Realistic and Achievable Weight Loss Goals
Weight loss is a common goal and the reason why many people get into the gym. Let’s talk about strategies to effectively and safely lose weight.
Counting calories? Basal metabolic rate? Fasting? Fat mass?
There is a lot of information out there on how to lose weight. Let’s look at it in simple terms;
- Diet adherence
- Exercise
- Sleep
- Hydration
Most people automatically think about counting calories and eating less. In reality, it is all about balance and consistency. The first step is to create a plan. It doesn’t mean you have to start recording each calorie you consume throughout the day. It’s more about being mindful and aware of what you are doing with your body.
Safe weight loss is 1-2lbs per week. But how can we accomplish this?
Let’s first talk about basal metabolic rate. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the amount of energy your body needs to maintain basic physiological functions at rest, such as breathing, circulation, cell production, and maintaining body temperature. It represents the minimum number of calories required to keep your body functioning while you are not physically active. In other words, this is the number of calories your body burns if you sit on the couch all day.
One thing you may not know is the more muscle mass you have, the greater your basal metabolic rate is. But what do we do with this information?
John has a basal metabolic rate of 2100 kcals/day. If John consumes (eats) 2100 calories that day and does NOT exercise, he will see no increase or decrease in weight. So how does John lose weight?
Let’s say John’s diet stays the same (2100 calories) but he goes for a 2-mile run. John burns 300 calories on this run. When you combine John’s BMR and his exercise kcals, he would have burned 2500kcals that day. This means, without changing his diet, he burned through more calories than he ate. This would result in a caloric deficit of 300 calories.
In reference, it takes 3,500kcals to burn (lose) 1 lb of fat. If John repeats this day for 7 total days, he will lose 0.6lbs in one week. If that was complicated let’s look at it like this. In order to safely lose weight you can find a safe combination of:
- reducing calorie intake by minimizing unnecessary calories (fast food, processed food, added sugar) and focusing on eating a balanced diet. Of course, protein consumption plays a huge role in muscle building and many other factors, and you can find more information about nutrition from our other blogs.
- increase energy expenditure through exercise and physical activity
At the end of the day, it’s all about following the plan. Choosing how to fuel your body, staying consistent with your workouts, getting enough sleep and don’t forget to hydrate your body. Hopping on the scale every other day won’t give you accurate results. It’s a process and it takes time and dedication. If you are interested to learn more about body composition and steps to take to start working toward you goals you can find one of the trainers here at The Rack and we can talk about further strategies.
