WEMAFIT

This isn’t a short cut guide but more so an overview.
You can’t get around needing basic math especially when it comes to dieting. So let’s have a crash course in metabolic math.

There are 3500 calories in 1 pound. The way you lose 1 pound per week is to figure out how many calories you are eating per day and decreasing that by 500 cals and then burning 500 cals extra. So if you are eating 2500 cals a day, start eating 2000 cals a day plus burning an extra 500 cals in that day doing exercises and eating certain foods. You now have a net loss of 1000 cals, that is your calorie deficit. I know it appears to be difficult but it is real simple. You lose weight by consuming less food (calorie energy) than what you are using. Your body uses food as energy hence the meaning of Eating to live, not living to eat. So when your body has excess calories because it can’t burn them the body stores that energy as fat. The fat accumulates overtime and becomes pounds of fat. So what do you have to do? Eat more energy containing foods: dark greens, spinach, kale, greens, broccoli, nuts, seeds. Eat more fruits: strawberries, banana’s, oranges, apples, watermelon, grapes, pineapples, grapefruits. Drink more water, at least 60 ounces of day should be pure water. The key to losing weight is more of what you put in your body than working out. Working out will help your body look good but it can’t do anything if your body is missing key nutrients like protein, good carbs, and good fats. Your muscles look for these things when they are starting to grow. Think of yourself as a flower. If you don’t get enough water, sun, oxygen and other gases from the Earth you won’t grown. If you get too much of those things you will grow and die. But, if you get the right balance you will grow into a beautiful flower providing nectar for the bees and a pleasant scent for people to smell as they walk by.

If you are feeling low on energy. Try getting more fiber in your diet and eat your higher carb foods during the day. Peanut Butter on Whole Grain Bread or just as a snack with whole grain crackers can improve your energy level during the day by increasing your glucose level gradually. It provides an healthier option to grabbing a candy bar which does provide energy but also can drop your glucose level quickly as well making you hungry. Protein and good carbs like whole grains, work well together to keep you alert during a busy day. Getting more fiber in you diet daily will also help with the fight against fat as it will help flush out the fat in your body and blood stream. High Fiber foods to come in the next posting!

A pound of fat is about 3500 calories. In order to lose weight you have to create a calorie deficit in your body. If you burn a lot of calories during your workout but go home and eat the wrong foods or in fact, consume more calories than what you burned, you will not lose weight. There will come a time when you have to eat more calories than you burn but that is body building and other forms of sculpting that I can share later. But you want to get to a point where your metabolism is working in your favor when you are sitting and eating you want to still be burning calories. Some people can safely lose 1 to 2 lbs a week giving you a about 4 – 8 lbs weight loss in a month. Others can lose 10 – 20 lbs in a month given there muscle and fat percentage. If you have more fat percentage, then the chances of you losing a higher amount of weight in a month is greater of course if your metabolic rate is in a normal to high range. Creating a lifestyle change that involves healthier food choices daily and a decent active lifestyle can help you reach your weight loss goals. Try going meatless twice a week and eating more dark green veggies, fruits, and if you can, eat cheese on those meatless days. The fiber, protein, fats, carbs and other nutrients you get from these foods will begin to clean your system out and once you do this on a regular basis you will see changes in your body.

The trick in maintaining your weight is turning your body’s metabolism into a fat burning machine. Meaning no matter what you eat, your body will have the ability to burn it off quickly. Our body runs off 3 energy sources from food: Proteins, Carbohydrates, and Fats
Proteins are made up of amino acids in polypeptide polymer chains (this is the short version), these are found in meats like chicken, beef, pork, fish, and in legumes, nuts, some vegetation and grains. Carbohydrates are compounds made up of many Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen molecules, polyhydroxy aldehydes (sugar alcohol) and ketones. We know them as simple sugars (fruit, jams, candy, soda pop, desserts) and complex sugars (breads, pasta, cereals…etc) Lastly, Fats are compounds that are made up of lipids that can be both solid and liquid. Triglycerides, triesters, and glcerol are fatty acids and not all fatty acids are bad. Some in fact will help promote weight loss. Like Carbohydrates, you have two main categories of fats and they are Saturated and Unsaturated (trans fats are unsaturated fats. Your saturated fat foods are animal fat products like fatty meats, cheese, milk, cream, butter, others are cooking oil and my favorite chocolate (Dark Chocolate contains good fat and antioxidants.) Unsaturated fat foods are lean meats, nuts, vegetable oils, olive oils..etc.

So now that we got that out of the way, how do you use the 3 sources of food energy to your advantage? I will explain that to you next time. I encourage you all to read, educate yourselves. Don’t just take my word for it. The only way you will succeed any anything is if you take control and learn it yourself as I help you along the way.