Weight loss, caloric intake, exercise and weight loss
The link below will take the reader to an interesting piece on weight loss. The take home is that diet(caloric intake) is the primary problem. Too many calories going in and not enough going out.
Under normal physiological conditions, you essentially have two options for weight loss, eat less or exercise more. Notice, I did not use the word “diet”. Even the healthiest of food choices, in excess, will increase weight.
Based on my personal experience and decades of observations and listening to people tell me about their “healthy diets”, yet bemoaning their inability to lose weight, it really does come down to calories consumed. We all seem to have a weakness for things that taste good. While DNA certainly will define body type, drinking and eating less will help any body type lose a few extra pounds. In fact, I would argue that alcohol is the number 1 culprit behind those extra few pounds and should be the starting point for a weight loss program.
In a recent conversation with some European friends, the topic of casual alcohol consumption and the size of the typical American wine glass was discussed. Perhaps doing away with the extra large wine glass that looks too empty when just slightly filled is a good place to start. Another option would be to stop buying cheap wine and only purchase more expensive wine. The idea being that expensive wine would be sipped slowly and savored and to stay within budget less wine will be purchased.
Next, there are the deserts. When I have a bowl of ice cream, it is infrequent and it generally involves just 1 scoop, not 3 or 4. The first bite tastes as good as the last and by definition, the last bite does not taste better. Thus, more is not better and eating too much just gives one that uncomfortable over-full feeling…My weakness is a good cookie and for that choice, I eat a few bites less of my lunch or dinner to be able to enjoy a homemade cookie.
While exercise does consume extra calories, it requires hours every day of intensive efforts to utilize the calories added by excessive eating. Since most of us have no reason or time to train like an elite athlete this method of calorie reduction is not viable.
Our bodies add extra weight one bite at a time and for most individuals, this weight is added, slowly over many years. To reduce weight, I suggest that you reverse the process and start taking 1-2 bites less at every meal and cut in half your alcohol consumption.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/04/health/diet-exercise-weight-loss/index.html