Less Calories = Less Weight

Reducing Calories is the Best Way to Lose Weight

Feb 27, 2009

No matter what type of diet you choose, as long as you restrict your calories, you will lose weight.

Those are the findings published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine. Countless diets exist on the market, ranging from low fat to low carbs to, well, you name it. And while we can debate which one works better or faster, researchers say that the only thing you should be concerned with if you’re trying to lose weight is that you take in less calories than you burn off.

Researchers at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute conducted the largest ever weight loss study. They assigned more than 800 overweight adults 1 of 4 different diet plans.

The only thing they all had in common was that they were all asked to reduce their daily caloric intake by 750 but none of the participants ate fewer than 1200 calories per day.

Participants lost an average of 13 pounds in 6 months. After two years, they were able to maintain 9 pounds of weight loss and a decrease of two-inches to their waist size.

Researchers found that those who attended counseling sessions had better weight loss results but not everyone was able to stick to their diet plan.

In fact, some people on one diet were able to lose 50 pounds while others on the same diet gained 5 pounds. The researchers noted that the main factors that affected weight loss were biological, psychological or social factors that influence whether a person can stick to a diet. That means that if you’re looking to lose weight, you should focus on two things: restricting your calories and coming up with a realistic plan to stick to whatever diet you choose.

That means surrounding yourself with people who will support you, staying away from places where you’ll be tempted to over-eat and always having healthy snacks with you to satisfy your cravings. To figure out how many calories you should be eating per day, you need to know your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).

This is the number of calories your body needs to function every day. Unless you have a lot of weight to lose, you will find that you will not be able to subtract 750 calories from this amount without starving yourself.

The study focused solely on diet and excluded exercise as part of a weight loss plan. But a deficit of 750 calories per day is much more realistic if you burn some of those calories through exercise. Try reducing your calories by 250-400 (remember not to go much lower than 1200) per day and then add cardio and weigh-training to burn the remainder of the 750 calories.

Once you have lost most of the weight you want to lose, you can alter those numbers so that your plan is less severe. Try eating 50-100 calories less than your BMR and burning 300 calories through exercise per day. You’ll still see gradual weight loss but the plan will be much easier to follow and you will be able to maintain it long-term.

The copyright of the article Less Calories = Less Weight in Diet Trends is owned by Andrea Chrysanthou. Permission to republish Less Calories = Less Weight in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.