With technological advancement, everyone is more attached to a screen, whether for work or entertainment. In the US, only a small percentage of people participate in sports and games.
Therefore, 41% of Americans over 20 have obesity. You can estimate the need for weight loss by looking at the worth of the Weight Loss industry, which is $3.4 billion in 2023.
Out of obese and overweight people, 95% want to lose weight for their well-being.
However, plenty of diet plans and weight loss tips are available online; some are pretty non-functional, making it difficult to decide which one to follow.
Never mind! New scientific researches make it easier to understand how metabolism and other factors affect the body’s weight, making it easy to know the validity of old myths.
Let’s start busting some common science behind weight loss myths and then know the tips that work.
Busting Weight Loss Myths
1 Eat Less If You Want to Lose Weight
When you eat less and suppress your hunger, your metabolism slows down. Also, the burning of fats slows down.
Moreover, eating less can make you feel hungry at unusual times, as it causes a lack of specific macronutrients. Then, you may consume calorie-rich food to satisfy your hunger, resulting in weight gain.
It is common to hear that you must cut on carbs and fats to lose weight; however, this is not true.
The fact is that healthy fats and carbs help regulate the metabolism of your body, which eventually helps you lose weight.
Also, you can eat plenty of fiber-rich food to reach satisfaction without stepping out of your calorie limit.
2 If you do Exercise, you can Eat as much as you Want
According to a survey by the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), 94% of people who want to lose weight have included exercise in their routine.
Most of these people who lost weight used to restrict their calorie intake.
However, only 1% reported relying only on exercise for weight loss. So, exercise alone cannot help burn enough calories.
Your intake of calories can be more than you burn during exercise if you don’t track your calorie intake. Busted!
3 Fast Food Makes You Fat
This is not true in all cases! It ultimately depends on your choice of food. There are a lot of healthy fast food choices. MD of Yale University, David Katz, wrote, “Is a calorie a calorie?”
The type of food you eat affects your body’s metabolism. However, in the first place, the source of the calories doesn’t matter; only its count matters.
The best example of this is Mark Haub from Kansas State University, who lost 27 lbs. weight while overeating junk. Busted!
Effective Weight Loss Tips
After knowing the reality of tips you commonly hear, weight loss may seem unattainable.
Don’t be disappointed! There are still many ways to lose weight, which are proven through several scientific researches.
Tip #1 Start Your Journey with a Positive Mindset
Define the Reason – You must know why you want to lose weight. Does it affect your cardiovascular health? Is it an obstacle in your career?
Or are you trying to improve your personality or self-esteem? You should be clear about why you started before starting a particular weight loss program. It helps to stick to it.
Set a Realistic Goal – You should never overestimate the results. National guidelines of the US suggest that your target should never be more than 10% of your body weight for the first few months.
Suppose your body weighs 180 lbs.; then you can set a goal to lose around 18 lbs. This will help to create your action plan.
Be Consistent – as consistency is the key to success. Wilson says that your mindset influences your health. So, keep yourself motivated. For this, self-monitoring is the best option to keep track of your progress.
Also, give feedback to yourself, and don’t forget to reward yourself whenever you achieve a goal.
2 Change Eating Habits
A calorie is a calorie, whether from healthy or unhealthy food, as excess calories are stored as fat in the body.
However, if your calorie intake is from unhealthy sources, such as processed food, your insulin, and blood sugar can increase alarmingly. To avoid these, follow these steps.
Make the Right Food Choices – You have to avoid saturated and trans fats; instead, use saturated fats obtained from plants, as they help to speed up metabolism. Instead of cutting carbs, choose complex carbs, such as whole grains. Also, add protein to your plate; it boosts metabolism, stimulates glucagon, and suppresses appetite. So, protein makes you feel full.
Eat Smaller Portions– to have a balanced meal, as the excess of everything is bad. You can use food pyramids or learn from a restaurant’s plate about the distribution of portions. You must prefer nutrient-dense food over calorie-dense, such as vegetables, fruits, fish, etc. International Food Information Council reports that only 50% of people stop eating when full.
Limit Your Calorie Intake – around 500 Kcal less than your usual intake. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suggests that a balanced hypocaloric diet is a standard treatment to achieve weight loss. Moreover, it is best to follow what your trainer recommends.
3 Exercise Regularly
Exercise plays a role in repairing broken metabolism and bringing it back to normal functioning. However, it burns only a few calories. So you have to follow a diet along with exercise.
American College of Sports Medicine and the ADA recommend working for 60 minutes daily if you want to lose weight through exercise alone. Most Americans spend one half-hour exercising.
Aerobic Exercise or Resistance Exercise? Willis et al. reported after an 8-month trial, aerobic exercise showed significant weight loss as compared to resistance exercise. So, if you want to lose more body fat, go for aerobic workouts, and the CDC recommends 150 minutes of activity a week. You have to work harder, possibly for all your life, to maintain your body weight once you lose it. So, make physical activity a part of life, such as sports.
Wrap Up
Now, you know which weight loss tips are practical and work. It highly depends on your metabolism, diet, and exercise. So now you can start your weight loss journey.
However, the effectiveness of a weight loss plan can vary from person to person, depending on biological, social, and psychological factors. So, you have to understand your body before starting any diet plan or exercise.
If you have any confusion regarding your diet plan, never hesitate to take the experts’ advice.
