Tuesday, June 8, 2010

"The Secret"

I figured I would start with the topic most people really want to know about and then work back from this concept. So what is the secret to weight loss? In theory it is a very simple concept. It is something that we know down deep is right. We hear about it, we read about it, we talk to our friends and family about it. However, just like me trying to give up drinking mountain dew, it is much easier said than done. So what is this secret? In order to lose weight one must have a calorie deficit. Simple in theory, difficult in application.

The easiest way to obtain this calorie deficit is eating less. If you want, you can mix it up a little and consume less calories and increase your amount of exercise. This combination is what I feel works best and I will talk more about it later. Or if you don't like that, you can try eating the same and increasing your exercise. I wouldn't recommend this last approach though. Exercise is an inefficient way to loose weight without calorie restrictions.

OK, I can hear everyone saying wait a minute I've tried this and it has never worked for me. Certainly there are exceptions to this and we will discuss those in a later blog, but for the majority of people who are reading this blog, this calorie deficit concept will work for you. Here is an example of what I am talking about. I love watching the TV show Survivor. After watching all 20 seasons, some seasons more than once, I have never seen anybody who has made it to the final 10 or so leave the show weighing more than what they did the first day of the show. In fact all of them leave the show weighing less than they did at the start. Why is this? The 3 main reasons are decreased calorie intake, exercise in the form of keeping the camp running and challenges and the last reason is dehydration. The first two concepts are what we want to implement. Never do we want to implement the last. Let me make it clear that dehydration is not part of what I am recommending. A dehydrated state can be very dangerous. In fact to be optimally healthy, one needs to be properly hydrated. The contestants of Survivor don't loose weight because the producers make them follow the Atkin's diet or the South Beach Diet. They loose the weight mainly due to calorie restriction and daily exercise. With all that said, go out and grab a DVD of Survivor. Watch the first episode of any season and then watch the last episode of that season. Look at the changes that take place over the 39 days the contestants are on the show.

Now that the "Secret" is revealed, in my next blog I will share with you my ideas of what I think works in regard to weight loss in more detail. I will give you a step by step plan to follow and talk about some resources you can use to help you along the way.

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