How to lose weight fast?

As a nutritionist, the one question I m asked most is “how do I lose weight fast?’’ In most cases, the question is followed by “you see I have this event in three weeks and I need to lose 12kgs!’’ and because of that, I think I should start this post by saying that weight loss, weight gain or muscle gain is not a rapid thing. It requires some work and the progress might be slow but when done well, the results are amazing and they last longer. Also, fitness is not a thing you do for a few weeks, go to some event then quit. If you want lasting results, it is a lifestyle.

Back to the most asked question, if you want to lose weight you have to make sure that you use more energy than you intake in form of food.

Energy Balance

v  Energy In > Energy out= Weight Gain

v  Energy In < Energy out= Weight loss

So, how do we input energy and how do we know how much we input?

We simply input energy by eating and the energy we eat is measured in calories or as mostly put Kcals.

To know how many calories one needs to intake in a day, there are equations to help us calculate.

Below is one of the equations for both men and women. The result of the equation is in calories and it’s the amount you should eat in a day.

Harris Benedict Equation:

Women: BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)

Men: BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

NB:

o   One pound is 0.45 kilograms

o   1 Inch is 2.54 Centimeters

o   1 Cup is 225grams

o   Tbsp means Tablespoon

o   tsp means teaspoon

Because we are all involved in different activities, those who do work that is manual in nature or use more energy would need to eat more and because of that, there are activity factors.

To factor in your activities, you take your answer from the Harris Benedict Equation and multiply it with the activity factor that most applies to you.

1.  If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
2. If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
3. If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
4. If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
5. If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

Now that we have got the calculations covered, how do we translate that into real food?

Because we have different food preparation methods, calories in foods vary but it’s more or less the same. Most of the packaged food in stores has the amount of calories written on them. It is mostly given in 100g or servings. Food is grouped into five major groups; Grains, Fruits and Vegetables, Dairy, Meat and Alternatives and Oil, Spreads, and Dressings.

The image below gives an image of a serving of foods in the five food groups.

Every food group has different amount of calories per serving. Below is amount of calories in a serving for all the food groups;

Vegetables contain 25 calories and 5 grams of carbohydrate. One serving equals:

½ C	Cooked vegetable
1 C	Raw vegetables or salad greens
½ C	Vegetable juice

Fat-Free and Very Low-Fat Milk contains 90 calories per serving. One serving equals:

1 C	Milk, fat-free or 1% fat
¾ C	Yogurt, plain nonfat or low-fat
1 C	Yogurt, artificially sweetened

Fruits contain 15 grams of carbohydrate and 60 calories. One serving equals:

1 small	Apple, banana, orange
1	Kiwi
½	Grapefruit
½	Mango
1 C	Fresh berries (strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries)
1 C	Fresh melon cubes
4 tsp	Jelly or jam

Lean Protein choices have 55 calories and 2–3 grams of fat per serving. One serving equals:

30g	Chicken—dark meat, skin removed
30g	Turkey—dark meat, skin removed
30g	Salmon, swordfish, herring
30g	Lean beef
30g	Veal
30g	Lamb, roast or lean chop
30g	Pork, tenderloin or fresh ham
30g	Low-fat cheese (with 3 g or less of fat per ounce)

Medium-Fat Proteins have 75 calories and 5 grams of fat per serving. One serving equals:

30g	Beef (any prime cut), corned beef, ground beef
30g	Pork chop
1	Whole egg (medium)
30g	Mozzarella cheese
¼ C	Ricotta cheese
120g	Tofu (soy protein cubes)

Starches contain 15 grams of carbohydrate and 80 calories per serving. One serving equals:

1 slice	Bread (white, whole wheat, rye)
2 slices	Reduced-calorie or "lite" bread
¼ (30g)	Bagel (varies)
½	English muffin
½	Hamburger bun
¾ C	Cold cereal
1⁄3 C	Rice, brown or white, cooked
1⁄3 C	Legumes (dried beans, peas or lentils), cooked
½ C	Pasta, cooked
½ C	Corn, sweet potato, or green peas
90g	Baked sweet or white potato

Fats contain 45 calories and 5 grams of fat per serving. One serving equals:

1 tsp	Oil (vegetable, corn, canola, olive, etc.)
1 tsp	Butter
1 tsp	Stick margarine
1 tsp	Mayonnaise
1 Tbsp	Reduced-fat margarine or mayonnaise
1 Tbsp	Salad dressing
1 Tbsp	Cream cheese
1/8th	Avocado
1 slice	Bacon

Now that we know how many calories to eat and what foods give you how many calories, to lose weight you need to make sure that you eat 500 less calories a day or use 500 calories more a day.

To use 500 more calories you will need to be physically active either in your daily activities or at the gym.

Coming soon is a list of activities and the amount of calories they burn and until then, I hope the information above helps you get closer to your goals.

Contact Info:

Tel No:                  0725612256

Email                     mercykabuba32@gmail.com  or rivitalize2020@gmail.com