So, to sum up, by the end of this page you're going to know how to lose weight. Sound good? Great. Let's get to it...
Calories
You know when you eat food and drink drinks? Well, every one of those foods and every one of those drinks contain calories. Say it with me... calories. The reason I'm mentioning calories to you as though you are 5 years old is because the answer to the almighty "how to lose weight" question all revolves around calories. Not only does everything you eat and drink contain calories, but everything you do burns calories. Literally every step you take and every move you make burns calories. In fact, your body actually burns hundreds and even thousands of calories each day on its own just functioning. You could sit still all day and your body would still burn calories.
So now you may be wondering, if everything you eat contains calories, and everything you do burns calories, shouldn't they just cancel each other out? Yes, they should... and they do. If you consume the exact same number of calories that your body burns each day, your weight would stay exactly the same. If your body naturally burns 3000 calories a day, and you happen to eat 3000 calories a day, your weight would not change. In this example, 3000 calories is what's known as a calorie maintenance level. It's the number of calories required for the body to maintain its current weight. I should probably have you repeat "calorie maintenance level" with me, because if there's one thing more important than calories when it comes to losing weight... it's your calorie maintenance level.
Calorie Maintenance Level (And the "big secret")
Your calorie maintenance level is pretty useful to know. Think of it like it's your body's weight loss password, and knowing it will get you into your own private weight loss system. Once you're in, you'll be able to control your weight with ease. In fact, for anyone wondering how to lose weight, this is the number at the heart of that answer. The best way I can explain why is by telling you the big secret...
Like I said, every person's body needs a certain number of calories each day in order for them to maintain their current weight. This is your maintenance level. If your diet plan is made up of the SAME number of calories as this maintenance level, your weight will stay the same. However, if your diet is made up of MORE calories than your maintenance level, you will GAIN weight. But... get this... if your diet is made up of LESS calories than your maintenance level... YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT!
Like I said, every person's body needs a certain number of calories each day in order for them to maintain their current weight. This is your maintenance level. If your diet plan is made up of the SAME number of calories as this maintenance level, your weight will stay the same. However, if your diet is made up of MORE calories than your maintenance level, you will GAIN weight. But... get this... if your diet is made up of LESS calories than your maintenance level... YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT!
Calorie Deficit (Giving your body less calories than it needs)
You just learned the one simple fact that The Lose Weight Diet is based on. Pretty cool huh? I told you, weight loss is all about calories. More specifically, it's about creating a calorie deficit. You need to end up burning more calories than you consume. If your daily calorie maintenance level is 3000 calories, you will lose weight if you started eating 2500 calories a day. You would gain weight if you ate 3500 calories a day. I realize I was only supposed to explain how to lose weight, but you've also just learned how to gain weight.
Did you ever wonder how you gained weight? Now you know. You ate more than your maintenance level. To lose weight, you just need to reverse that. Simple, isn't it? You may have noticed that in the example above I subtracted 500 calories from the maintenance level. Subtracting 500 calories from your maintenance level is the magic weight loss number here. The reason for that is because there are about 3500 calories in 1 pound of fat. So, if you ate 500 less calories each day for 7 days, it would equal the 3500 less calories required to lose 1 pound. (500 x 7 = 3500)
Coincidentally, there are 7 days in a week. So, by eating 500 calories below your daily maintenance level, you would lose about 1 pound per week. Now would be a good time to mention that the healthy, safe, good, smart, and all around right amount of weight to lose for most people is 1 or 2 pounds a week. That is the widely agreed upon correct weight loss speed. I am bringing this up now because some people may be thinking, "If my maintenance level was 3000 calories, why shouldn't I just go straight to eating 1000 calories a day instead of only 2500?" Here's why...
Reducing your calorie intake by so much so fast is wrong, potentially unsafe and unhealthy, bad, dumb, silly, stupid, not smart, not good, and all around super incorrect. Got that? You'd end up losing muscle along with the fat. You'd be hungry, annoyed and feel like crap. Your body would go into a state where it actually KEEPS fat. Blah blah blah, blah blah. It would just be the complete opposite of the right thing to do. Remove this idea from your mind.
Did you ever wonder how you gained weight? Now you know. You ate more than your maintenance level. To lose weight, you just need to reverse that. Simple, isn't it? You may have noticed that in the example above I subtracted 500 calories from the maintenance level. Subtracting 500 calories from your maintenance level is the magic weight loss number here. The reason for that is because there are about 3500 calories in 1 pound of fat. So, if you ate 500 less calories each day for 7 days, it would equal the 3500 less calories required to lose 1 pound. (500 x 7 = 3500)
Coincidentally, there are 7 days in a week. So, by eating 500 calories below your daily maintenance level, you would lose about 1 pound per week. Now would be a good time to mention that the healthy, safe, good, smart, and all around right amount of weight to lose for most people is 1 or 2 pounds a week. That is the widely agreed upon correct weight loss speed. I am bringing this up now because some people may be thinking, "If my maintenance level was 3000 calories, why shouldn't I just go straight to eating 1000 calories a day instead of only 2500?" Here's why...
Reducing your calorie intake by so much so fast is wrong, potentially unsafe and unhealthy, bad, dumb, silly, stupid, not smart, not good, and all around super incorrect. Got that? You'd end up losing muscle along with the fat. You'd be hungry, annoyed and feel like crap. Your body would go into a state where it actually KEEPS fat. Blah blah blah, blah blah. It would just be the complete opposite of the right thing to do. Remove this idea from your mind.
What about working out?
Here's another thing you may have been thinking. "I know how to lose weight... just eat fewer calories than I burn. I got that. I know I can do this by eating about 500 calories less than my maintenance level. But, instead of eating below my maintenance level, couldn't I just workout more and therefore burn more calories?" The answer is YES!
If your maintenance level is 3000 calories a day, and you are eating the full 3000 calories a day, you could lose weight by working out and burning those 500 calories each day. You'd still end up in the same calorie deficit this way just as you would by eating less. The only real difference is that it's quite a bit more work to burn off 500 calories every day through exercise than it is to just eat 500 less calories daily.
Weight loss is all about being in that calorie deficit. While you can technically accomplish this either way (through diet or workout), the best idea in terms of results and all around health is to do it using a combination of both if you can. A proper diet plan combined with a proper workout is the ideal weight loss scenario. But, I'll talk more about that later. First I need to cover one final Phase 1 question you may have...
"While explaining how to lose weight, you have only really mentioned calories. What about protein, carbs and fat? Don't they matter?" The answer is yes, but not in the way you might think.
If your maintenance level is 3000 calories a day, and you are eating the full 3000 calories a day, you could lose weight by working out and burning those 500 calories each day. You'd still end up in the same calorie deficit this way just as you would by eating less. The only real difference is that it's quite a bit more work to burn off 500 calories every day through exercise than it is to just eat 500 less calories daily.
Weight loss is all about being in that calorie deficit. While you can technically accomplish this either way (through diet or workout), the best idea in terms of results and all around health is to do it using a combination of both if you can. A proper diet plan combined with a proper workout is the ideal weight loss scenario. But, I'll talk more about that later. First I need to cover one final Phase 1 question you may have...
"While explaining how to lose weight, you have only really mentioned calories. What about protein, carbs and fat? Don't they matter?" The answer is yes, but not in the way you might think.
Protein, Carbs, and Fat
You see, your total daily calorie intake is BY FAR the most important aspect of weight loss. Eat the right amount per day and you will lose weight regardless of where those calories came from. However, the foods and nutrients supplying those calories still do play many important roles in your diet and health for various reasons. As far as these "calorie suppliers" go, there's mainly just three; protein, carbs and fat. Despite what the many fad diets and commercial diet plans have scared you into thinking, your weight loss diet CAN and SHOULD contain a good amount of all three. (Exactly how much of each is coming up next.)
So, while you will definitely lose weight just as a result of being below your maintenance level, how much and what types of protein, carbs and fat you eat will indeed play many important roles in your overall weight loss results. Don't worry, I'll explain all of that next.
So, while you will definitely lose weight just as a result of being below your maintenance level, how much and what types of protein, carbs and fat you eat will indeed play many important roles in your overall weight loss results. Don't worry, I'll explain all of that next.
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