Lose Your Extra Weight in a Healthy Way
by Hannah Musgrave
Post-spring break with summer around the corner, a lot of people are aiming to look their healthiest. Words like "dieting," "juicing," and "cleansing" may come to mind, but how do you do this effectively—and, more importantly, healthily? Quickly losing weight the wrong way can be detrimental to your body and mind, not to mention ineffective. To lose weight, one must consume fewer calories and get into the routine of exercising, but it is important to consider a balance doing these things. Both your exercise routine and diet should be adjusted if you want to see a difference.
It is common for people to focus more on the caloric aspect, leading them to consume much fewer calories per day than they should. This is ineffective and unhealthy. Consuming fewer calories than your body requires to function not only results in poor physical and mental health, but it also drops your metabolism rate. Your metabolism rate is how fast your body can process and store fat; the faster it is, the faster you lose weight. But when you consume far fewer calories than you need, your body goes into "starvation mode," a natural instinct that humans have to store more fat than usual. In "starvation mode," your body is malnourished, and, in a panic, your digestive system holds onto more fats when fed because it subconsciously feels like any meal could be the last. So although you are eating less, your body is retaining more fat than it did before when you consumed a normal diet.
Conversely, people may choose to only work out and ignore the dietary aspect entirely. But you can never out-train a bad diet. It is important to keep in mind when losing weight that it is “80% diet and 20% exercise,” according to www.womenshealthmag.com. Although working out is crucial to staying healthy and fit, it is not the only important thing. One must keep notice of what types of foods they are consuming and how much. Depending on your weight, age, gender, and level of activity, different amounts of calories are needed. Websites that calculate a healthy calorie intake based on your physical attributes are helpful in planning out your goal day by day: https://www.precisionnutrition.com/weight-loss-calculator is a good example. But remember to set realistic and healthy goals and not aim to lose weight so rapidly that starvation becomes a problem. Specifics in intake and what types of foods will differ for each person, yet a rule that can be applied to anyone is to decrease the amount of processed foods, sugars, and starches that you ingest (carbs). Replace the unhealthy fats, such as fast food, breads, and sugary desserts, with healthy fats that can be found in vegetables, nuts, and avocados.
Just getting rid of processed foods, sugars, and starches, you may see results instantly. These foods retain more water and take up more space in your body, so avoiding them will let you instantly see a difference. The journey to weight loss can be pursued many different ways, but it is vital to stay healthy while on the path and to balance an exercise routine with a monitored diet.
image: https://www.cnn.com