In today’s world, there is a lot of information about how to lose weight. Between friends, advertisements, wisdom, doctors, and wherever else you might be getting information from, knowing what to listen to when it comes to weight loss can be confusing. However, people often have similar questions about weight loss, so don’t feel alone if you aren’t entirely sure about something.
Often times it can help a lot to know the answers to these common questions, even if the question and answer are simple. With all the diet ads, scams, and misinformation, knowing the basics can definitely put you a step in the right direction. So, here are some of the most frequently asked questions about weight loss:
Q: Can I lose 5-10 pounds in a week?
A: No, losing 5-10 pounds in a week is unrealistic and very unhealthy. While many crash diets advertise that they can help you lose this, their diets are very misleading and unhealthy. As a rule of thumb for weight loss, it is healthy and most effective to aim for losing 1-2 pounds per week. Weight loss is about fixing unhealthy lifestyles and habits by creating healthier ones, and it is very unhealthy for your weight to fluctuate 10 pounds in a week for many reasons. As a tip for judging diets, you should follow the dieting rule that says if you are not able to maintain a diet for the rest of your life, then it is not a safe, healthy diet. Here’s another one of our blogs for other dieting tips and a guide on how to lose 10 pounds, and here’s more information for why it is unhealthy to lose 10 pounds fast.
Q: Can I lose weight without exercising?
A: Yes, it is possible to lose weight without exercising by creating a calorie deficit. However, while it is possible to do so, exercising is a crucial element when it comes to reaching a healthy weight as exercising will better help you achieve an appropriate calorie balance. Losing weight is about moving toward a healthier lifestyle with healthier habits, and exercising certainly helps you with such efforts. Also, people who exercise regularly are much more likely to maintaining any weight loss and preventing the weight from coming back in the future.
Q: Does eating before bed make you gain weight?
A: It depends on what you eat, but eating a snack before bed does not necessarily result in weight gain or interfere with weight loss. At the end of the day, weight loss comes down to burning more calories than you take in, so if the bedtime snack puts you over the mark then that’s when it interferes with weight loss. However, experts say that those who tend to snack at night, tend to snack unhealthily and in larger quantities. This might be because you lose some will power as you get more tired. Regardless, effective weight loss comes down to creating better habits, so it’s almost always helpful to fight late night urges for snacks as it can easily compromise a whole day of effort.
Q: Does eating breakfast really help you lose weight?
A: Yes, eating a healthy breakfast every morning does help you lose weight. Weight loss is about living a healthy, balanced life style, and this is true of your meal spread as well. Not only will eating breakfast in the morning definitely help your appetite control throughout the day, but it also helps keep your metabolism moving. Skipping breakfast actually makes your body think that it’s possibly being starved, which causes it to conserve more by slowing down your metabolism. So, eating a daily, healthy breakfast will surely help you in your weight loss efforts.
Q: How many calories do I need to burn to lose a pound of fat?
A: A pound of fat is generally equivalent to 3,500 calories. So, in order to lose a pound of fat, you must burn 3,500 calories more than you take in. Again, only 1-2 pounds of weight loss per weight is considered to be healthy and safe, so depending on your weight loss plan you should aim to burn 500-1000 calories more than you take in on a daily basis. This can either be done by eating fewer calories or burning more calories by using them up through physical activity, but it is recommended that you do a combination of both.
Q: Do I need to count calories and grams of fat in order to lose weight?
A: No, not necessarily. However, counting calories and/or fat can be extremely helpful to anyone that is trying to lose weight. Again, effective weight loss is truly about changing your life style and bettering your habits so that you can practice healthier habits. While many people might get tired of counting calories after a few weeks, or even days, you can learn a lot about your eating habits by keeping track of everything you eat during the day. Many experts recommend recording everything you eat on a daily basis in a food diary so you can learn more about your eating habits and how you need to change in order to become healthier and lose weight.