Unfortunately, in many cases it isn’t and it isn’t long before some of the same people have packed it right back on again.  So what’s the problem?  Maybe it’s the fact that many people rely on exercise alone as a way to lose weight, and that’s a sure path to failure.

You can’t use exercise alone to lose weight.  Period.  Why not?  Well, think about it.  Exercise increases the amount of calories your body burns.  That’s good, right?  Yes but your body then seeks to compensate for that calorie loss by making you hungrier than you would otherwise be.  In other words, exercise increases your appetite making it much more likely that you’ll stop by the fast food drive-through on your way home from the gym.  You tell yourself, “After all, I worked hard, right?  I deserve a “reward” for working out.”

See how it works?  The more you workout, the more your appetite increases to compensate for the calories you burned.  The more your appetite increases, the harder it is to make good food choices and maintain portion control.  Also, the easier it is to feel like you “deserve” some dessert or an extra helping of your favorite food.  And boom, before you know it, you’ve not only erased all the good you did at the gym (from a weight-loss standpoint), but you’ve probably added calories to boot.  This is exactly why many people exercise all day long and don’t lose an ounce – and also why quite a few actually gain weight when they exercise.

So here’s the bottom line:  you don’t exercise to lose weight. You exercise to get fit.  You exercise to tone your muscles.  You exercise to increase stamina, build flexibility, and maintain coordination.  You exercise to maintain muscle strength.  You exercise to keep your heart and lungs healthy.  You exercise to reduce stress.  You exercise for a hundred-and-one really good and valid reasons — but sustainable weight-loss isn’t one of them.

Losing weight is about 2 things and 2 things only:

1. Eat less calories (ie: portion control)
2. Making better food choices.

That’s it.  There is no more.  That’s the whole “secret” to successful and sustained weight-loss.  It really doesn’t matter what diet program you’re on or are thinking of trying out:  Atkins, South Beach, Primitive, etc.  These diet programs provide all sorts of recipes that are designed to help you eat less total calories (number 1 on my list) as well as help you make better food choices (number 2 on my list).  That’s all they do.  And now that you know the “secret,” you can do it too without having to buy all the books and CD’s and whatever.

If you really want to lose weight, eat less – way less. Pay strict attention to portion control.  Don’t use the huge dinner plates that most people (and restaurants) use and start eating your meals on the smaller salad plates.  Get yourself a kitchen scale and find out what a “normal serving” of food looks like.  Hint:  A “normal” serving of meat is about the size of a deck of cards and does NOT spill over the side of the plate like the chicken-fried steak special at the local steak house.

Which brings me to the second point, if you really want to lose weight, make better food choices. That means passing on the chicken-fried steak special covered in cream gravy and going with a grilled salmon instead.  Choose foods that not only contain less calories, but are also better for you.

So what have we learned here?  Well, first, if you’re exercising, don’t stop – just understand that it’s not really going to help you lose much weight.  Second, serious and sustainable weight-loss is all about eating less calories and making better food choices.

Once you start working on the right things, you’ll begin to see real progress!

Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach and
Personal Fitness Trainer (NESTA)

P.S. Be sure to get my latest Fitness Blueprint called “Little Things That Improve Your Health.” This ebook is packed with loads of helpful information on how to build a better body and you can get it FREE – for a limited time.  Just click on the title to be taken to the download page.  Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: exercise, weight-loss, diet, nutrition, calories, south beach,  Atkins, dieting, losing weight, fat

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The Study.

From October 2004 to December 2007, a total of 811 overweight adults in Baton Rouge and Boston participated in a study designed to evaluate the effectiveness of diets consisting of varying amounts of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.  In other words, they were trying to determine whether people on high protein/low carb diets (like the Atkins Diet) lost any more or less weight than people on high carb/low protein diets (like the Mediterranean Diet).

Most of the studies that had been done in the past were either, (1) relatively short term in duration (1 year or less), or (2) underrepresented a specific population group (usually men), or (3) were funded by a company with a direct financial stake in the outcome.  These are usually the reasons that the conclusions of past studies tend to contradict each other.  This new study attempts to address the shortcomings of past research.

The Harvard study was performed over a more than 2 year time span at the Harvard School of Public Health/Brigham and Woman’s Hospital in Boston and at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center of the Louisiana State University System in Baton Rouge.  The group of adults were between 30 and 70 years of age and had a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 20 to 40.  Approximately 40% of the study group were men.

The subjects were divided into 4 groups and each given a diet with different levels of carbohydrates, protein, and fats.  The diets ranged from low fat/low protein, to high fat/high protein.  Besides the composition of the diet, each diet represented a decrease of about 750 calories from the average daily intake of the participants.  During the study, the participants also had a weekly goal of 90 minutes of moderate exercise and they attended group counseling sessions.

The Results.

After about 6 months, it was found that the participants assigned to each group had lost an average of about 13 pounds (6 kg), which represented approximately 7% of their initial body weight.  However, after about a year, it was found that they had regained some of the weight.  By the end of 2 years, the weight loss had stabilized and remained similar across all of the diets.  Among the 80% of participants who completed the study, the average weight loss, regardless of the type of diet, was about 9 pounds (4 kg).  It was also found that all of the diets improved health risk factors and insulin levels equally.

Conclusions.

So what can we conclude from this study?  Despite all of the scientific jargon, what can we take away from this and use in our daily lives?  Here are a couple of conclusions that I have come up with based on what I read in the study as well as my own experience (note:  these are my conclusions – not necessarily those listed in the study):

1. One of the conclusions noted in the study is that “Reduced-calorie diets result in clinically meaningful weight loss regardless of which macronutrients they emphasize.” Amen to that.  The key to weight loss is to reduce the total number of calories you consume. Let me say that again.  If you want to lose weight, eat less. This study shows that it really doesn’t matter what you eat, just that you eat less of it.
2. Weight loss begins at the kitchen or restaurant table. I see people headed to the gym in order to “lose weight” all the time.  Sorry, but you don’t lose weight at the gym.  You can lift weights or ride the exercise bike all day long — and exercise is definitely an important part of any health plan — but you’ll never lose any weight unless you learn how to limit your serving sizes and push yourself away from the kitchen or restaurant table while there’s still food on your plate.  Weight loss happens at the table, not at the gym.
3. The body can adapt to just about any kind of diet. This study proves that it really doesn’t matter what kind of food you eat.  Whether you eat mostly salads or Twinkies, organic health foods or junk, if you reduce the number of total calories you normally consume, you will lose weight.
4. The study included having the participates attend regular counseling and group sessions.  They found that there was a direct correlation between attendance and weight loss.  What does this prove?  It proves that your chances of losing weight go way up if you have a friend or support group to help keep you on track.
5. Exercise is a critical part of any weight loss program. Why?  I think it’s because when you’re exercising, you’re not snacking or being tempted to snack.  It really doesn’t seem to matter what kind of exercise you do.  Whether it’s a hard-core cardio routine or a leisurely walk around the block, the point is to get up off the couch, get away from that bag of potato chips that’s been calling your name, and get out and do something that gets you physically active.
6. Ya gotta want to. The study found that the people that lost the most weight were the most motivated.  Big surprise, right?  But it still brings up a valid point.  To fix any problem, you first have to admit it exits – and then commit to doing something about it.
7. Permanent weight loss is a long term process. Sorry, but there is no “overnight” solution.  There is no “lose weight fast” answer.  PERMANENT weight loss is a 1-2 year process.  In other words, “dieting” or making the right choices about what and how much you eat, should be a permanent part of your lifestyle, not an event that you undertake once or twice a year.
8. If they can do it, you can do it. Of the 811 people that participated in the study, 80% of them completed the study.  That’s about 650 people.  80% is a fantastic success rate and it shows that if they can do it, you can do it.  All it takes is reducing your total daily calories by around 750 calories.  That’s cutting out 1 bag of potato chips (150 cal), a soft drink (155 cal), 1 donut (200 cal), and a bowl of chocolate ice cream (225 cal) from your diet.  Besides cutting down on snacks, you can find lots of areas where you can painlessly reduce calories such as getting a smaller portion size, leaving off the gravy, choosing baked instead of fried foods, and so on.  Remember, if they can do it, you can.

So there it is.  Nothing really earth shattering or surprising.  If you want to lose weight, forget the fad diets.  All you have to do is simply consume fewer calories.

You can read the full details of the study here:  “Comparison of Weight-Loss Diets with Different Compositions of Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrates”

Hiram
The Balanced Health Guy

Technorati Tags: diet, health, atkins, Mediterranean, weight loss, harvard, overweight, obese, BMI, exercise, carbohydrates, fats, protein, cardio

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