The Weight Loss A to Z

“Losing weight”, “successful diets”, “burning fat”… these and similar keywords are quite ‘en vogue’, and are extremely popular Google searches right now.

We’ve prepared our own little Weight Loss A-Z for you to shed some light into the dark dieting jungle.

A for Appetite & Cravings
Ravenous appetites appear when we constantly want something. When we notice something lacking. However, this feeling often has nothing to do with hunger or food. We actually need something else. Pay attention to when your cravings occur. Is it when you’re stressed out? When you’re bored? When you’re sad? Before snatching a chocolate bar, first try to find out the trigger behind your cravings and take it from there.

B for Basal Metabolic Rate
Depending on your height, age and gender you need a certain amount of energy in the form of calories. This is called you basal metabolic rate – the amount of calories your body would burn when staying perfectly still all day long.

C for Calories
…unfortunately aren’t tiny creatures that live in your closet and sew your clothes a little bit tighter every night. They’re a measurement unit for energy. Since our bodies depend on energy, they’re vital for life.

D for Diary
Keeping a nutrition diary where you log all your meals and snacks on a daily basis can work wonders. It helps you realize how often, and how much you eat during the day. Consciousness is the first step towards a change of habits.

F for Facts
Radical diets don’t work–and most common diets are based on a too low daily calorie intake. If our bodies don’t get enough energy, they don’t have the power to burn fat, either. Ever seen a stove burning without wood? Well, our bodies are basically the same: without the right fuel (that’s carbohydrates), it can’t burn fat.

G for Goals
Goals are a great means if we want to achieve a certain aim. Realistic goal setting is vital to success. Regarding weight loss, for example, shedding 0.5 to 1 kg or 1 to 2 lbs a week is feasible and makes sense.

L for Losing Weight
When we talk about weight loss, the first thing that comes to mind are diets. However, the term “diet” is often misused, it is of Greek origin and actually means “way of living, diet”. Yet most classic diets are more ‘fasting’ than nutritional guidelines. Therefore, a really good “diet” would be a sustainable change to a healthy and balanced diet you keep also in the long run.

M for Men
Yes, weight loss issues also affect men. It’s just not discussed as publicly as it is for women since weight issues are considered a predominantly “female topic” by our society.

R for Rule of Thumb
If you want to shed a few, nasty pounds, stick to the following rule of thumb: Exercise to burn an extra 500 calories per day, or save the same amount by taking in less calories. This way, you can constantly lose weight, step by step and in a healthy manner.

S for Self-Confidence
Being overweight has a negative effect on our self-confidence. When asked how pleased people are with their body weight, 75% percent respond that they consider themselves too fat. Plus, 96% of all women admitted that their weight influences their self esteem. 

T for Triumph and Success
1 in 20 people actually reach their desired weight. Successful weight loss means that you lost at least 10% of your original weight within one year, and that you are able to maintain your new weight.

W for Weaker Self
We all have it, our weaker self. It’s the one who sabotages our weight loss efforts. It’s power lies in the fact that we completely ignore it at first: we buy the annual gym membership, order that new stepper online. But then, the weaker self starts speaking up. The good news, we can educate our weaker self. Just like a dog. Teach your weaker self to lie down, roll up and stay in its place. As long as you’re aware that there will be days when you don’t want to hit the gym or have salad for dinner, and that this is completely normal and okay, you’ve accepted your weaker self and it’s voice loses power. To keep your weaker self from barking, you might want to try and set a daily step goal of 10,000 steps instead of signing up for a marathon right away…

Y for Yo-Yo Effect
The notorious yo-yo effect means that those resolving to lose weight end up weighing an  average 7 % more after their diet. The body is confused by the sudden lack of food and starts preparing for a supposed famine. In order to survive, it slows down metabolism in an effort to make ends meet with the low amount of energy it receives, and maintains fat reserves to live off for a longer period of time. Therefore, you mostly lose water and valuable muscle mass. As soon as you go back to eating normally again, your body rejoices due to an increased calorie intake and stores fat for further, possible times of famine. The more often you play this game, the worse your metabolism works which, in turn, directly affects your weight.

Classic diets over-promise and under-deliver. If there was a successful diet that actually worked, less people would die from overweight than from underweight–which right now is the other way round from a global perspective.

We hope you found some bits of new, interesting information here and there today. What’s your take on diets? Let us in on your thoughts in the comments section!

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