Often, people can’t sustain and adhere to the weight loss program and this is usually the biggest barrier from reaching your weight loss goals!
If you are facing these problems, this article is right for you! In this article, we will be discussing on how to effectively lose weight to achieve your personal goal by understanding the concept of calories and food choices.
It's about Calories Deficit
When we talk about weight loss, some of us (probably you) knows it’s about calories in and calories out. We need to create a calorie deficit by burning more energy than you consume in order to lose weight.
Then you might be wondering, how can I effectively lose weight? Is there any best strategy for me? I would say the best strategy for you is the one that suits you the best as everyone is made differently and unique.
You may heard of ketogenic diet, intermittent diet, paleo diet and many more, you name it, that have been helping people successfully lose weight. However, we are not going to further discuss about each diet in this article, instead we are going to discuss how to choose the right way for you to lose weight.
What is your energy expenditure?
The first step is to determine your energy requirements. In case you didn't know, energy expenditure is the energy that allows your body basic functioning (like breathing, digesting and sleeping) and to sustain your daily physical activities. It will be affected by your age, sex and how active you are.
In order to lose weight, you will need to create a calorie deficit which is lower than your energy requirement. In general, female would need to eat about 1200kcal to 1500kcal a day, while male would need to eat about 1500kcal to 1800kcal a day to lose weight. To be more accurate on how many calories you will need to eat to lose weight, you may seek advice from your nearest dietitians.
Eating a balance diet
After knowing the right calories for you to lose weight, you will need to start eating a balanced-diet which is to include carbohydrate, protein and fat into your diet. Don’t forget your fruits and vegetables too!
The common mistake when people concentrate solely on the calories value is that they often neglect the quality of the meal, which is the nutrient values. Often, the quality of this kind of diet is low and not sustainable.
For instance, they only opt for egg whites and not eating egg yolk due to high calories, or even avoid eating avocado which is packed with good fat, which contains a lot of vitamins and minerals. You might be wondering, why should we care about the nutrient value of the food as long as the diet works?
Before addressing all your concerns, do you know the benefits of vitamins and minerals towards our health? Let me guide you on how they are so important in our overall health as well as our immune system! Without them, we wouldn’t have strong bones, sharp vision, energy, normal function of the cells and strong immune function to fight against infection.
For instance, vitamin C protects our cells from damaging free radicals. Vitamin E can boost our immune system and helps prevent blood clots. Magnesium plays an important role in muscle and nerve function, heart rhythms and glucose control. Iron is essential in building red blood cells. Can you see how important it is to have a quality meal, which is packed with tons of nutrients?
Consume fewer calories, as well as choosing nutrient-dense food are really important. I hope that the info is valuable for all of you.
Of course, there are a lot more aspects that can be discuss further in details when we talk about weight loss. For instance, how timing of the exercise affects your health and how regular sleeping habit can affect your hormone to regulate your craving, appetite and satiety better.
Weight loss is a long journey, it takes time to slowly build up the habits. Don’t give up and continue with what you’re doing because it will be worth it in the end!
Want to know more about counting calories and losing weight? Head over to our website and get in touch with our dietitian at Diet Ideas!
Weight loss is a long journey, it takes time to slowly build up the habits. Don’t give up and continue with what you’re doing because it will be worth it in the end!
Want to know more about counting calories and losing weight? Head over to our website and get in touch with our dietitian at Diet Ideas!
Prepared by Natalie Ng Zi Yan,
Final Year Student, 2022
BSc (Hons) Dietetics with Nutrition,
International Medical University (IMU)
Checked by Mohd. Siddeq Azha,
Dietitian,
Diet Ideas Sdn. Bhd.
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