Weight Loss College
If you have made the decision that you would like to lose weight (whether it’s 30 pounds or just a few), there is a chance that you have looked into various exercises, diets, fitness centers, plans and just about everything else you can get your hands on. In the course of looking into all of that information, you have probably noticed that most of the credible sources say the same thing: that there is a strong connection between weight loss and fitness. Let’s take a look at a few aspects of this connection.
We need to start with a firm foundation in the facts. The most important is that you can only lose weight when you take in fewer calories than you expend. There are basically two ways to do this. You can either reduce the calories you eat by changing your current eating habits, or you can engage in more physical activity to burn off extra calories.
Would you say it’s healthy to starve yourself? Of course not! And your body doesn’t think so either. This means that you can only go so far with decreasing caloric intake before your body will. This will slow down your metabolism. When this happens, your body does its best to store every calorie it takes in, to the point where you could start gaining more weight. You don’t want that to happen, obviously, so you need to be careful to get at least enough calories to prevent your body from from going into starvation mode.
Do not follow fad diets, or any diet for that matter. Diets are temporary, but you want your weight loss to be permanent. Therefore it’s best to skip the latest craze and focus on switching over to healthy eating habits. Reduce portion sizes, eat a variety of foods, and try to eat foods in as close to their natural state as possible. For example, a carrot is better for your health than a piece of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Now, you can still enjoy that piece of cake, but just take a smaller portion than you normally would. Center your diet around whole grains, lean protein, and fresh fruits and vegetables.
The next part in the connection between weight loss and fitness is burning calories; exercise. The word ‘exercise’ is a dirty word to a lot of people but it doesn’t have to be. The key is to get moving! Any extra activity will burn calories. Find activities you like and do them regularly; walking, bicycling, gardening, bowling or anything else, for that matter. Get a friend to do it with you and you’ll have an even better time.
As you start eating better and getting more active you will star feeling a lot better. You will experience weight loss and be healthier, too. Regardless of what fad diets try to sell you, there is only one magic formula for weight loss. Now that you have an idea of how fitness and losing weight go together, it’s up to you to take the first step; both figuratively and literally.
