Month: May 2013

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Weight Loss Exercise

How Do You Know When You’ve Lost Enough Weight?


Losing weight is often a long process and many people struggle on their journey. However, after reaching your earlier set goal weight, you may ask yourself; ‘Have I lost enough weight?â? When figuring out if you’ve lost enough weight, there are a few things you must consider such as your BMI, body type, and more.

First things first, remember that a doctor is the most qualified person to tell you if you’ve lost enough weight, especially if you’re doing so due to a health condition. If you want an idea at home, however, then here’s how to do it.

Check Your BMI

Although there are a number of limitations with BMI (Body Mass Index), it can be a useful measurement. To calculate your BMI, just divide your weight (in kilograms) by your height squared (in meters).

The normal range for your BMI would be between 18.5 and 25, but this may not apply to everyone. For instance, if you naturally have a big structure and heavy bones, your ideal BMI would probably be above 25, which actually makes you overweight by normal standards. On the other hand, if you have a small structure, your ideal BMI is probably lower than others.


Measuring Your Body Fat

Measuring your body fat percentage is another good way to make sure whether you’ve lost enough weight, and is more accurate than BMI. Always use this to verify that your BMI is telling the truth!

There are a few ways you can use to measure your body fat with the simplest method being using a skin fold caliper. You do this by pinching your fat (usually around your waist) and measure the thickness with a caliper. You then compare the measurement you get to a body fat percentage chart which you can easily find online. Alternatively, you can also use BIA (Bioelectric Impedance Analysis) where you step on a scale that then estimates your body fat percentage.

See How You Look And Feel

The best and simplest way to determine if you’ve reached your ideal weight is to just stand in front of a mirror and see how you look. If you have lost quite a bit of weight and you feel that you look good and healthy, then you probably are at your ideal weight. Ideally you should also not feel tired and must have enough energy to go through your day.

Of course, the main reason for you to lose weight should be to ensure your health is good, and that you feel good in yourself. Therefore, you can also decide to either stop or continue losing weight depending on how you feel health-wise.


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Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

How To Figure Out How Many Calories You Burn Each Day


Although there are a few reasons we become overweight, the simplest explanation is that we consume more calories than we burn off. Do this for long enough and youâ??ll pile on the pounds, unless youâ??re lucky enough to be one of those people with a super-fast metabolism!

If you want to lose weight, then you should definitely know how many calories your body burns on a daily basis. The idea behind dieting and exercise is to create enough of a caloric deficit so that your body starts burning off fat, and knowing how much your body needs to start with is an important step to figuring out how you are going to create a caloric deficit.

What Does Your Body Spend Energy On?

First of all, you should know what exactly your body spends energy on. For one thing, your body uses energy on metabolic processes, in other words, the most basic bodily functions that keep you alive such as breathing, blood circulation, excretion, and so on.

Besides that, your body additionally expends energy on simple things you do throughout the day, such as brushing your teeth, bathing, cooking, and so on.


If you are on your feet a lot and exercise frequently, then your body burns even more calories. Also, if you have a high amount of muscle mass, your body burns more calories for metabolism than it does if you have the same amount of fat.

How to Calculate the Number of Calories You Burn

To calculate how many calories you burn each day is difficult to do manually, so the best way to go about doing this is by using an online calorie needs calculator. Just fill in the short form in the calculator, and click calculate. You will then get an estimate of how many calories you should consume on a daily basis.

Alternatively, you can join a calorie-tracking site that calculates how many calories you can eat every day, select your activity level as sedentary, and then manually track in any extra exercise you do throughout the day. This way you will get a better idea of your caloric burn each day.

There are even gadgets you can wear all day to get an estimate of how many calories you burn. These can cost a fair bit but make a very worthwhile investment for anyone whoâ??s really serious about losing weight.

And thatâ??s all there is to finding out how much you burn every day. Itâ??s wonderful that you are committed to ensuring your body is in good health by keeping your weight under check. Good luck!


Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

5 Weight Loss Tracking Rules


Tracking your calories, exercise, or weight loss progress is a great way to ensure that you are on the right road to reaching your goal weight. However, you need to do it correctly to achieve the best results. Here are some rules you should always try to abide by:

1) Track Daily

First things first, if you are tracking the calories you consume and exercising, do it every day! If you start skipping a day or two you will be likely to get lazy and stop doing it altogether. Tracking is important as it helps you systematically keep track of what you are eating and helps you decide if that particular food or meal has a place in your diet.

2) Weigh Yourself Weekly

When it comes to weighing yourself, doing it once a week is adequate. Your weight fluctuates on a daily basis, and it may be disheartening if you weigh yourself every day and occasionally you see the number on the scale go up. Weighing weekly will give you a better picture of your progress.

3) Tell Someone


Stay accountable to your weight loss and tracking by partnering up with someone as their weight loss buddy, or by telling your friends and family about your approach to weight loss. This way someone will remind you to stay true to your goal and continue your efforts.

4) Get Help

In the same way, get some support from your friends and family. When you are feeling down or defeated, turn to them and express to your family so they can give you a motivational boost.

5) Be Realistic

Lastly, be sure to set a realistic caloric limit for yourself. For men, do not go below 1500 calories a day, and for women, do not go below 1200 calories. Eating too little can slow down your metabolism and hamper your weight loss efforts, and thatâ??s certainly not what you want.

Follow these five weight loss tracking rules and youâ??ll be on the right road to your ideal weight. Make healthy food choices and exercise regularly to increase your caloric burn and lose weight faster. Also, find a good calorie tracking website to automate your calorie counting, or even better, download an app for your tablet or smartphone so that you can track on the go.

As long as you stick to your calorie limit and maintain your willpower, there will be nothing that can stop you from achieving your goal weight. Keep your head up and good luck!