Some Dieting Basics

By: John Williams

I would like to share with you some dieting basics that everyone should know. First of all know that there is no magic pill that you can take that will make you lose weight. Although it would be nice, you need to realize the truth of the matter is that most weight loss pills are only a waste of your money, ineffective, and can actually be harmful to your health.

Losing weight is going to be work, but if done properly it can be delicious and fun - and once you start getting the results that you wanted, you'll be hooked and love it! There are some pills out there that can boost your metabolism, which can aid in weight loss, but if you don't do the big things which are exercise and eating right, then you will still not lose weight.

One pound body of bodyweight is exactly 3500 calories. That means for you to lose one pound of fat you need to have your body burn off 3500 calories - and there are really only three ways to do this.

1. Reduce your caloric intake - by eating less than what your body needs and thus creating a caloric deficit, you lose weight.

2. Increase the amount of cardiovascular exercise that you do - thus making your body expend energy and burn calories.

3. Increase your body's metabolism by doing resistance training - weight-lifting - causing your body to burn calories all day long to make muscle.

Most people think that running, or doing more cardiovascular exercise (number 2), is the best way to lose weight. This is not true. Unless you plan on running around 20 miles a day, running is not a good way to lose weight. In fact you can do hard cardiovascular exercise for an hour and only burn around 300-500 calories - 1/7 of a pound. If you just eat at Subway for lunch instead of McDonalds, you could easily eat up to 500-1000 less calories, and you didn't even have to do any exercise - just eat lunch like you do anyways!

Also consider that when you do weight-training, your body's metabolism is boosted and your body will spend more calories building muscle for the next 48 hours! So you can run for an hour and burn 500 calories, or you can weight-train for an hour and have your body burn calories for the next 48 hours - probably 2-3 times the amount you burnt from running. Now don't get me wrong, there are huge benefits to cardiovascular exercise - it is great for your heart, lowers cholesterol, lowers your resting heart-rate, improves your skin quality, good for all of the internal organs, releases dopamine, and allows you to walk up the steps without running out of breath (lung power!)! But when it comes to fat loss, aerobic exercise just isn't that great. Planning out a proper eating plan combined with resistance training is by far the best way to lose weight, and lose it fast.

There are some weight loss pills that can boost your metabolism but they are just supplements to your weight loss program - not the weight loss program itself. Losing weight isn't about getting a quick fix, it's about making subtle lifestyle changes that will change the way you look and feel, for the better.

So in conclusion I want to say that any ad's you see either in a magazine or on TV that sound too good to be true, probably are. But fear not, weight loss is easy when you have the right game plan and a little motivation.

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