Scientists and chemists have long sought a pill that would help people lose weight. And no wonder, such a pill would sell in amazing quantities. But the truth of the matter is that while some medications can have an impact on weight loss, you still need to do the work to lose weight.
There is an ongoing debate about whether food or exercise are the most important element for successful weight loss, but it’s really an argument that does more harm than good. If both sides agree that both food and exercise play some role, then encouraging people to do both is the best way to improve people’s overall health.
Weight loss can only be accomplished in one way: burning more calories than your body needs. Nothing else can make you lose weight. Even medications for weight loss make use of this rule. So, what it comes down to is that you have to either eat fewer calories, burn more off through exercise or a combination of both.
Have you ever known people who can eat exactly what you eat, or more, and seem to never exercise, yet they seem to have some safely-guarded secret about how to lose weight? Maybe they do. But chances are that their bodies simply are more effective at burning off calories; the common term for this is ‘high metabolism’. The good news is that you can boost your metabolism, too.
Exercise does three main things for weight loss:
1. Burns calories. There is an immediate benefit of exercise in the form of burning calories. Some exercises are better than others, such as climbing stairs, running and bicycling. However, any form of extra movement will burn calories, so get active if you want to get rid of those extra pounds.
2. Builds muscle. Just as some exercises are better at burning calories, some are better at building muscles. Any form of muscle resistance will increase your muscles. Why does this matter? Because muscles consume more calories than fat. This means you will get a boost in metabolism even when you are at rest. This may not be automatic weight loss, but it’s about as close as you can get.
3. Improves your health. If you are really overweight, then getting started with exercise may not be easy. But as you start to exercise more, you will start feeling a lot better. And, as hard as it may be to believe right now, you will start looking forward to exercising.
The benefits of exercise are apparent, but as mentioned earlier, you still need to control what you eat. Not only will this help with your weight loss efforts but it will also act as good fuel for your workouts. Eat decent portions, slow down between bites so your brain gets the signal you’re full, and eat foods in as close to their natural state as possible.
We have seen that losing weight doesn’t have to be complicated. We have also seen that weight loss is best accomplished with a combination of both diet and exercise. It is now up to you to follow through on this information…you can do it!