How do you seriously lose weight

The human gut hosts a vast number and variety of microorganisms, including around 37 trillion bacteria. Every individual has different varieties and amounts of bacteria in their gut. Some types can increase the amount of energy that the person harvests from food , leading to fat deposition and weight gain. Numerous studies have shown that getting less than 5—6 hours of sleep per night is associated with increased incidence of obesity.

There are several reasons behind this. Research suggests that insufficient or poor-quality sleep slows down the process in which the body converts calories to energy, called metabolism. When metabolism is less effective, the body may store unused energy as fat.

In addition, poor sleep can increase the production of insulin and cortisol , which also prompt fat storage. How long someone sleeps also affects the regulation of the appetite-controlling hormones leptin and ghrelin. Leptin sends signals of fullness to the brain.

However, when people are under constant stress, cortisol can remain in the bloodstream for longer, which will increase their appetite and potentially lead to them eating more. Insulin then transports the sugar from carbohydrates from the blood to the muscles and brain. If the individual does not use this sugar in fight or flight, the body will store it as fat. Researchers found that implementing an 8-week stress-management intervention program resulted in significant reduction in the body mass index BMI of overweight and obese children and adolescents.

This should include 10 portions of fruit and vegetables, good-quality protein, and whole-grains. It is also beneficial to exercise for at least 30 minutes every day. You don't have to work out for 30 minutes at one time, so if 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening is easier for you to manage, make that your plan.

Engage in physical activities you enjoy and vary your routine. Work out with a friend or family member if possible to help keep you motivated. Include strength training in your workout plan at least two to three times per week. Building muscle mass will increase your strength and endurance to make exercise easier.

Rest for at least one day between strength-training sessions. Assess your problem areas if you stray from your plan or don't lose weight for a week or more. Make a list of things you can do instead of eating if you feel bored, sad or anxious.

Weigh yourself once a week to monitor your progress. Weight naturally fluctuates slightly from day to day, so weighing yourself every day may not give you an accurate picture of your progress. Don't starve yourself in an attempt to lose weight.

Your body needs calories to function and intentionally depriving your body of fuel and nutrients will actually hinder the weight-loss process. The scale does not measure fat. It's a measurement of everything in your body, mostly fluid but also bones, organs, fat and muscle. Think of your weight within a 3 to 4 pound range. The scale goes up and down for various reasons—you poop, it goes down. You eat salty takeout food, it goes up. A strength-training workout can bump it up. You don't lose or gain fat overnight.

So think about shifting the range down instead of focusing on one single number. For some people, daily weigh-ins do more harm than good, so weighing once a week might be a good frequency. However, when you learn to see the number on the scale for what it is not a measurement of fat , it could be more helpful to weigh daily. Sarah was stressing so much about what the scale would say every Monday that she decided to weigh every day and found it more helpful.

There are great apps that plot the average trend of your weight which helps, but I think overall daily weighing has truly been helpful," she said. If you hate the scale, or find it more harmful than helpful, don't worry. You don't need to use it, here's why. I have several clients who haven't seen the scale move in months, but they've lost inches and feel amazing.

In addition to weekly weigh-ins, take waist circumference measurements and progress photos once a month. Five pounds of fat and five pounds of muscle weigh the same, but muscle takes up less space and it means you're getting stronger!

In addition to how you look, take note of how you feel. Can you walk farther, run faster or do a pushup? If you know what they were when you started, have your cholesterol levels or blood sugar numbers improved? Consider including some goals around what your body can do, rather than how you look.

Diet matters more than exercise for weight loss but exercise is crucial for keeping off the weight plus, exercise has plenty of other benefits. If you are sedentary and then start moving, you will start burning calories, which will create a calorie deficit. Don't know where to start? Start walking.

Create small, attainable goals like 15 minutes per day and work up to 30 minutes. If you currently walk 2, steps per day, don't try to walk 10, Start with 4, per day and add more every couple weeks. Next, add strength training, using either weights or your body weight. Start with one day per week and work up to 2 to 4 times per week.

Strength training builds muscle, and muscle burns calories even when you're sitting at your desk all day. It's the fat-loss pill no one wants to take.

For some people, regular daily weighing can help them be more at ease with daily fluctuations in their weight. This mindset has an extremely negative impact on your weight loss success, it can lead to obsessive thoughts about food and weight. It can encourage you to negatively focus on your appearance, rather than focusing on what makes you happiest. These two goals appearance vs. All this focus on weight loss as the goal is dangerous and can have a negative impact on your long-term success.

In some of my own research into what leads to successful long-term weight maintenance, the scales were rarely mentioned. In fact, we found that successful individuals i.

Unsuccessful dieters viewed dieting as something that was temporary, whereas those that achieved long-term weight maintenance were dong something different. Interestingly, the evidence has shown that often those who are successful in weight maintenance experience a shift in their identity — rather than feeling restricted or deprived by their weight control practices such as, through dieting , they feel more liberated, both in their lifestyle and also in how they think and feel about themselves for example, through focusing on developing healthier habits.

The truth is, weight loss needs to be gradual in order for it to be maintainable, it needs to be achieved through positive, daily, sustainable changes in your lifestyle. It is time to let go of this dieting mindset once and for all. It will never work for you. In the next part of this series I will be continuing to support you with evidence-based ways to lose or maintain a healthy weight without dieting.

Each month, I will be sharing more of the secrets no one tells you about long-term weight loss success. A leading expert in behaviour change, Dr Heather McKee has a PhD in weight-loss psychology and specialises in coaching for habit change and weight loss, using evidence-based techniques; drheathermckee.

Her vision is to revolutionize weight loss and behaviour change to empower people and show them that it can be it enjoyable, sustainable and successful. Join our Health to Wealth event. The live event will see Healthista readers, consumers, influencers, media and businesspeople alike, come together to share and learn. Body transformation week two — 8 diet rules to live by. The fat burning workout that uses one piece of equipment.

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