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The "Exercise
Difference" in Weight Loss
copyright 2003 by Greg Landry, M.S.
Losing weight and maintaining that loss
can be very difficult. However, both can
be made considerably easier with regular
exercise.
If you're interested in losing fat, you're
objective is to create a daily caloric deficit.
For example, If you're consuming 1700 calories
per day, and expending 2000 calories per
day, your caloric deficit is 300 calories.
Losing a pound of fat requires a deficit
of 3500 calories. So, to lose two pounds
per week would require a daily deficit of
1000 calories.
So, if you'd like to increase your daily
caloric deficit, you have two options; 1.
To decrease your caloric intake by eating
fewer calories, or.. 2. To increase your
caloric expenditure via more activity /
exercise. However, you cannot decrease your
daily caloric intake much lower than 1200
to 1500 or so without potentially creating
health and metabolism problems.
In fact, many people's metabolism (basal
metabolic rate) is so slow from years of
inactivity and dieting, that they are only
burning fewer than 1500 calories per day.
Without exercise, they would have to decrease
their daily caloric intake to unhealthy
levels to lose weight. And, a caloric intake
that's too low only creates more metabolism
problems and a vicious cycle of more weight
gain.
So, the only remaining factor in the deficit
equation is caloric expenditure through
increased activity / exercise.
The good news is that you can substantially
increase your caloric expenditure. For example,
if you're currently walking for 30 minutes
two days per week, over a period of several
weeks you can increase your walking to 60
minutes per day, six to seven days per week
and begin weight training for 30 minutes
three days per week.
So, in this example, you would increase
your monthly exercise minutes from about
240 to 1530. Plus, in addition to the calories
that you're expending during exercise, you
would also substantially increase the number
of calories you're burning 24 hours-a-day,
yes, you'll even burn more calories while
you're sleeping because you've fired-up
your basal metabolic rate. You can't beat
that, can you?
Here's another VERY important reason to
exercise while you're restricting calories
and trying to lose weight. you tend to lose
muscle tissue from any muscle that you're
not using while you're restricting calories.
You've heard it - use it or lose it. And,
there are three main consequences to losing
muscle; 1. Your metabolism (basal metabolic
rate) decreases causing you to burn *fewer*
calories 24 hours-a-day and causing the
maintenance of your weight loss to be very
difficult. 2. Your muscles get flabby and
mushy. 3. Your are weaker and become fatigued
more easily.
That's enough to get anybody to start exercising.
Get movin'!
Author and exercise physiologist, Greg
Landry, offers FREE weight loss success
stories and his "Fast, Healthy Weight
Loss" newsletter at his site: http://www.FitnessForYou.org
copyright 2003 by Greg Landry, M.S.
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