At first impression, dieting appears to be a simple way to reduce weight. We gain weight because we consume more calories than we require. Reduced calorie consumption would therefore be the natural path to weight loss.
However, this is not generally sustained. People appear to return to their previous behaviors after a while. Worse, the sense of deprivation causes them to eat more, allowing them to regain all of the weight they had previously lost.
If dieting alone isn't enough to achieve long-term weight loss, would exercise suffice?
According to a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, this isn't the case. Around 81 overweight women from Arizona State University in the United States were recruited for the study to participate in a fitness program.
Three times a week, women did treadmill activities in a three-month experiment, but their food habits were not monitored. Despite their increased activity, 70% of women gained fat mass during the program after three months.
Although the researchers were unable to pinpoint the exact causes of weight gain, they believe that those who gained weight consumed more calories and increased their calorie consumption. They justified the extra lunch because they believed they had expended enough calories.
In short, a combination of calorie restriction and daily exercise is the simplest and most successful strategy to reduce weight in the long run.
Your total daily energy consumption is the sum of the calories you burn for energy each day. To lose weight, your calorie expenditure should exceed your calorie intake.
A sustainable energy deficit (where the calories consumed are less than the calories expended) can be established by ingesting the same amount but exercising more. Regular exercise will also help to enhance your metabolic rate, allowing you to burn calories more efficiently.
A daily calorie reduction of 500 to 1,000 kcal per week would result in a weekly weight loss of 0.5 to 1 kg. If your daily calorie intake is around 1,500, you should try to burn between 2,000 and 2,500 calories per day through your everyday activities if you want to lose weight.
Even if weight loss isn't your aim, a well-balanced diet and daily physical activity have numerous health benefits.
You are at risk of developing pre-diabetes if you are overweight. But if you start now with a combination of little activity and a healthy diet, you can reduce your risk of diabetes and other diseases.
