I basically just started to eat just fruits and vegetables and whole wheat bread lately. My goal is to lose 80 lbs. And for my work out I dance all the time to get in a good workout. I read that Michael Jackson lost like 7 lbs. a night from all the dancing he did because he was a strict vegetarian. What do you think about my diet and exercise routine? Will I reach my goal of losing 80 lbs.? And how long will it take for me to lose this weight? Kenneth
Dear Kenneth,
Losing 80 pounds is an admirable goal. It's great you've found an exercise you love to do, and that you are motivated to eat healthier.
Don't be mislead by reading fantastic stories of weight loss: No one can lose seven pounds in one day unless it is water loss from perspiration (which should be replaced as quickly as possible). And there are many vegetarians who are not only overweight, but unhealthy.
Realistically you can expect to lose one pound per week for doing an hour of heavy exercise every day. Another pound or two per week can be lost by cutting out hundreds of calories of extra food intake. A maximum safe weight loss of three pounds per week means 10-12 pounds per month. For an 80 pound loss you are looking at 8 to 10 months. Reasonably.
My concern is that you are eliminating healthy foods in your effort to concentrate on weight loss alone. You have no good source of protein in your diet, for instance. If you want to eat a healthy vegetarian diet you can include beans, nuts, whole grain pastas, rice and cereals, for instance. Here is a link for a healthy and balanced vegetarian diet.
So, keep up the exercise, balance a healthy diet with fewer high-calorie foods and more nutrient-dense foods, and enjoy the weight loss as it comes off at a safe rate of 10 pounds per month. Don't be in a hurry. If you do it right you will be exactly where you want to be in the fall and you'll never have to diet again!
Showing posts with label safe weight loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label safe weight loss. Show all posts
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Why Is Two Pounds Per Week the Recommended Weight Loss?
Dear Diet Coach,
I am hoping you can clarify some things I think are true--but I'm getting feedback that does not back it up: I have done a lot of reading online and everything I have read says the healthy recommended weight loss is no more than 2 pounds a week. I posted this in a thread of a discussion group I'm on for weight loss, and people are responding that this information is wrong. That is really depends on the person's weight and other conditions. Can you tell me what makes the difference to this advice I have held to be true?
I would really appreciate any insight you have!
Joanne V.
Dear Joanne,
Thanks for this great question!
Here is where the "two pounds per week" rule originates:
It takes approximately 3500 calories to store up a pound of fat. The calories are there, stored in the form of fat, to be reserved in case you need energy when you can't get to any food (or enough food). In order to get rid of a pound of fat, you need to either eat less than you burn, or burn more than you eat.
It's a pretty easy recommendation to eat 500 calories fewer each day, which will add up to 3500 calories at the end of the week, for a one pound weight loss.
It's a bit harder to burn 500 calories more, since this could take up to one hour of exercise and is beyond the capacity of many overweight people.
However, you could also do a combination to add up to 1000 calories per day (such as eating 750 fewer calories and burning 250 extra) and this would add up to 7000 calories in the negative balance at the end of the 7-day week--resulting in a two pound loss of fat weight!
Since most people eat somewhere in the range of 2000 to 2700 calories, it's not realistic to think they could eat, say, 2000 fewer calories each day to lose four pounds a week. However, there are some extremely obese people who might eat 4000 calories on a typical day and it would be easier for them to cut out more calories. These are the people you see on "The Biggest Loser" show--they are very overweight, eat a tremendous amount of calories, and are very inactive: so it's pretty easy to cut their calories by a thousand or two, and work them out for hours a day to burn another thousand or two calories.
Above three or four pounds a week loss, it's no longer just fat that is being lost; it's largely water weight. Although this looks appealing when you step on the scale, it's not really something desirable to lose: Fluid weight doesn't stay off in the long term, nor does it affect your health positively to weigh less after losing fluid, nor does it affect your size or body fat in a beneficial way.
In general, fat can be lost at a rate of about one to two pounds per week, and that's why it has become a healthy and recommended guideline by educated healthcare professionals.
I am hoping you can clarify some things I think are true--but I'm getting feedback that does not back it up: I have done a lot of reading online and everything I have read says the healthy recommended weight loss is no more than 2 pounds a week. I posted this in a thread of a discussion group I'm on for weight loss, and people are responding that this information is wrong. That is really depends on the person's weight and other conditions. Can you tell me what makes the difference to this advice I have held to be true?
I would really appreciate any insight you have!
Joanne V.
Dear Joanne,
Thanks for this great question!
Here is where the "two pounds per week" rule originates:
It takes approximately 3500 calories to store up a pound of fat. The calories are there, stored in the form of fat, to be reserved in case you need energy when you can't get to any food (or enough food). In order to get rid of a pound of fat, you need to either eat less than you burn, or burn more than you eat.
It's a pretty easy recommendation to eat 500 calories fewer each day, which will add up to 3500 calories at the end of the week, for a one pound weight loss.
It's a bit harder to burn 500 calories more, since this could take up to one hour of exercise and is beyond the capacity of many overweight people.
However, you could also do a combination to add up to 1000 calories per day (such as eating 750 fewer calories and burning 250 extra) and this would add up to 7000 calories in the negative balance at the end of the 7-day week--resulting in a two pound loss of fat weight!
Since most people eat somewhere in the range of 2000 to 2700 calories, it's not realistic to think they could eat, say, 2000 fewer calories each day to lose four pounds a week. However, there are some extremely obese people who might eat 4000 calories on a typical day and it would be easier for them to cut out more calories. These are the people you see on "The Biggest Loser" show--they are very overweight, eat a tremendous amount of calories, and are very inactive: so it's pretty easy to cut their calories by a thousand or two, and work them out for hours a day to burn another thousand or two calories.
Above three or four pounds a week loss, it's no longer just fat that is being lost; it's largely water weight. Although this looks appealing when you step on the scale, it's not really something desirable to lose: Fluid weight doesn't stay off in the long term, nor does it affect your health positively to weigh less after losing fluid, nor does it affect your size or body fat in a beneficial way.
In general, fat can be lost at a rate of about one to two pounds per week, and that's why it has become a healthy and recommended guideline by educated healthcare professionals.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Weight Loss at Age 44
Hi,
I am 44 years old, 5 feet tall. I am a full time mom and am always running around with little time for myself. I quit smoking 2 years ago and gained about 20 pounds (at the time I weighed approximately 123 and was moderately active). I am still moderately active, but I cannot get rid of the weight. I know I snack and probably eat incorrectly. I'd like to know if there is a resource for a healthy, easy to prepare meal plan that can reduce my caloric intake enough to lose weight, without causing my body to go into starvation mode. Any assistance you could give me would be greatly appreciated! thanks, Christine T.
Hi, Christine,
It's great that you are looking for a healthy meal plan and are ready to lose weight the smart way! And especially great that you quit smoking... congratulations to you, that is a huge accomplishment, so I know you'll be able to follow through with your weight loss goals.
The best site I can recommend for a healthy diet plan is http://www.mypyramid.gov.This is the food pyramid site and it's been updated to include lots of activities to help you design and follow a healthy and balanced diet for weight loss.
Another huge help is starting to keep a food diary. Since you know you snack "incorrectly", as you say, you are probably very aware of things you eat that aren't going to help you lose weight. Sometimes you don't have to take the time to research, plan, and follow an exact diet... you might just be able to write down everything you eat, and find that this leads to a new behavior: thinking about things before you eat them. Often this leads to easy weight loss right away! You go to grab a candy bar at the drugstore and stop to think, "Hey, I don't really want to do that! I know this will be adding 300 calories to my diet today and keep me from gaining weight!"
The food guide pyramid site will suggest a calorie level to follow based on your height, weight, age, and activity level. Here's a good guideline to keep in mind when high calorie foods start to tempt you: for every 100 calories you can bypass each day this will add up to a loss of nearly one pound a month. Deciding not to buy a candy bar leads to avoiding 300 calories and that day you would potentially contribute to a 3 pound weight loss by the end of the month!
Good luck with your healthy weight loss!
I am 44 years old, 5 feet tall. I am a full time mom and am always running around with little time for myself. I quit smoking 2 years ago and gained about 20 pounds (at the time I weighed approximately 123 and was moderately active). I am still moderately active, but I cannot get rid of the weight. I know I snack and probably eat incorrectly. I'd like to know if there is a resource for a healthy, easy to prepare meal plan that can reduce my caloric intake enough to lose weight, without causing my body to go into starvation mode. Any assistance you could give me would be greatly appreciated! thanks, Christine T.
Hi, Christine,
It's great that you are looking for a healthy meal plan and are ready to lose weight the smart way! And especially great that you quit smoking... congratulations to you, that is a huge accomplishment, so I know you'll be able to follow through with your weight loss goals.
The best site I can recommend for a healthy diet plan is http://www.mypyramid.gov.This is the food pyramid site and it's been updated to include lots of activities to help you design and follow a healthy and balanced diet for weight loss.
Another huge help is starting to keep a food diary. Since you know you snack "incorrectly", as you say, you are probably very aware of things you eat that aren't going to help you lose weight. Sometimes you don't have to take the time to research, plan, and follow an exact diet... you might just be able to write down everything you eat, and find that this leads to a new behavior: thinking about things before you eat them. Often this leads to easy weight loss right away! You go to grab a candy bar at the drugstore and stop to think, "Hey, I don't really want to do that! I know this will be adding 300 calories to my diet today and keep me from gaining weight!"
The food guide pyramid site will suggest a calorie level to follow based on your height, weight, age, and activity level. Here's a good guideline to keep in mind when high calorie foods start to tempt you: for every 100 calories you can bypass each day this will add up to a loss of nearly one pound a month. Deciding not to buy a candy bar leads to avoiding 300 calories and that day you would potentially contribute to a 3 pound weight loss by the end of the month!
Good luck with your healthy weight loss!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
