who sits at a desk most of the day (a sedentary job). For people who do not have jobs that require intense physical activity, exercise or increased physical activity can increase the number of calories burned which will increase your natural weight loss.
We can all be successful in achieving healthy weight loss. All it takes is the personal determination and accepting the fact that we will more than likely develop health problems if we do not take this issue serious. As a rough estimate, an average woman 31-50 years of age who leads a sedentary lifestyle needs about 1,800 calories per day to maintain a normal weight. A man of the same age requires about 2,200 calories. Any amount of calories less than this number will usually result in weight loss. Participating in a moderate level of physical activity (exercising three to five days per week) requires about 200 additional calories per day. As you can see, weight loss is just a matter of taking in less calories than your body burns. I know this is the scientific explanation for weight loss, but somehow, I’ve never been able to see it as that simple.
Marilyn Nelson
Skype: marnels


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