Tag: bmr
Understanding Calories and Ways To Cut Them
When you settle down for a meal, your hunger might override your concern for its nutritional balance. Understanding the fundamentals of macronutrients and their corresponding calorie content can assist you in crafting well-rounded meals. Although calories aren’t an ingredient in your food, they play a crucial role in comprehending what you consume. Equipping yourself […]
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How to Burn 1000 Calories A Day
Burning 1000 calories might sound like a lofty goal, but most people burn 1000 calories every day even if they don’t exercise.
Your Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR, is the number of calories you burn at rest in 24 hours, and it’s probably higher than 1000 calories. Your BMR is the energy your body uses just to keep functioning.
For example, a 180-pound, 30-year-old man has an estimated BMR of 1814 calories per day, and a 135-pound, 40-year-old woman has a BMR of 1267 calories. Some people may have a BMR of less than 1000, but they tend to be elderly or very small/light.
So, for most folk, it’s actually quite hard NOT to burn at least 1000 calories per day!
So, the real question, and what you probably want to know, is how to burn an EXTRA 1000 calories per day. This increased calorie expenditure could help you lose weight faster.
In this article, we explain why and how to burn 1000 extra calories per day and discuss whether such a challenge is healthy or even necessary.
The main, if not the only, reason to try and burn 1000 extra calories per day is to create a calorie deficit to lose weight and body fat. It’s only by creating a deficit that your force your body to use fat for fuel. No deficit means your body has no reason to use stored fat for energy. Hence, a calorie deficit is critical for fat loss and lowering your body fat percentage.
One pound of excess fat is said to contain 3,500 calories. So, in theory, burning an extra 1000 calories per day means you should lose just under a pound in three days or a little over two pounds per week, which is a good rate of weight loss.
However, for burning 1000 calories to lead to significant weight loss, your calorie intake must match the number of calories needed to maintain your current weight. Otherwise, even burning an additional 1000 calories per day may not help you lose weight.
So, for example, if it takes 2,000 calories to maintain your weight, but you eat 3,000 and burn 1000 through exercise and general physical activity, your weight will remain relatively unchanged.
Use this calculator to determine your maintenance calorie intake, also known as your TDEE or total daily energy expenditure.
It’s also important to note that there is nothing magical or significant about burning 1000 calories. For example, you can achieve weight loss by burning considerably fewer than 1000 calories. However, 600 or 800 don’t make sure a good article headline!
Related: How Many Calories To Eat Per Day Calculator
Burning 1000 extra calories will be easier for some people than others. For example, very fit individuals will be able to burn that much energy in a single workout. In contrast, others will probably need several hours and even all day.
Factors that affect your rate of calorie expenditure include:
Age – younger people tend to have a higher hourly caloric expenditure than older people. Metabolism tends to decrease with age, especially from the sixth decade onward.
Weight – the heavier you are, the more calories you burn per hour. This is true for both fat and muscle weight. Body mass has a significant impact on caloric expenditure.
Gender – men are generally heavier and more muscular than women, so they can potentially burn more calories per hour.
Fitness – the fitter you are, the harder and longer you can exercise, and the more calories you can burn. For example, a competitive runner who can cover 10 miles in one hour can expect to burn close to 1000 calories in a single workout. However, such a feat is well beyond the fitness of a recreational jogger.
Lifestyle – being sedentary, e.g., working in an office, makes it much harder to burn 1000 extra calories compared to someone with a physically demanding job, e.g., manual laborer. The more sedentary you are, the more you’ll have to rely on exercise to burn those surplus calories.
Consistency – while burning 1000 calories could help you lose weight, it’ll only work on the days you actually do it. For example, if you burn an extra 1000 calories per day for a week, you can expect to lose a little over two pounds. But, if you only manage this goal twice a week, you may not even lose one.
Unfortunately, burning an extra 1000 calories can be quite challenging, and doing it every day could be exhausting.
10 Examples of How to Burn 1000 Calories A Day
So, you want to burn 1000 extra calories per day to lose weight faster? Here are some of the ways you can do it. However, you must understand that these are estimates only, and your precise caloric expenditure will depend on your weight, age, gender, etc. Check out our library of calorie calculators to see how much energy different workouts use.
Running
Running burns an average of 10-15 calories per mile, depending on how fast you run plus the other factors discussed in the previous session. The great thing about running is that it’s cheap and readily accessible. All you need is a suitable pair of shoes and someone to run.
That said, running is a high-impact activity, and doing too much, especially on asphalt roads, can cause injuries. As such, it may be impractical to burn 1000 calories every day by running.
Here’s a rough guide to the time you’d need to run at various speeds to burn 1,000 calories:
Speed
100-lb. person
150-lb. person
200-lb. person
5 miles per hour
2.8 hours
1.8 hours
1.4 hours
6 miles per hour
2.2 hours
1.5 hours
1.1 hours
7 miles per hour
1.9 hours
1.3 hours
1 hour
8 miles per hour
1.6 hours
1.1 hours
0.8 hours
10 miles per hour
1.4 hours
0.9 hours
0.7 hours
Related: Discover how many calories you will burn during a run with this calculator.
Cycling
Cycling is a low-impact activity, so it’s more joint-friendly than running. However, calorie expenditure is generally lower for cycling than for running, so you’ll need to put in a longer workout to burn 1000 calories. Plus, you’ll also need access to a suitable bike.
Here’s a chart showing how long you’d need to cycle at various speeds to burn 1,000 calories:
Speed
100-lb. person
150-lb. person
200-lb. person
5.5 miles per hour
5.5 hours
3.7 hours
2.8 hours
12–13 miles per hour
2.8 hours
1.8 hours
1.4 hours
16–19 miles per hour
1.8 hours
1.2 hours
0.9 hours
Related: How many calories can you burn during a bike ride? Use this calculator to find out!
Walking
Your calorie expenditure while walking is very low. However, because walking is easy, you can do a lot of it. It’s entirely possible to spend all day walking, covering many miles. The easiest way to track how far you’ve walked is by counting steps.
It’s generally accepted that walking 1000 steps burns around 30-40 calories, so you’ll need to clock up about 25,000 per day to burn 1000 calories. However, the actual number of steps you need to do to burn 1000 calories will depend on your height/stride length.
Related: Use this calculator to determine how far you’ll need to walk to burn 1000 calories.
Rowing
Rowing is a great full-body workout that’s also low-impact, so it’s relatively easy on your joints. Most gyms have rowing machines, and they’re also suitable for home use. You can also row outdoors, although this is a tricky skill to learn without a coach on hand to tell you what to do. Plus, you’ll also need a suitable boat.
There are lots of different workouts you can do on a rower, from ultra-intense Tabata intervals to time trials to easy-paced training, and they’re all great calorie burners.
Rowing for 100 minutes at a moderate pace should burn close to 1000 calories.
Related: Find out how many calories you can burn by rowing here.
CrossFit
A lot of CrossFitters are convinced they can burn over 1000 calories an hour. Unfortunately, this is not usually true. While many CrossFit exercises and workouts have a very high energy cost, they’re too intense to do for more than a few minutes at a time.
As such, you’ll probably spend as much time resting as you do working out when you do CrossFit. Most CrossFit workouts are completed in 10-30 minutes. Needless to say, this will significantly lower your hourly calorie expenditure.
That said, if you can stomach it, doing CrossFit for two non-stop hours will burn about 1000 calories.
Related: See how many calories you can burn doing CrossFit with our easy-to-use calculator.
Swimming
Swimming is arguably one of the best full-body exercises you can do. The water supports your weight, so it’s completely non-impact and very easy on your joints. Whether you do laps in a pool or swim in the sea or a lake, swimming is not just a good workout but is also a life-saving skill.
On the downside, you’ll have to swim fast or far to burn 1000 calories, and some strokes use more energy than others. That said, swimming freestyle for three miles in about 90 minutes should burn 1000 calories.
Related: Use this calculator to estimate how long you’ll need to swim to burn 1000 calories.
Strength training
While cardio is most people’s go-to calorie-burning workout, lifting weights can also be effective. However, like CrossFit, strength training involves as much resting as it does working out, which limits how many calories you can burn. Maximize your caloric intake by focusing on freeweight compound exercises, as they tend to burn the most calories.
Two hours of intense strength training, including calisthenics or bodyweight exercises, should burn about 1000 calories.
Related: Use this calculator to determine more accurately how many calories you can burn lifting weights.
Zumba
Zumba is a dance-based cardio workout that many people enjoy. It involves a mix of high and low-impact movements performed to different styles of music. Like any group exercise class, it’s up to you how hard you work, and it’s possible to cruise and take it easy or go for it and work really hard.
That said, the average person will need to Zumba non-stop for one and three-quarter hours to burn 1000 calories.
Related: Find out how many calories you burn during Zumba here.
Gardening
Gardening might seem like an odd choice of calorie-burning activity, but, like general household chores, it can be pretty energetic. Light digging, planting, trimming, mowing, and carrying all use big muscle groups and plenty of energy. Gardening might not feel like a workout, but it does burn plenty of calories.
The average person will burn 1000 calories during three hours of general gardening.
Related: Discover how many calories you burn while gardening here.
Shopping
Some people LOVE to shop! They enjoy trawling around stores in hunt of bargains or the latest fashions. Invariably, this pursuit involves a lot of walking and a fair bit of carrying, too.
Providing you don’t stop at every coffee shop you come to for a muffin and a cappuccino, it’ll take five hours of shopping to burn an extra 1000 calories.
Related: Find out how many calories you can burn by shopping here.
Contrary to what many influencers and fitness personalities might have you believe, you don’t need to burn 1000 extra calories a day to lose weight. In fact, for many people, doing this on a regular basis may be impractical or even unhealthy.
After all, burning 1000 calories takes a lot of time and effort, and doing it every day could become exhausting. Too much exercise with too few rest days is a recipe for overtraining. This chronic condition can cause aches, pains, and even immune system impairment.
So, instead of trying to burn 1000 extra calories per day, most people find it more practical to eat less AND expend a more moderate number of calories. In studies, combining dietary interventions with exercise has been shown to be more effective for weight loss than diet or exercise alone (1).
For example, instead of creating your 1000-calorie deficit by running for 90 minutes, you could cut 500 calories from your caloric intake, and burn 500 through more modest exercise. The total deficit would be the same, but you’d be less reliant on training to achieve it.
Doing 1000-calorie workouts might make for entertaining social media posts, but for most people, they are impractical and unsustainable.
Also, a 1000-calorie deficit is pretty big, and while it will result in significant weight loss, it may be too large to sustain long-term. In fact, most experts suggest a 500-calorie-per-day deficit, which should be more manageable. So while weight loss will be slower, you won’t have to work as hard, so the chances of quitting are lower.
Exhaustive workouts and extreme diets are usually tough to stick to, even though they can produce rapid weight loss. It doesn’t matter how effective a diet or exercise program is; if you can’t maintain it for as long as it takes to reach your target weight, it’s pretty much useless.
Sustainable diet and workout habits are the best way to lose weight and keep it off.
How to Burn 1000 Calories A Day – FAQs
Do you have a question about burning 1000 calories extra per day or weight and fat loss in general? No problem, because we’ve got the answers!
1. Can I burn 1000 calories in a single workout?
It is entirely possible to burn 1000 calories in a single workout. However, you’ll have to train very hard or for a long time to do it. For example, you can burn 1000 calories by running ten miles, doing two hours of CrossFit, or rowing at a moderate pace for 100 minutes.
However, unless you are a fit, experienced exerciser, you probably won’t be able to do this every day, and any missed workouts will mean no calorie deficit, which could delay weight loss.
For this reason, it’s usually best to combine exercise with a reduced-calorie diet.
Your body burns calories constantly, and most people expend 1000-1500 per day just to stay alive. That said, the more you move, the more calories you burn. As such, you can burn an additional 1000 calories simply by being more active each day.
For most people, this is more manageable and sustainable than doing 1000 calories of exercise. For example, the following activities should take you close to burning 1000 extra calories per day:
Activity
Duration
Calories burned (male)
Calories burned (female)
Cleaning gutters
30 minutes
174–249
108–198
Cleaning or sweeping
1 hour
156–228
126–80
Moderate walking
60 minutes
348–498
276–396
Shoveling snow
30 minutes
183–264
147–210
Washing dishes
30 minutes
87–126
69–90
Total
3.5 hours
948–1,365
726–1,074
Burning 1000 extra calories could help you lose weight, but it might not. It all depends on your diet. For example, if you need to eat 2,000 calories to sustain your weight but eat 3,500, burning 1000 calories will mean you still have a calorie surplus, so you’ll actually gain weight instead of losing it despite your workouts.
However, suppose you lower your food intake to 2,500 and burn an extra 1000 calories. In that case, you’ll create a daily deficit of 500 calories, which should lead to one pound of weight loss per week.
Exercising off 1000 calories is no guarantee of weight loss.
4. What is the highest number of calories burned in one day?
Studies suggest that the maximum number of calories an average human can burn in 24 hours is equal to 4-5 times their Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR (2). So, if your BMR is 1200 calories, your maximum theoretical daily energy expenditure will fall between 4800 and 6000 calories.
Of course, in extreme athletic events, the participants can burn vast amounts of calories. However, such fitness feats are far beyond most recreational exercises’ reach. For example, ultra-runners can burn 8000-13,000 calories running 100km (62.5 miles), and endurance cyclists can burn 14,000 during a 24-hour bike race.
This is why nutrition is a such a critical part of endurance sports and why athletes still lose weight during very long events despite eating many thousands of calories. It’s almost impossible to consume 10,000 or more calories when running or cycling huge distances.
5. What is the best workout for weight loss?
All types of exercise increase your caloric expenditure, so in theory, any workout can help you lose weight. That said, some workouts burn more calories than others. Caloric expenditure is usually higher when you work out at a high intensity level or for a long time.
This means there is no single best workout for weight loss, and there are lots of options to choose from. Some of the best calorie-burning include:
Ultimately, the best fat loss workout is one you enjoy, can do frequently, and that you can do for long enough to burn the requisite number of calories in a reasonable timeframe.
6. What is the best fat-loss diet?
The best diet for fat loss is the one you can stick to. Not for a week or a month, but for as long as it takes to reach your goal weight or body fat percentage. Unfortunately, some diets are either too strict or too boring for long-term use.
The main thing to look for in a fat-loss diet is that they provide a modest calorie deficit, and you enjoy the foods you’ll be eating. No deficit means no fat loss, and unpleasant foods mean you have a readymade excuse to quit your diet once your initial motivation wears off.
In fact, you may not even need to follow a regimented diet, and can lose fat just by controlling the size of your portions.
Combined with a sensible and sustainable workout regimen, eating less than your maintenance level of calories should result in fat loss.
Closing Thoughts
Burning an extra 1000 calories is entirely possible and may help you lose weight. You can burn these calories through exercise, general physical activity, or a combination of these two things. However, if you eat less, you may not need burn an additional 1000 calories each day. After all, you can create a caloric deficit just through dieting. However, most studies suggest that the combination of diet AND exercise work best.
The bottom line is that developing sustainable eating and exercise habits is almost always the best strategy for long-term weight loss and health. Focusing just on burning 1000 calories means you may be missing the big picture. And, if you are eating too much, even a 1000-calorie workout won’t help you lose weight.
References:
Joseph G, Arviv-Eliashiv R, Tesler R. A comparison of diet versus diet + exercise programs for health improvement in middle-aged, overweight women. Womens Health (Lond). 2020 Jan-Dec;16:1745506520932372. doi: 10.1177/1745506520932372. PMID: 32597335; PMCID: PMC7325539. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7325539/
Thurber C, Dugas LR, Ocobock C, Carlson B, Speakman JR, Pontzer H. Extreme events reveal an alimentary limit on sustained maximal human energy expenditure. Sci Adv. 2019 Jun 5;5(6):eaaw0341. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw0341. PMID: 31183404; PMCID: PMC6551185. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6551185/
Losing 50 Pounds in 6 Months: Tips and Tricks To Achieve Your Weight Loss Goals
Most people join a gym or start dieting to lose weight. However, most of these folks quit the fitness lifestyle before meeting their weight loss objective. There are several reasons for these weight loss lapses.
Failing to set a weight loss goal is one of the biggest reasons most people never make progress. You must have a definite objective and a plan to achieve it before you embark on your fitness journey.
Ask a newbie in your gym about their fitness goal, and they probably reply with ‘lose weight’ or ‘build muscle.’ However, these goals are too vague to set you on the right path. Your fitness goals must be more actionable and specific to push you in the right direction. For example, you must switch from ‘lose weight’ to ‘lose 50 pounds in six months.’ The new goal is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.
The new goal gives you the exact amount of weight you must lose in a particular period. Before we go any further, let’s take a step back. Most dieters have no idea what to expect from a weight loss program. They know they need to lose weight but are unsure of what is attainable.
Tell a newbie exerciser that he must lose 50 pounds in six months, and they will look like they’ve seen a ghost. In this article, we will give you 23 tips for losing 50 pounds in six months. Additionally, you’ll learn about how much weight you should aim to lose safely in a given period. There is a lot to cover, so sit tight and read on.
23 Tips For Losing 50 Pounds in Six Months
Losing 50 pounds in 26 weeks might sound impossible to people struggling with weight loss. However, it is entirely possible with the right approach. Here are the 23 tips for weight loss that will help you see the needle budge in the right direction:
Set Realistic Goals
Most people falter on the first step of their weight loss journey as they have no clue about setting an achievable goal. Some people start exercising without a specific goal, whereas others begin with a vague objective.
Your weight loss goal should be realistic, objective, and actionable. Trying to lose too much weight too soon will lead to disappointment, and most people in this category drop off their weight loss journey as they are overwhelmed with the big numbers staring them in their faces.
You must break your main objective into smaller goals to make your weight loss journey less intimidating. Furthermore, checking smaller goals off your list each week will work as positive reinforcement and keep you motivated.
Related: Weight Loss Target Date Calculator
Run a Calorie Deficit
You must enter a calorie deficit to shed excess weight, meaning you have to burn more calories daily than you consume. However, most people have no idea how many calories they should cut out from their diet to lose the spare tire.
It is believed that you can lose a pound weekly if you cut 500 calories from your daily diet. Similarly, reducing 1,000 calories from your diet will help you lose two pounds each week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends limiting your daily calorie cut to 1,000 kcal to keep your weight loss journey gradual, steady, and sustainable. [1]
Cutting 1,000 calories from your daily diet will help you lose 50 pounds in 25 weeks (2 kcal X 25). Notably, six months roughly consist of 26 weeks, meaning you can safely lose 52 pounds in half a year. This proves that our goal of losing 50 pounds in six months is attainable and safe.
Notably, you don’t have to cut 1,000 calories exclusively from your diet to enter a deficit. If this was the case, losing two pounds every week would be near impossible for folks consuming 2,000-2,500 kcal daily.
To achieve the 1,000-calorie deficit, you should cut 500 calories from your diet and burn the remaining 500 calories through an exercise program. This is why following an effective diet and exercise program is a must for achieving your weight loss goals.
Nutrient-Dense Foods
You must follow a personalized diet program to meet your weight loss goals. Plus, your diet should consist of nutrient-dense whole foods as they are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber, which keep you feeling full throughout the day.
Depending on your dietary preferences, your meals should comprise veggies, fruits, grains, non-starchy carbs, and a source of lean protein. Furthermore, you must reduce your sugar intake to limit visceral fat buildup.
Controlling your portion sizes can help ensure you don’t overshoot your calorie intake goals. Invest in a food scale or measuring cups to ensure you eat the correct portions of each food. Additionally, switching to smaller plates and bowls can help curb the risk of overeating.
You must also develop the habit of reading nutrition labels before buying packed foods. It will ensure that you only buy foods that fit your macro goals and stay away from ‘dirty calories.’ Whole foods are generally lower in calories than processed and junk foods, making them a perfect fit for your weight loss journey.
Calculate Your BMR
The role of basal metabolic rate (BMR) is often overlooked in a weight loss program. BMR determines the calories your body needs to accomplish its most basic (basal) life-sustaining functions. BMR is often used interchangeably with resting metabolic rate (RMR).
Your BMR depends on multiple factors, including age, body size, amount of lean muscle tissue, gender, genetics, etc. According to the BMR calculations, a 25-year-old, 180-pound, 5-foot-10-inch male burns 1,910 daily calories when not working out or moving around.
To lose a pound of body weight weekly, this individual will have to cut 500 calories from his diet, meaning he’ll be consuming 1,410 daily calories. Furthermore, if this individual wants to shed an additional pound, he should burn an extra 500 calories during an exercise regimen.
Alternatively, you could determine your average daily calorie intake using a calorie-tracking app, such as MyFitnessPal, by analyzing your calorie intake for the last five days. Once you have your average calorie intake number, deduct 500 calories from your diet by reducing your serving size across all meals or skipping a meal. This will help you lose a pound of body weight weekly.
Remember, everyone is built differently and responds to different stimuli uniquely. Finding the right amount of calories to cut from your daily routine might require some trial and error.
Related: Weight Loss Calculator
Reevaluate Your Macros
Understanding the three macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats) is a must for fitness enthusiasts. You must limit your carb and fat intake during a weight loss program and follow a protein-rich diet.
Notably, many people consider carbs their arch-enemies in a weight loss program. However, cutting out carbs entirely from your diet will be a blunder as your body relies on glycogen (which comes from carbohydrates) as its primary energy source.
Minimize the intake of refined carbohydrate foods such as white bread, white rice, pasta, baked goods, sugary drinks, sweets, and junk food. You must consume at least 130 calories daily to maintain your overall health and performance. [2]
According to a study, your macronutrient split should be between fat (40%-20%), carbs (35%-65%), and protein (25%-15%) to promote weight loss. [3]
Exercise
Although exercising is not mandatory on a weight loss program, working out three to six days a week can help speed up your results. A 150-pound individual can burn around 500 calories in about 40 minutes if they maintain a 12-minute mile pace (5 mph).
You must include cardiovascular and strength training into your training regime for optimal weight loss results.
Cardio
Your training sessions should consist of aerobic and anaerobic workouts to optimize weight loss. Furthermore, HIIT workouts (high-intensity interval training) are incredibly effective at burning calories. They are also usually shorter than conventional cardio workouts, making them an excellent fit for people with busy schedules. [4]
Strength Training
Many people leave gains on the table by staying away from the free weight section during their weight loss program. Strength training helps burn calories during a workout and increases your metabolic rate, which enables you to burn more calories throughout the day, even when you’re physically inactive. [5]
Check Out: Calories Burned Running Calculator
Hire a Nutritionist and Personal Trainer
Contrary to what most people think, designing a diet program falls out of the scope of practice for a certified personal trainer. While a personal trainer can help you with a personalized training plan according to your physical fitness levels, limitations, and goals, you must seek a registered nutritionist’s help for a customized diet plan.
You could ask your trainer for a dietitian’s reference. The nutritionist and trainer can work together to streamline your training and recovery program and maximize your output.
You could design a training and diet program on your own; however, it will require significant trial and error. Hiring a nutritionist and trainer can help save you a tremendous amount of time, effort, and money in the long run.
Furthermore, a personal trainer can help you build a solid training foundation by teaching you the correct exercise form, which can lower your risk of injury.
Lifestyle Changes
Your weight loss program should not be limited to your diet and training program. Losing 50 pounds in six months demands a lifestyle change. You must make healthier choices in every aspect. For example, always take the stairs instead of the elevator, eat more vegetables and fruits in each meal, and go to bed on time each night.
You should also clear out all the junk food from your kitchen cupboard. Remember, what is in the cupboard, will eventually end up in your stomach. Minimize the chances of going off track by snacking on junk food.
Furthermore, you must keep moving throughout the day. Schedule a 5-10 minute walk break every couple of hours. Setting a 10,000 daily step goal can push you to walk more throughout the day. Notably, 10,000 daily steps can be a little overwhelming for most people; you could start with a 5,000-step goal and slowly build on it.
Hydrate
Water is your best friend on a fat loss program. During your cardio exercises, you’ll lose a lot of water through sweat, increasing your risk of dehydration. You must drink at least a gallon of water throughout the day to keep yourself hydrated.
It also has several other benefits, such as regulating your body temperature, protecting your tissues, spinal cord, and joints, helping excrete waste through perspiration, urination, and defecation, improving digestion and blood oxygen circulation, boosting cognitive function, and enhancing skin quality.
Furthermore, drinking water throughout the day will keep you feeling satiated, which will reduce your probability of feasting on junk food. You should drink a glass of water before meals when you feel extra hungry, as it will help curb your appetite. [6]
Stay Away From Fad Diets
The fitness community regularly witnesses new fad diets that promise mind-boggling results. Some of these diets include the boiled egg diet and the cabbage soup diet.
Fad diets rapidly gain popularity, but they are equally quick to disappear. Since these diets encourage extreme dietary choices, some people believe that fad diets can help them achieve their weight loss goals faster.
Most fad diets claim extraordinary results; however, they have little to no scientific evidence backing them. Sticking to a fad diet can not only lead you to a weight loss plateau, but it can also cause chronic health issues as these diets comprise restrictive and imbalanced eating patterns, such as eliminating entire food groups or severely limiting calorie intake. Plus, the weight loss achieved through fad diets is often not sustainable.
You must only follow a diet protocol with scientific research supporting it and a proven track record.
Fasting
Fasting is one of the best ways to enter a calorie deficit and lose weight. The rise of intermittent fasting has breathed new life into fasting. Intermittent fasting involves cycling between periods of fasting and eating. [7]
You could choose between several intermittent fasting (IF) protocols depending on your preferences and schedule. The 16/8 method is the most popular IF schedule; it involves fasting for 16 hours daily and eating during the remaining eight hours.
Besides its weight loss benefits, intermittent fasting can improve insulin sensitivity, help fight against chronic inflammation, improve heart health, boost cognitive function and immunity, and reduce the risk of cancer.
In contrast to the typical diet programs that dictate what you should and shouldn’t eat, an intermittent fasting program focuses on your eating schedule. Although your dietary choices aren’t restricted on an IF plan, you should stick to healthy dietary choices to speed up your weight loss progress.
Do Not Starve
In defiance of popular opinion, you aren’t supposed to starve yourself on a weight loss program. Going too harsh on yourself during a diet can lead to developing a negative relationship with food, where you might experience feelings of guilt, shame, anxiety, or fear related to food and eating.
A negative relationship with food can have the opposite effects on your weight loss progress as it can result in a pattern of disordered eating habits such as binge eating, purging, or using food as a coping mechanism for emotional stress. Further, it can have negative consequences on your physical and mental well-being.
Starving can also hamper your performance in physiological and psychological tasks as it can leave you feeling weak, drained, and exhausted throughout the day. Even on a weight loss program, you should eat small but regular meals throughout the day if you are not following a fasting protocol.
Plan Your Meals Ahead of Time
Leaving your meals to chance is a sure-shot way of falling off track on your weight loss journey. If you want to lose 50 pounds in six months, planning at least a week’s worth of meals in advance will help minimize your risk of giving in to cravings and sticking to your diet. It also saves you the stress of coming up with meal ideas on the fly.
Planning your meals helps you meticulously break down your calorie goal into an ideal macro split. On the other hand, if you enter a restaurant feeling insanely hungry, you’ll probably end up ordering the most unhealthy dish on the menu. Remember, you must control your environment and not be controlled by it.
Plus, planning your meals can save time and money by reducing the need for last-minute meal decisions. It allows you to buy your food in bulk, significantly reducing your grocery bill. Not to mention, it also minimizes food wastage.
Reduce Stress
Chronic stress is one of the biggest factors behind weight gain. Stress increases cortisol production in your body, leading to increased body fat stores.
Many people resort to eating unhealthy and binge eating junk food when stressed, leading to a bulging waistline.
If all this isn’t enough, chronic stress increases your appetite and can interfere with your sleep. It can also lead to decreased physical activity, contributing to weight gain and difficulty losing weight.
Exercise, meditation, and yoga are some of the best ways to manage cortisol levels, combat stress, and improve overall health and well-being. Seek a medical professional’s help if you cannot control your stress levels with these three methods.
Supplements
Adding a fat-burning supplement to your routine can help speed up your weight loss progress by increasing your metabolism, suppressing your appetite, boosting the fat-loss process, and blocking dietary fat absorption.
Notably, the effects of a fat-burning supplement can change depending on its ingredients. You must thoroughly analyze a supplement’s ingredients before making a purchase.
Whey protein supplements can boost your metabolism and curb your appetite by keeping you feeling full throughout the day. Furthermore, protein supplements will ensure you don’t lose muscle mass during your weight loss program.
Natural supplements, such as caffeine and green tea extract, can also help expedite your fat loss progress. Plus, caffeine can temporarily boost your metabolism by up to 16% over one to two hours, which can help burn more calories. [8]
You must consult your healthcare provider before starting a new supplement. Also, you should favor natural fat burners over synthetic formulas to ensure safe weight loss and that the weight doesn’t come back on shortly after stopping the supplement.
Cheat Meals
If losing weight was easy, flabs would be a thing of the past. Most people start craving junk food a few days after starting a weight loss diet. When discussing a weight loss diet with a newbie, their first questions usually revolve around permitted weekly cheat meals.
Although six months is a long time, you must stay away from cheat meals to achieve your goals and avoid derailing from your weight loss journey.
Plus, if you do eat a cheat meal, you must account for its calories. Deduct the excess calories you consumed in your cheat meal from your weekly calorie goal. Since eating a cheat meal on this program can be a hassle, we recommend avoiding junk food until you meet your objective. Cheat meals can also increase your cravings as calorie-dense, highly palatable foods can stimulate your brain’s reward centers.
Sleep
Sleeping seven to eight hours gives your body enough time to recuperate, helping you shed excess weight. Getting a good night’s sleep is especially important for exercisers and folks with a hectic schedule.
It is no secret that getting adequate sleep each night can help you wake up feeling fresh and energized. Focusing on your recovery will help you perform better in your workouts and reduce your risk of injury.
Sleep deprivation can increase cravings for unhealthy foods, resulting in overeating and weight gain. There is a high probability that you will end up at your favorite fast-food restaurant for dinner if you are fatigued because of a lack of sleep.
Furthermore, a lack of sleep can spike ghrelin levels (hunger hormone) in your body and decrease leptin levels, which can increase your appetite and make it harder to lose excess weight. Besides the hunger hormones, sleeping for seven to eight hours daily can improve your body’s hormone balance.
Alcohol
Alcohol can be detrimental to your weight loss journey. It is packed with empty calories, meaning alcohol has no nutritional value, and the calories you consume through alcohol will end up as body fat.
Alcohol can increase your appetite. Not only that, it makes it harder to resist unhealthy food choices, leading to overeating. This is one of the reasons why you’ll never see grilled chicken breast as a bestseller in a pub. Fries, pizzas, and beer are a match made in heaven — the unhealthy kind.
Alcohol can also disrupt your sleep, wreaking havoc on your recovery and weight loss progress. Waking up tired can negatively affect your motivation to follow a healthy lifestyle, which can lead you to eat junk food and skip exercising. If losing 50 pounds in six months is a priority for you, you should stay away from alcohol until you meet your weight loss objective.
Track Your Progress
Tracking your fitness progress is underrated. Putting your goals on paper will give you a sense of urgency. Furthermore, most people that track their progress also have detailed daily and weekly action steps to help them achieve their objectives.
You don’t need fancy tech to track your progress. A pen and paper or the notes app on your phone will work wonders. Before starting progress tracking, you must write down your weight loss goal, “lose 50 pounds in six months,” on the first note.
Track all your details, including body weight, body measurements, meals, workouts, weights used, sets, reps, and RPE for each exercise. You can use a calorie-tracking app like MyFitnessPal to count your calories.
Tracking your progress ensures that you are heading in the right direction. It also allows you to steer your ship in the right direction as soon as you find out that you are heading down the right path or if your weight loss progress is unsatisfactory.
Find a Support System
A support system can be a game changer in achieving your physique transformation goals. Most people think exercising is a one-person sport and overlook the importance of a support system.
A supportive system can help you stick to your goals and pick you up when you lack motivation. Your support system can consist of your family and friends. Furthermore, you could also make friends at your gym who can keep you accountable a part of your support system.
Your closest circle plays a crucial role in your transformation journey. If your best friends eat out five days a week and like partying until late, you’ll probably end up giving up on losing 50 pounds in six months.
The right company can help help you achieve your goals by sharing their own experiences and resources, such as healthy recipes and exercise tips.
Consistency
Losing 50 pounds doesn’t happen overnight. You must set realistic goals, make necessary lifestyle adjustments, follow a personalized diet and training program, and stay consistent with them until you achieve your objectives.
Most people lose a few pounds relatively quickly in the form of water weight; however, they soon hit a weight loss plateau and give up on their weight loss goals. A physique transformation will test your grit and determination. Only the people that have the courage and the perseverance to put in the work even when they do not see the needle budge in the right direction will succeed.
You have to be consistent with every aspect of your lifestyle to achieve your transformation goals, including your diet, training, sleeping, and hitting the gym at the same time every day. Slacking in any area can lead to suboptimal results.
A physique transformation program involves several rounds of tinkering. After every two to four weeks, you must analyze your progress and make necessary adjustments.
Practice Mindfulness
Weight loss is as much a psychological challenge as it is physiological. You must remain mindful and conscious of your lifestyle to achieve your objectives.
Paying close attention to your thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations at every moment is crucial to controlling your environment and ensuring it doesn’t control you. Practicing mindfulness can help recognize the triggers that lead to unhealthy eating habits. It will also help you monitor the self-talk that may lead you to skip a training session.
Conscious eating can help avoid overeating and consuming excess calories, aiding in maintaining a caloric deficit. Incorporate mindful practices, such as meditation, yoga, exercise, and journaling, into your daily routine for a more positive mindset and reduce stress.
Be Patient
The proverb ‘patience is a virtue’ is apt for a physique transformation. Most people give up on their weight loss goals after losing patience, as it can take too long. For example, losing 50 pounds in six months is not a short-term goal. Only a handful of people have the poise to stick to a strict diet and training program for 25 weeks.
Furthermore, losing too much weight too soon can be healthy. Some people use fad diets to drop a significant amount of weight in a short period; however, this weight comes back on just as quickly after you stop following the radical diet.
You must avoid the temptation of following crash diets or engaging in excessive exercise, as it can hinder your progress and increase your risk of injury. Instead, focus on making sustainable lifestyle changes that you can follow for the long term that will help you achieve your goal physique.
Also read: How To Lose 1 Pound a Day: Shedding Pounds Made Easy
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need to exercise to lose weight?
You must be in a calorie deficit to shed excess body weight. Exercising for weight loss is not compulsory, and you could lose weight just by cutting calories from your daily diet. However, combining working out with a calorie-restrictive diet can help expedite your weight loss results.
Is losing two pounds of body weight each week by cutting 1,000 calories safe?
The CDC recommends losing 1-2 pounds weekly to ensure your weight loss progress is gradual, steady, and sustainable. Cutting 500 calories from your diet will help you lose around a pound of body weight each week. Similarly, deducting 1,000 calories from your daily calories can result in shedding two pounds weekly.
However, you should not cut 1,000 calories from your diet. You must cut 500 calories from your diet and burn the remaining 500 calories through exercise. Remember, you must consult a qualified healthcare professional before starting a new diet.
Can I continue my weight loss journey after losing 50 pounds in six months?
Depending on your starting weight, you might experience your weight loss progress tapering close to the end of the program as your body gets used to your new diet regimen. Ideally, you must give your body a little break from dieting after six months and switch to a maintenance diet. Sticking to the same diet for a prolonged period can lead you to a plateau. Take some time off from dieting, regroup, and begin your weight loss program again after a 2-4 week break.
Note: The content on Fitness Volt is for informative purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice to diagnose, prevent, or treat health problems. If you’re suffering from a health issue, are pregnant, or are under 18 years old, you should consult your physician before starting any new supplement, nutrition, or fitness routine.
Wrapping Up
From optimizing your diet to increasing your physical activity, this article provides you with 23 wholesome tips and tricks that will help you in losing 50 pounds in six months and start living a healthier, happier life.
Following these weight loss tips is easier said than done. Adhering to these demands requires a strong mindset, determination, and patience. Remember, you might experience quick weight loss in the initial part of your weight loss journey; however, your progress might seem like it is stalling after you have shed your water weight. Nonetheless, you must keep your head down and put in the work. The results will follow.
Best of luck!
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Losing Weight.
Johns Hopkins Medicine. (n.d.). Carbohydrate Goals.
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