According to an article in the May 1, 2008 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, overweight and obesity are associated with hypertension, glucose intolerance, dyslipidemia and obstructive sleep apnea. More importantly, obesity is associated with increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney disease and obesity-related cancers (colon, breast, esophageal, uterine, ovarian, kidney and pancreatic). Rates of diabetes have more than doubled in the last 30 years and fatty liver disease has become increasingly more prevalent.  With well over 65% of us overweight and over 25% obese, weight loss has become the top priority with most people, including medical professionals. According to Business Week Magazine (2007), 40 billion dollars was spent in the United States alone on weight loss programs and products. To add to the confusion, many dieters brag about how successful they were on their various diets, and then, in 98% of cases, within five years, gain it all back, and possibly more. So just how does one lose weight and keep it off?

Here in Israel, we consume a daily average of 3,765 calories – far more than we need. For most people, weight gain occurs over an extended period of time. Consuming a mere 50 calories more per day than you need or than you use – which is relatively easy to do – translates into a 5-pound gain per year. Keep that up for a number of years and you will be obese.  Let’s understand some basics about how many calories we need to consume per day in order to maintain our weight, and then see what we need to do to lose some of it.

The first step is to determine our basal metabolic rate (BMR). Simply put, BMR is the number of calories our body uses as energy to sustain itself throughout one day, without doing extra activity or exercise. At rest (i.e. while sitting at the computer or reading), the human body burns only about 12 calories per pound of body weight per day (26 calories per kilogram). (This formula is approximate; you can find metabolic calculators on the Internet.) This means that if you weigh 150 pounds (68 kg), your body uses only about 150 X 12, or 1,800 calories per day. Therefore, in order to lose weight, you need to reduce the number of calories you consume per day and use more of the calories you’re consuming; it’s what we call creating a caloric deficit. One kilo is 7,500 calories, so in order to lose a half a kilo per week you would need to consume 500 fewer calories per day, or eat 250 less calories and burn 250 calories per day through exercise and activity.

Starvation diets DO NOT WORK, in the long run, and will leave you sorely lacking in nutrients. Additionally, consuming too few calories can slow your metabolic rate. Rapid weight loss crash diets will cause you to lose water and muscle, but not fat weight. It is crucial that you eat in a way that will give you good nutrition and provide sufficient energy for each day.  By being active – walking instead of driving, taking the stairs instead of the elevator and starting a formal exercise program, you could very easily burn 300-500 calories a day. You would need to cut 300 calories per day to lose one half kilo per week. Aerobic exercise will also greatly improve your cardiovascular health. By doing resistance training, you can actually raise your metabolic rate and keep your muscles and connective tissue in good working order through the aging process.

To reiterate: the overwhelming majority of research to date indicates that 98% of people who try these types of weight loss programs are ultimately not successful. So if you want to lose weight and keep it off, learn the basics of good eating, exercise and an active life style.  Learn what your nutritional requirements are and eat for your health. And just as important, learn how to THINK THIN! This is the combination that works best. Combining all of the above good habits is one 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)