You might read the title of this post and wonder why we’d be asking a question that has such an obvious answer. It’s easy, you eat a lot less food, and/or exercise like crazy. Isn’t that how you lose weight? How does weight loss work anyway?
Yes and no. The idea that you must eat fewer calories than you burn every day to lose weight is absolutely true. But, as simple as it sounds, it isn’t easy to put into practice; at least if you want to stay healthy while you lose weight.
Calorie Deficits
The idea behind the “burn more calories than you eat” principle revolves around creating a “calorie deficit”. The reason why jumping blindly into a calorie-cutting diet or over-the-top exercise program for weight loss doesn’t work, even though it creates a calorie deficit, is that your body doesn’t respond well to changes in its regular routine.
Another issue is that we each have a different calorie deficit “sweet-spot”. In other words, weight loss isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” proposition. It must be customized to each person’s condition, health and goals.
How You Gain weight
You eat food for energy, which is measured in calories. If you eat too much food, or don’t use the energy in the food you eat, the excess energy is stored in the fat cells of your body in the form of triglycerides, which is a type of fat.
Ongoing excess energy in your fat cells creates a fat surplus and enlarges the cells. Together, all the enlarged fat cells comprise the excess weight that you now want to lose.
How You Lose Weight
By consistently practising a healthy calorie deficit, your body uses the excess triglycerides in your body to make up the difference between how many calories you consume and how many you burn. Your fat cells shrink and you lose weight.
But, again, you can trigger serious health issues if you cut too many calories or burn too many calories.
How to Find a Healthy Calorie Deficit That Works for You
You could try a hit and miss approach to find your own calorie deficit sweet spot. However, in addition to the health risks you might face, it could take a very long time.
The nutrition consultants at your nearest Herbal One location are trained and experienced in creating weight loss programs that are customized to each client’s circumstances and weight loss goals. The result? Health and sustained weight loss.
If you want to learn more about how to lose weight properly, check out our post “What to Do Instead of Dieting for Sustained Weight Loss”.