Your Pill-Free Solution To Weight Loss

There are many methods to losing weight, but when we talk about healthy weight loss, the only option is to make changes in both diet and exercise.  Losing weight and keeping it of is hard; I believe it’s hard because our society relies on quick methods for menial tasks every day, so we are subconsciously hardwired to believe that there is a short-cut solution to everything – including weight loss.  But there is no quick fix for being overweight and a pill is not a healthy or safe method to rid your body of those extra pounds.

Eat Healthy AND Exercise For The Best Benefits

If you began your weight loss efforts simply through modifying your diet I commend you for your change, and the same is true for beginning with only exercise; however, to be truly successful you need to incorporate both aspects equally in your program.  Now, it’s easy to justify eating poorly because you worked out, or vice versa; however, without making the necessary changes in both areas you will hinder your progression.

Diet and Exercise Packs A Powerful Punch

If you are not quite convinced let me show you some facts that I hope will persuade you.  To lose just one pound of fat you need to burn approximately 3,500 Calories, which means to lose one pound in one week you would need to have a deficit of 500 Calories per day.  If you have a lot of weight to lose then this deficit may be doable through diet or exercise alone for a short period of time, but sooner or later you will hit a plateau.  Now, if you combine the two, think of how much more effective you’d be in your weight loss efforts.

Exercise For Weight Loss

First, let’s look at what muscle does for you because it has other benefits than just increasing your strength.  Your body expends 3 times the amount of energy to support and maintain a pound of muscle than it does to maintain a pound of fat tissue; that means that increasing your muscle mass would burn more Calories while you sit at work, helping you reach that 500 Calorie deficit.  How much does muscle burn just sitting there?  If you were to increase your amount of muscle by three pounds, you would burn an extra 40 Calories per day.  Before you get your calculator out, I’ll do the math for you – that’s burning about 4 pounds of fat per year from just sitting there!

Some people are afraid of lifting weights because they are afraid of adding pounds, but if you lose weight while building muscle you will soon realize that you are actually slimmer because muscle takes up less space than fat.  To help you picture the difference, make a trip to your produce aisle and place 3 grapefruits side by side – that is equivalent to the space that 5 pounds of fat takes up.  Now, place 3 tangerines side by side and see the difference in size of 5 pounds of muscle.  Are you getting the picture yet?  Muscle takes up less space and does the work of burning fat for you!

Building muscle is not the only advantage to exercise; with aerobic exercise (running, biking, walking, etc.) you increase your ability to burn fat by:

• Increasing your blood flow, thus increasing the amount of fat removed from your system.
• Increasing the size and number of mitochondria in your muscles, this increases your ability to burn fat.
• Lastly, by increasing your oxygen transport allowing more oxygen to be made available to metabolize the stored fat.

What does this tell you?  When you start breathing hard you actually increase your ability to burn fat!

Healthy Diet For Weight Loss

When I mention diet I don’t want you to start thinking of all of the foods you can’t eat; dieting doesn’t mean you go hungry.  What your diet should focus on is food choices that are nutrient dense.  Nutrient dense foods are foods that are packed with good stuff for the calorie count.  Which is more nutrient dense, a doughnut or an apple?  (You should answer an apple ).  Not only are you getting the nutrients your body needs from these food choices but you will feel fuller and you will find that you eat less.

A healthy diet is so important to weight loss because our bodies thrive on nutrients, especially during weight loss.  Here are some examples:

• When you don’t have enough nutrients your body will start to burn muscle rather than fat.
• If you go hungry your body holds the fat rather than burning it.
• If you are low on vitamin C from fresh fruits and vegetables, your body may not allow you to lose weight.
• Drinking sodas and coffee can dehydrate you and without proper hydration your body cannot sustain the systems that work to lose weight.

Anyone could go on and on about all the poor food choices and their consequences, but what’s important is that you are supplying your body with nutrients from fresh wholesome foods so you are not slowing down the weight loss process.  I just urge you to be conscious of what you are putting into your mouth and the effect is has on your body.

So there you have it – your weight loss solution that is not in pill form.  If you are looking to invest in some equipment for your home gym check out http://www.homegymreview.net/ before you make your big purchase to get the most bang for your buck.