Find your ratio: diet vs exercise for weight loss

[musclebeauty]

Some great information

FIND YOUR RATIO: DIET VS. EXERCISE FOR WEIGHT LOSS

According to the National Health and Nutrition Survey, more than 2 out of every 3 American adults are considered to be overweight or obese (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 2012). An unhealthy weight is a growing problem among children and adolescents as well, with approximately one-third of kids aged 6 to 19 classified as obese or overweight.

These figures mean that many of us are a few (or more!) pounds away from a healthy weight. However, figuring out the best way to drop those excess pounds is a perennial problem. With the explosion of fad diet plans, discussions of “good” versus “bad” foods, and pseudoscientific rationales for weight loss programs, it can be tough to cut through the noise to find out what really works to help you lose weight. Understanding the physiology of weight loss is a good place to start, as it can help you learn what diet and exercise choices work to promote healthy weight loss.

Understanding the Physiology of Weight Loss

Every cell in your body is constantly using energy. Even when you aren’t moving, your heart is pumping, your respiratory system keeps you breathing, your muscles are maintaining a baseline level of postural tension, and your digestive system is working. All of these bodily activities require energy, representing your resting energy expenditure. This resting energy expenditure accounts for 50 to 70% of the calories you eat every day (University of Michigan Health Service, n.d.). Each of us has a unique resting energy expenditure, which is affected by our age, sex, genetic background, and body composition.

Although there are many strategies for weight loss, they all come down to the same formula: calories in versus calories out. To lose weight, your body must burn more calories than you consume through food. Because you cannot change your resting energy expenditure -- after all, your age, sex, and genes are fixed -- you must change your other sources of calories. This means that there are two main strategies for achieving healthy weight loss: reducing the number of calories you eat and increasing the number of calories you burn through exercise (Mayo Clinic, 2015).

Both dietary changes and exercise create a net caloric deficit between the calories you consume and the calories you burn. One pound of body fat is equivalent to 3,500 calories (Mayo Clinic, 2015). This means that to lose one pound per week, you must have a caloric deficit of 500 calories per day. To lose two pounds per week, the highest rate that most doctors consider safe and healthy, you must create a caloric deficit of 1,000 calories per day. Again, both reducing the calories you eat and engaging in physical exercise can help you achieve this overall caloric deficit.

Assess Your Resting Metabolic Rate to Create a Weight Loss Plan

Before jumping into a new diet routine, it is important to take a moment to assess your overall health and nutritional needs. Each person has unique nutritional requirements based on personal factors, body composition, and lifestyle choices. The most accurate way to determine your resting metabolic rate, the number of calories your body burns at rest, is to use calorimetry (Kelly, 2015). This is based on respiration and requires use of a special device to measure your resting metabolic rate. A handier route for most people is to use an online calculator to estimate your resting metabolic rate. These calculators typically ask for your age, sex, weight, and height. This can give you a good estimate of the number of calories your body burns each day. You can then use this to make a weight loss plan given your nutritional needs.

Nutrition and Weight Loss for an Average Adult

For example, perhaps you are a 30 year old woman who is 5’9” and weighs 175 pounds. An online calculator estimates that your resting metabolic rate is 1,900 calories per day (Bodybuilding.com, 2015). To lose pound per week, you want a net amount of 1,400 calories daily (creating a 500 calorie deficit). You could achieve this in several ways. While keeping a sedentary lifestyle, you could cut your caloric intake to 1,400 calories daily. However, this would be a rather restricted diet that may cause you to become deficient in important vitamins and minerals. Alternatively, you could eat 2,000 calories per day but would need to burn 600 calories through exercise every day. At this rate, you would have to spend a long time at the gym to meet your caloric goals.

Typically, the healthiest weight loss plan is one that blends dietary changes and exercise. In this hypothetical example, you could cut your caloric intake to a manageable 1,700 calories per day. Exercising could burn an additional 300 calories daily to bring you to your goal.

Nutritional Considerations for Children

Promoting weight loss in children requires a delicate balance, and it is best to talk to your child’s pediatrician for nutrition advice specific to your child. In general, kids have significantly lower caloric needs than adults, given their smaller body size (National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute, 2010). Thus, considering portion size is important when feeding your child. A portion that looks normal to you may have far more calories than your child actually needs.

It is important for developing children to get plenty of vitamins and minerals to support healthy growth. Thus, eating a varied diet with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables -- and minimal processed foods -- is the best way to achieve a healthy weight for children.

Nutritional Considerations for Athletes

 

Physical activity also plays a large role when determining your nutritional needs. The more physically active you are, the more calories you need to consume each day (National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute, 2010). Additionally, athletes often have a different body composition than non-athlete adults. Athletes tend to have a higher ratio of muscle to fat. Because muscle tissue burns more calories than fat, this means that athletes tend to have a higher total calorie requirement (Mayo Clinic, 2014). It is also important to ensure that you get enough carbohydrates and protein to fuel your workouts. This makes pre- and post-workout shakes or snacks critically important for athletes.

Other Medical Considerations

Other chronic medical conditions can also impact your ability to lose weight or to follow a particular diet and exercise plan. For instance, people with diabetes must be aware of the effects of physical exercise on their blood sugar levels. Engaging in high-intensity physical activity could cause blood sugar levels to drop, making it important to have a small snack to prevent a hypoglycemic episode (American Diabetes Association, 2013).

Your medical background may also impact your dietary choices when trying to lose weight. For instance, people with celiac disease or ulcerative colitis have difficulty properly absorbing nutrients from their food. In some cases, celiac disease can actually cause obesity (Thalheimer, 2014). These patients should work carefully with a nutritionist to learn effective weight loss strategies that ensure they still get the vitamins and minerals they need.

Weight Loss Diet: Focus on Whole, Filling Foods

So what foods should you be eating for the optimal weight loss diet? The best diet plans do not eliminate any particular food group but instead focus on achieving a healthy balance of nutrients. This includes getting plenty of complex carbohydrates, lean protein, and healthy fats.

The best way to begin is to cut out heavily processed foods, such as frozen dinners, French fries, chips, soda, and deli meat. Instead, focus on filling your grocery cart with fresh, whole foods. This might require some creativity if you are not used to eating this way, so take small steps to start. Aim to grab one or two new fresh foods every time you go to the store. When purchasing fruits and vegetables, try to make selections across the color spectrum. This ensures that you get a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that support weight loss and overall health (Garden-Robinson, 2011).

Food cravings are one of the biggest reasons that people fail in their weight loss plans. Restricting your diet excessively can cause you to become very hungry a few hours after a meal, leading to unplanned snacks. This is why complex carbohydrates and lean protein are so important. Eating complex carbohydrates provides your body with a sustained energy source (Mayo Clinic, 2014). Whole grain foods such as quinoa, buckwheat, whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, or barley will help you get the complex carbohydrates you need. The other factor that helps you stave off cravings is protein. Make sure you get protein in every meal and snack. Skinless chicken, turkey, cheese, nonfat milk or yogurt, beans, nuts, and seeds are great options for a source of lean protein.

Exercise for Weight Loss

 

Exercise is not only great for weight loss, but it also supports good overall health. Both aerobic exercise and strength training are important. Aerobic exercise causes your heart rate to go up, burning calories and fat. Meanwhile, strength training promotes the development of lean muscle, which will increase the number of calories you burn while at rest (Mayo Clinic, 2014).

To ensure you get enough exercise, aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, or 30 minutes five times per week (American College of Sports Medicine, 2011). This could be brisk walking, light jogging, swimming, dancing, or cycling. Also engage in strength training two to three times per week, being sure to work all of your major muscle groups. Joining a fitness group or classes at your gym is a good way to stay motivated for weight loss success.

References

American College of Sports Medicine (2011). ACSM issues new recommendations on quality and quantity of exercise. Retrieved from http://www.acsm.org/about-acsm/media-room/news-releases/2011/08/01/acsm-issues-new-recommendations-on-quantity-and-quality-of-exercise

American Diabetes Association (2013). Blood glucose control and exercise. Retrieved from http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/fitness/get-started-safely/blood-glucose-control-and-exercise.html

Bodybuilding.com (2015). Resting metabolic rate calculator. Retrieved from http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/calrmr.htm

Garden-Robinson, J. (2011). What color is your food? North Dakota State University. Retrieved from https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/foods/fn595.pdf