THE BASICS OF WEIGHT LOSS

There are a hundreds of different weight loss programs and diets out there. The issue is that many of these only work for a select few people and if they do work, they are usually only a temporary solution. Most people regain the weight they have lost because they haven't made lifestyle changes which they can maintain. 

Today, I want to share with you some basics of weight loss that will lead to a successful weight loss program for anyone.
The key is making maintainable, healthy changes to your lifestyle..

How often should I work out?

5 days per week!

This is the goal you should be shooting for. It will bring you the most health benefits and will increase your chances of becoming thin and staying that way.

If you have been inactive this is going to be too much for you at first. Start out at 3 days per week and progress to 5. 

How long should I work out?

60 minutes!

If you are working out 5 days a week, you should do 60 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per workout session. 

If you have been inactive you should start at 15-20 minutes and gradually increase to 60 minutes.

Why do I need to work out that much?

Studies have shown that this much physical activity is required to maintain healthy body weight.

This means that even if you work out for 300 minutes each week (60 min, 5 days/wk), you probably won't lose weight.

You will receive significant health benefits from working out this much. 

How can I lose weight then?

Exercise + dieting. 

You probably already guessed this.

You need to watch what you eat as well as exercise. If you cut back on your calories and exercise, you will lose weight. 

What if I work out at a higher intensity? 

Do I still need to do 300 minutes of exercise per week?

No!

If you are doing vigorous-intensity exercise instead of moderate, you can significantly cut back the amount of time spent exercising to about 150 minutes/week.

What is considered moderate-intensity exercise?

Exercise that causes a noticeable increase in your heart rate and lasts for longer than 10 minutes.

On a scale from 1-10, you should feel like the difficulty is a 5-6.

What about vigorous-intensity?

Results in rapid breathing and a substantial increase in heart rate.

On a scale from 1-10, you should feel like the difficulty is a 7-8.

This is when we work out!

How many calories should I be consuming?

It varies.

It depends on your age, gender, weight, height, and activity. 

You can use an online calorie calculator to find out how many calories you should be eating per day. Here is a link to one that I like: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm.

The nice thing about these calculators is that they will tell you how many calories to cut down to lose weight. 

What is the minimum number of calories that I should eat?

1200 Cal/day for women and 1600 Cal/day for men

If a weight loss calculator tells you to eat less than this, don't follow it!

You need at least this many calories to get the vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy.

If I'm working can I eat more calories?

It depends.

If you are just trying to maintain your current weight, then yes, you can eat more calories. If you are trying to lose weight, then probably not. You can check this using a calorie calculator. 

However, if you are working out for more than 60 minutes, 5 times per week DO NOT follow the amount that the calorie counter tells you. It will overestimate how many calories you are able to eat.

What type of diet should I use?

Don't use any extreme diets.

The best diet to follow is one that is one in which you eat less calories than you need to maintain your weight. 

Fad diets in which you drastically alter what you eat generally DON'T WORK. They are too hard to maintain and you usually don't enjoy them.

Just eat a diet that includes fruits, vegetables, grains, meats, dairy. In other words, get all the necessary vitamins and minerals.

Eat your favorite treats, just in moderation

The key is to make sure that you know how many calories you should eat and try to stick to that.

I find that I am most succesful in dieting when I write down how many calories I eat during the day.

Do you exercise for 60 minutes, 5 days per week?

At the moment I do not because I just had a baby. I didn't work out very intensely while I was pregnant. I just did yoga and water aerobics. This means that I'm not jumping straight in to this much exercise. I do 60 minutes of exercise about 3 days per week.

STRENGTH TRAINING: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

To the females reading this post: don't fall into the trap of thinking that strength training is only for guys. Strength training is a great way to burn calories and to tone your muscles. You can lift weights without turning into the "She-Hulk"

Benefits of Strength Training:

• Increased performance of everyday physical tasks
• Higher levels of sport performance
• Injury prevention
• Increased muscle mass and decreased fat
• Improved muscle and bone health with aging
• Prevention and management of cardiovascular disease and diabetes

Types of Muscle Contractions:

• Concentric contractions- the muscle shortens as it contracts
• Ex: Pushing a bench-press bar away from your body shortens your pec muscles

• Eccentric contractions- the muscle lengthens as it contracts
• Ex: Lowering bench-press bar toward your body lengthens your pec muscles

• Isometric contractions- the muscle contracts but there is no movement or change in muscle length
• Ex: Holding a bench-press bar away from your body without moving for a certain length of time

Which Type of Contraction Should You Focus On?

• The type of contraction that burns the most calories is concentric muscle contraction
• The type of contraction that results in the greatest increases in muscle size is eccentric muscle contraction
• Isometric contractions will only increase your strength within 10 degrees from the angle in which you performed the exercise

Weight Machines or Free Weights?

• Weight machines are easy to use, convenient, and safe. You don't need a spotter and many will have back support.

• Free weights strengthen your body in ways that will be more useful in real life, are inexpensive, and are convenient for home use. They require more balance and coordination.

How Often?

• The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends performing strength training on two nonconsecutive days per week
• Make sure that you give your muscles at least one day of rest between strength workouts. If you don't, your muscles won't have completely recovered and you won't be able to perform at the level you need to get any strength increases. You will be more likely to have increased soreness and increased risk of injury.

How Much Weight?

• Choose a weight that is heavy enough to tire your muscles, but light enough that you can complete your repetitions.
• For faster increases in strength, use weights that are as heavy as 80% of your maximum capacity.

• For increases in endurance, use weights that are around 40-60% of your maximum capacity.

• You can also choose a weight depending on the number of repetitions you can perform with a given weight.

How Many Repetitions?

• You need to perform enough repetitions to fatigue your muscles
• A heavy weight and a low number of repetitions, such as 1-5, will build high strength and high muscle mass.

• A light weight and a high number of repetitions, such as 15-20, will build endurance. This is the method I use, because I am more interested in toning than in getting large muscles.

How Many Sets?

• Performing 3 sets will give you the best increases in performance

• Make sure you give your muscles adequate rest between sets

Other Tips

• Whenever you do an exercise that moves a joint in one direction, make sure to also perform an exercise that moves the joint in the other direction.

• Perform exercise for large muscle groups before you do exercises for small muscle groups. This will allow you to maximally work out your large muscle groups.

• Warm-up before weight training by walking or jogging for several minutes

References

Fahey, T. D., Insel, P. M., & Roth, W. T. (2010). Fit & well alternate edition: Core concepts and labs in physical fitness and wellness. (9 ed., pp. 91-106). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Kenney, W. L., Wilmore, J., & Costill, D. (2011). 

Physiology of sport and exercise. (5 ed.). Champaign: Human Kinetics.