The bottom line in achieving weight loss is that you must create a caloric deficit. Simply put, this means that you must expend more energy than you are consuming. So, if you need to lose 5 kilo (11 lbs.), you must create a deficit of 37,500 calories. If through exercise and activity, you expend 500 calories a day more than you are using now, AND you reduce your daily intake by 500 calories, it should take about six weeks to lose the weight. Sounds easy, right? NOT!!
Were weight loss were that simple, everyone would be thinner and more importantly, healthier. Instances of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer and muscular-skeletal problems would be substantially reduced, and the amount of money saved in medical costs could go a long way to helping to reduce the current financial crises. But as most of us know, it isn’t that simple. However, there is something we can all do that will practically ensure our success in the weight loss department. WRITE IT DOWN!
A recent study by Kaiser-Permanente confirmed what weight loss professionals have known for a long time – that those people who commit not only to exercising and eating a healthy and portion-conscious diet, but also to tracking their food intake, can actually double their weight loss. This study, which appeared in the August 2008 edition of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, confirmed that by employing this honest approach of recording all food intake, 70% of the participants achieved significant health improvements due to weight loss.
As most dieters are aware, even if one is being very careful, it is the easiest thing in the world to walk through the kitchen and grab a cookie here and a piece of cake there. Keeping a food diary helps discourage damaging behavior, period. Even more important is that when the diary is reviewed at the end of each day, it helps people see where their extra calories are coming from and helps them determine how to eliminate them. Also, the simple act of writing things down helps discourage you from eating too much, too often.
An additional and very important benefit of food tracking is that it helps you ascertain whether you are truly hungry when you eat. Many people eat out of boredom or as an emotional reaction to a particular situation – i.e. being under stress. It is much easier to identify these behaviors when you track your eating habits. Eliminating emotional eating and learning to differentiate between true hunger and a desire to eat for other reasons are essential to keeping your caloric intake under control.
Although many individuals simply want to maintain their recommended weight or to lose weight for aesthetic reasons, the bottom line is that keeping your weight in check is good for your health. So be sure to write down what you eat, because it is another way to “add hours to your day, days to your year and years to your life.”
For previous columns, click HERE.
Alan Freishtat is an A.C.E. CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER and a LIFESTYLE FITNESS COACH with over 10 years of professional experience. He is the co-director of the Jerusalem-based weight loss center Lose It! together with Linda Holtz M.S. and is available for private consultations, assessments and personalized workout programs. Alan also lectures and gives seminars and workshops. He can be reached at 02-651-8502 or 050-555-7175, or by email at [email protected].
(Alan Freishtat – YWN)
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One Response
How does this help with long term weight loss? if one wants to eat sweets, and has a desire to do, all the exercise and writing down in the world won’t stop him from doing so! proof – how many people write their food down, exercise, and then on Shabbos eat so much food they can barely move afterwards!!( I can say this, becaus I used to do this every shabbos and weekday!)
bottom line – without a lifestyle and attitude change there is little hope for a true food addict.