| Insights into making a Success of my Weight Loss Plan
There are three reasons why most of us fail in our attempts at losing weight, combination, distribution, and energy balance.
Combination of walk, water, and diet, with equal emphasis on all the three is the first factor. When we observe human nature, the trend is that most people can do any one or at the most two things well at the same time. When they have to do three things together, they usually neglect one or two of them. Those who enjoy exercise do this with great enthusiasm, but they are not so strict and committed with the water and diet regimen. On the other hand, some are able to be so disciplined with their diet but cannot manage to do their exercise on a daily basis or they don’t exercise at all. 95% of the people hardly drink more than 4-5 glasses of water per day.
We need to exercise daily as we eat daily. 25-30 minutes’ walk is a must for all. We need to drink at least 2.5-3liters water daily just like we water plants daily. We need to avoid fatty foods very strictly to reduce the fat already stored in our bodies. However, during this time we need to eat three carbohydrate and protein balanced meals to stay healthy and strong. Distribution of the days total calorie intake plays a serious role in the success of your weight loss. Basically, we need to eat well throughout the day and eat less at dinner as we are going to sleep thereafter. So, the age-old system of a hearty breakfast with a fruit at 10.30 or 11am amounting to about 40% of the total food intake is ideal. Lunch again must be a properly balanced meal of carbohydrate food and protein food along with vegetables and salad. This must be followed by tea and crackers at 4 or 5pm and again a fruit at 6 or 7pm. All this should amount to another 40% of the intake. The dinner should be only 20% but even in this meal there should be a proper balance of carbohydrate and protein food like roti and dhal along with salad.
Even if you are eating only healthy, low fat food but your calorie distribution is as 0 or 10% for breakfast 20% for lunch and 70% at dinner it will not help in weight loss as the body will want to store 50% of the calories from your dinner as fat, when you sleep. Energy balance is the third issue. If you are burning 2000 calories per day and consuming food worth 1500 calories, then your body with pull out 500 calories from excess fat stored to meet the 2000 calories expenditure. If you follow this energy balance for all the 7 days of the week you would have pulled out 3500 calories of stored fat which will show a half kg or 500 gm weight loss on your scale.
If, however you skip you daily exercise for 2-3 days out of 7 days the calorie expenditure on those 2-3 days won’t be 2000 calories but 1600 or 1700 calories. Then you will not get your half kg loss at the end of the week. Similarly, if you burn 2000 calories daily but on 2-3 occasions you eat more than 1500 calories during the week you will not get your weight loss. If you burn 2000 calories and eat 1500 calories for 6 days, you will pull out 3000 calories from your fat store. On the 7th day if you overeat you may put back all the 3000 calories you have pulled out and your weight will not come down at all.
So, the simple rule is that you need to be very regular with your exercise all 7 days and very strict with your diet all 7 days till you reduce all the weight. After reaching your goal weight you may relax and have a treat on one day in the week. This may be either a fried snack or a desert or a main course of a meal. Any one of them per week.
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