Why did I choose this topic?

Although I may not have been around in the fitness/health world for awhile, there is one thing that I quickly learned is a very important topic for millions of people around the world: Weigh loss. It is a goal that I have seen shared by people of all different ethnicities, socioeconomic status, geographical location or gender. Because of how much of a demand there is for it I believe I can help others wade through the different opinions on the matter and present the facts we know about weight loss, how to go about it and the science behind it so you can know that the information is from a reliable source and with honest intentions.

What causes you to lose weight?

There are many ways people say you can lose weight, some say you have to cut out carbs, some say you cut out fats and others say all you have to do is exercise so much that it does not matter what you eat because the exercise will cancel it out. Although these can lead to losing weight it does not mean it is the only way, in fact the only way to lose weight(besides surgery) is to be in a CALORIE DEFICIT. “What is a calorie deficit” A calorie deficit is when you burn more calories than your body uses for its functions. For example: A 180lb adult male may need 2400 calories to maintain their weight and their bodily functions, so if he were to cut his calorie consumption down to 1900 calories a day then he would be in this deficit and lose weight over time! When people hear of a calorie deficit they think if thats the only way then how do diets like Keto work? The answer to this question is that any diet that shows weight loss results is putting you in said deficit. It may go about it in a unique way such as Keto where you eat minimal carbs, but the core principle of consuming less calories than you burn is the staple of a successful diet!

How do we know how many calories to eat?

This is the first step to any diet plan, the way I describe it is think of a making a bridge, how do you know how many materials to use if you do not know how large the bridge has to be. Your body has an amount of calories it uses for energy while not having you gain or lose any weight. This is known as your maintenance calories. There are a few ways to figure out this number however I recommend you first use an online calculator to get a rough estimate. Simply Googling “Maintenance Calorie Calculator” will give you many results and they all are pretty similar so you can use whatever you would like. This will be a general estimate but not super accurate, so how do we get more accurate? The most reliable way is to start eating at the level of calories the calculator gives you and monitor your weight for 1-3 weeks. Let the scale guide you, if your weight goes up then lower the calories, if it goes down then raise them until your weight stays relatively stable for multiple days, this will be your maintenance level!

I have my maintenance calories, Now what?

Now that we know what causes weight loss AND how to figure out how many calories you should eat less of to lose weight, the next step is to implement this knowledge to obtain your goal. In my experience the hardest part of the weight loss journey is to make the lifestyle changes to lose weight and stick to said changes. However with a few simple rules to follow you can set yourself up for a healthy lifestyle in no time!

The first step I recommend to everyone is to find what foods are low in calorie but you enjoy eating, although it may sound like an oxymoron there are many foods low in calories that people enjoy without even knowing they are a good food for weight loss. For example when I first tried to lose some unwanted fat myself I learned that I love ground turkey. I never liked regular turkey breast a lot but I found some turkey taco recipes using the ground variation and it made for a meal I enjoyed and did not make me overeat my calorie allotment too much. Everyone is different in their tastes but I am sure with enough experimenting and research on foods calorie content you can find what foods you love and can help you lose the weight.

The next tip to maintaining the lifestyle/habits to lose weight is to find foods that are dense in terms of volume but low in terms of calories. What does this mean? many people ask. What it means is to find foods that you can eat a lot of without consuming many calories. Have you ever wondered why salads have been a “weight loss” symbol for decades now? It is a food where you can eat a lot of it without costing calories. However salad is not exactly a very exciting food and even I find them not very appetizing. There are many other options for you to enjoy and lose weight and I will give some of my favorites for examples!

Fit woman eating fruits

My go to food in terms of losing weight to make me satisfied and full is Italian style sausage with fries, this is a food that may sound like something you can get at Teds or Louies but it is not that. I first use chicken sausage to limit the fat content, I replace regular buns with low carb/calorie buns and bake my fries rather than deep fry them! this leads to a meal of 2 sausages and a bowl of fries for under 600 calories and keeps me full for hours!

Although I gave a specific example of a low calorie meal, the principles of this can be generally applied. Find flavors/food items you like then replace them with a lower calorie item that is almost identical. After some experimenting you yourself can find meals that work for you and your tastebuds!

Closing Remarks

I hope you enjoyed this article as much as I did making it! If I can help just one person with their weight loss journey then I consider myself to have succeeded at their job. Weight loss is a complex and multi faceted subject! So below I will link helpful resources to expand your knowledge and to give you the option to become even more detailed and analytic with your weight loss journey than what was covered in this article, good luck to anyone reading this who will embark on their journey and know that you are not alone and people are rooting for you!

CALORIE INFORMATION

DIET SET UP DETAILED