What is the best way to lose weight?

To lose weight you should combine resistance training with aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise can burn a large amount of calories in a short period of time, but burns very little extra calories after a workout. Resistance training however burns a lot of calories after a workout through a mechanism known as excessive post exercise oxygen consumption also known as EPOC. This means if you do both you’ll burn large amounts of calories over the course of a day if you combine the two.

In one sentence, the best way (and frankly, only way) to lose weight is to take in fewer calories than you burn each day. Period.

Of course, the devil is in the details. The solution is simple. Executing on that simple solution can be difficult. To properly execute on that simple answer, you need to know how much YOU burn each day and how much YOU eat each day. Every person is different. We have different jobs, like different foods, have different habits. Everything about our day plays into how much we burn and how much we eat. The trick is to use tools that give you insight into what feels "invisible."

My clients all use the dotFIT platform. It will help you estimate how much you burn (if you answer the set up questions honestly) and track how much you are eating (again, you gotta be honest). Keep the input below the output and voila!  You lose weight.

THAT is the best way to lose weight. Know it, track it, and manage it.

The best way to lose weight is to be sure that you are burning more calories than you ingest.  You will gain weight if you consume too many calories and you don't engage in regular physical activity.

In order to know how many calories you should consume on a daily basis, it is important to know what your basal metabolic rate is.  This is also known as your BMR.  Your BMR is basically the amount of calories your body expends in order to stay alive.  However, on top of that we need to eat in order to stay alive.  Making healthy food choices like eating more fruits and vegetables, eating more whole grain foods, reducing the amount of bad fats that are in your diet and know their nutritional value in addition to engaging in regular physical activity of moderate intensity on most days of the week is a good approach to losing weight.

If you do this on a regular basis, you will lose weight.

All the best to you!

The best way to lose excess weight, wherever it is located, is to consume fewer calories than you use. One way to start is to follow exercise and dietary guidelines. In fact, information from the National Weight Control Registry, a database of more than 6,000 people who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept them off for at least a year, reinforces that notion. The registrants report exercising approximately one hour a day (primarily through brisk walking); eating an average of 1,400 calories a day, with about 25% provided by fat; making breakfast a regular habit; and maintaining a consistent eating pattern across weekdays and weekends. They also keep close tabs on their weight, hitting the scales frequently.

It's easy to get lured in by the hype of the hottest new diet, especially when it's all over the media and in the stores. But keep in mind that your weight is a key component of your overall health, so don't subject your health to a trend. A healthy diet is not a regimen that changes with the seasons, but a way of life. If you're confused by a diet plan, or it's difficult to manage, chances are that it's not the answer to long-lasting weight control.

It may sound too easy to be true, but the most effective recommendations for people who want to lose weight and keep it off are to eat a balanced diet, exercise, and monitor calories.

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