Can you transform your body without good nutrition? |
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The basic fundamental of weight loss is that you need to take in less energy that you expend. This means consuming fewer calories from your food than your body needs to function and move. Or, alternatively burn those excess calories consumed in the diet through doing more physical activity. The scientists called this ‘negative energy balance’. To maintain weight you need to be in ‘energy balance’.
Before the 1950s the notion of exercise as a method of losing weight was unheard of. Doctors in the 1930’s gave weight loss patients weight bed rest. The link between exercise and weight reduction was first put forward by the French-American nutritionist Jean Mayer. Mayer’s work over his career demonstrated that the less active someone was, there more likely they were to be overweight. Mayer then went onto become an advisor to the White House and the World Health Organisation and made the association between exercise and fitness. He marked the way for fitness revolution in the 60’s and 70’s.
Over the years since the discovery of exercise as a means of transforming your body studies have looked at whether ‘diet alone’ or ‘diet and exercise’ is the most effective means of weight loss. Exercise does work for weight loss, but without food restriction you need to work a whole lot harder to burn off the extra calories. To burn off 450 kcal you would need to cycle at moderate intensity for about 50 minutes which is the equivalent to a can of cola and chocolate bar. A recent study in the University of Louisiana of a group of overweight women who were put on either an exercise routine, or who continued their normal activity showed no difference in weight loss between the groups. The researchers put this down to subjects compensating after exercise by eating more calories post work out as a self-reward, or to satisfy their stimulated appetites. This has also been reported in childhood obesity studies where children who were exercised ended up eating more calories than they burnt through a stimulated appetite.
Therefore, to lose weight by exercise alone means that you have to work much harder and do quite a lot of exercise to have an impact on your weight. You will also need to be disciplined and not over compensate with calories post training. Ideally doing a combination of diet and exercise provides the best weight loss results as exercise targets fat loss rather than the lean mass. Plus, you get the additional heath benefits of becoming more active.
1. To lose on average 0.5kg (1-2 pounds) per week you need burn approximately 3500kcal, or cut out the equivalent calories from your current intake. This calculates at a deficit of 500kcal per day.
2. You can either burn the calories through exercise, or eat less or do a combination of both which is probably more effective.
Before the 1950s the notion of exercise as a method of losing weight was unheard of. Doctors in the 1930’s gave weight loss patients weight bed rest. The link between exercise and weight reduction was first put forward by the French-American nutritionist Jean Mayer. Mayer’s work over his career demonstrated that the less active someone was, there more likely they were to be overweight. Mayer then went onto become an advisor to the White House and the World Health Organisation and made the association between exercise and fitness. He marked the way for fitness revolution in the 60’s and 70’s.
Over the years since the discovery of exercise as a means of transforming your body studies have looked at whether ‘diet alone’ or ‘diet and exercise’ is the most effective means of weight loss. Exercise does work for weight loss, but without food restriction you need to work a whole lot harder to burn off the extra calories. To burn off 450 kcal you would need to cycle at moderate intensity for about 50 minutes which is the equivalent to a can of cola and chocolate bar. A recent study in the University of Louisiana of a group of overweight women who were put on either an exercise routine, or who continued their normal activity showed no difference in weight loss between the groups. The researchers put this down to subjects compensating after exercise by eating more calories post work out as a self-reward, or to satisfy their stimulated appetites. This has also been reported in childhood obesity studies where children who were exercised ended up eating more calories than they burnt through a stimulated appetite.
Therefore, to lose weight by exercise alone means that you have to work much harder and do quite a lot of exercise to have an impact on your weight. You will also need to be disciplined and not over compensate with calories post training. Ideally doing a combination of diet and exercise provides the best weight loss results as exercise targets fat loss rather than the lean mass. Plus, you get the additional heath benefits of becoming more active.
1. To lose on average 0.5kg (1-2 pounds) per week you need burn approximately 3500kcal, or cut out the equivalent calories from your current intake. This calculates at a deficit of 500kcal per day.
2. You can either burn the calories through exercise, or eat less or do a combination of both which is probably more effective.
Activity (based on 65kg weight) |
Kcal burnt (60 minutes of activity) |
Walking (moderate pace) |
300 |
Gardening |
300 |
Running (moderate pace) |
600 |
Swimming |
400 |
House cleaning |
240 |
Cycling (moderate intensity) |
540 |
Food |
Kcal |
Dairy milk chocolate bar (50g) 250 |
250 |
Can of coke (330mls) |
142 |
Big Mac |
492 |
Packet nuts (25g) |
152 |
Kit Kat (2 fingers) |
106 |
Packet of crisps (35g) |
133 |
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Tags: exercise, Nutrition, transform, weight loss
Tags: exercise, Nutrition, transform, weight loss
