The most effective method for weight loss is reducing the number of calories you consume - through eating, while increasing the number of calories you burn - through physical activity. As an example, to lose one pound, you will need to undertake physical expenditure of approximately 3,500 calories. You can achieve this either by cutting back on what you eat, changing what you eat, or by increasing physical activity, or ideally, by doing a combination of all three.
Take this situation as an example. If you consume 500 extra calories per day for one week without changing your activity level, you will gain one pound in weight (7 days multiplied by 500 calories equals 3500 calories, or the number of calories resulting in a one-pound weight gain). Conversely, if you eat 500 fewer calories each day for a week or burn 500 calories per day through exercise for one week, then you will lose one pound over the course of that week. Which would you choose?
Perhaps before you start thinking about losing weight you should take a moment to examine what you eat. Sometimes it is not just about reducing your calorie intake, but it is also about changing what you eat – decrease fatty foods and increase your intake of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Examples of some high calorie popular foods and beverages include:
1 slice original-style crust pepperoni pizza – 230 calories
1 glass of dry white wine – 160 calories
1 can of cola – 150 calories
1 quarter-pound hamburger with cheese – 500 calories
1 jumbo banana nut muffin – 580 calories
Are any of these in your regular diet? If so, maybe it's time to make some changes!
When it comes to weight loss, crash diets are never a good idea. Most health and well being experts will agree that a safe, healthy rate of losing weight is usually around one to 1 ½ pounds per week. Anything more than this means that you are more likely to put your weight back on, down the track. By modifying your eating habits and adding in a little regular exercise, you will be embarking upon the most effective way to lose weight in the long term. It is also the ideal way to ensure that the weight stays off.
Starvation diets may result in rapid weight loss and give you immediate results, but this loss of weight is really hard to maintain over a long period of time. When food intake is severely restricted to something below 1200 calories per day, the body begins to think that it is poor nutrition, so it begins to shut down its metabolic rate. This can make it even more difficult to lose weight in the long run. Candidates who crash diet can also experience hunger pangs, bouts of hypoglycemia, headaches, and mood changes from overly stringent dieting which can all result in binge eating and weight gain.
Since a highly restrictive diet is almost impossible to maintain for a long time, people who attempt to starve themselves thin often start to gain weight again when they stop dieting. Hence, the reason for embarking on a gradual, long term program that increases physical fitness and well being, at the same time.
The Most Effective Weight Loss Tips
Scientific Principles For Effective Muscle Gain
It's an unfortunate reality that throughout the years there has been a growth of strength training techniques that have no scientific proof to back them up. Have a look at the facts presented in this outline of muscle gain principles and make up your own mind.
Below you will find Scientific Guidelines for strength training that have always been around but are not followed by many training systems these days.
1. Limited Energy Level
A strength-training program should be short and simple as you only have a limited amount of energy per training session.
Scientific studies reveal that blood sugar levels (energy) start to deplete after 30 mins, so exercise selection and the time taken to perform them is crucial.
What you should be aiming for is stimulating as many muscle fibres in the shortest period of time available.
Your blood sugar levels deplete after high intensity training (usually between 20 - 30 minutes) and remember that you need energy to recuperate after the workout.
The trick is to give yourself a high intensity workout before your blood sugar level depletes, and then you will have given your body the exercise that it requires to gain the maximum amount of muscle possible.
2. Progressive Overload
Progressive Overload is the main exercise principle you need to be aware of in order to get the results that you're after with strength training.
The two most important points are:
Complete your exercise with perfect technique
Push to total failure when doing a set and overload the weight on the bar progressively. (Overload your targeted muscles to beyond what there used to)
Basically this means that when the body is stressed by high intensity training beyond its normal demands, the body will adapt to these new demands of improved strength.
When I say "normal demands," I mean what level of stress/strength your body is used to now.
An example: The set that you performed last week using the same technique and weight, your body will now have adapted to. If you stay at this level your muscles will not become stronger or bigger, so this is where the Progressive Overload plays a major part.
Once your muscles have adapted to a particular weight then it'll be time to overload them further (add more weight, speed, repetitions). You'll need to keep on repeating this process of overload if you want to become stronger.
Remember to always use GOOD TECHNIQUE. Technique must never be sacrificed for extra load.
3. Training Frequency
The sad reality is that the popular high volume type of training that you find in bodybuilding books and magazines (and used by the stars) is irrelevant to the majority of the population and has a shocking failure rate.
What is good for Joe Star is probably not good for you. Everybody has different genetics; most of us have poor genetics and are not taking steroids like the stars.
The only way the majority of us can make any gains at all is to perform short intense workouts followed by long periods of rest so that we don't overtrain.
4. Over-Compensation
Many studies conducted around the world have shown clearly that recuperation from strength training requires far more rest time than previously thought.
Infrequent, short, high intensity weight training sessions, followed by the required amount of time to recover and become stronger is necessary for you to increase your functional muscle.
Here's what you need to do - allow your body enough recuperation time for over compensation to take place, so that the muscles can adjust to their new strength and growth.
5. Exercise selection for intensity
I can't stress enough of how exercise selection is absolutely crucial. There are only a few exercises that you really need to perform. These exercises consist of multi-joint movements.
These particular exercises are far superior to that of isolation exercises (working 1 muscle group at a time) because you are required to use more muscles from every muscle group.
By using these exercises your whole body will be worked hard.
6. Visualization
Over my 20 years in the industry, I've noticed that this area is by far the most neglected by mainstream health and fitness professionals...
Most books or courses concentrate on the physical side of muscle gain or fat loss and completely neglect the mental side of things.
By training your mental state as well as your physical body you can even further progress in muscle growth.
