Weight Loss Clinics are Unnecessary

Do you have trouble losing weight? Have you set foot in multiple weight loss clinics? If you happened to stumble upon this article, then chances are that this is indeed the case. Several people all over the world are either overweight or obese. This gruesome fact is especially true in developed nations. In the United States of America, for example, 31.1% of American adults 20 years of age or older are overweight and 42.5% of them are obese as of 2018. This statistic from the CDC would give our ancestors heart attacks of shame. There is no shortage of people that need to lose weight in order to become healthier versions of themselves.

First of all, the most fundamental question you should ask yourself is, “Am I counting my calories?” If you have little experience successfully losing weight, then you will need to track down how many calories you consume in a day. To begin, let us go over the definition of a calorie. As Wikipedia eloquently writes, a calorie is basically “unit of energy defined as the amount of heat needed to raise a quantity of water by one degree of temperature.” After skimming through that last sentence, all you need to grasp is that a calorie is a unit of energy.

With that definition in mind, you may be wondering what this has to do with your weight dilemma. As you just read, a calorie is just energy. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. This is the first of the three laws of thermodynamics. This is not a principle, nor is this a guideline. This is a law. If you deny this, then you may as well also be denying that gravity exists. This means that when you lose fat, that energy is being transferred. The energy itself does not disappear. The energy leaves the body as either water or carbon dioxide.

Now that you know this, what steps can you take to remedy your excess weight. From experience, I’d personally suggest that you first utilize this BMR calculator. Now, let’s use the hypothetical Joe, who seems to be everywhere at this point, as an example. Joe is 40 years old, 5’11”, and weighs 200 pounds. His basal metabolic rate is around 1,942 calories/day. If Joe wakes up one morning, and never gets out of bed, his body will utilize around 1,942 calories for the day. Keep in mind that even when you’re “doing nothing,” your body still needs to maintain homeostasis.

Next, you need to know how many calories you actually expend per day. If you’re sedentary or exercise very little, like most people, then you just need to multiply your BMR by 1.2. This will give you a rough estimate of how many calories your body burns in a day.

Hopefully, you now know about how many calories your body uses per day. Now let’s focus on your diet. This is where several individuals get confused. So, are all calories equal? The answer to this question is yes.

Physically, calories are equal. Let us again use Joe as an example to illustrate this fact. Joe hardly ever exercises, so he burns about 2,330 calories per day. If Joe eats 2,330 calories per day, he will neither gain weight nor lose weight. If Joe consumes, say, 3,000 calories of carrots, apples, and spinach per day, he will gain weight. If he consumes 3,000 calories of ice cream, cookies, and cake per day, he will gain weight.

Conversely, if Joe consumes 1,660 calories of pizza, burgers, and hot dogs per day, he will lose weight. If he consumes 1,660 calories of celery, almonds, and pineapples, he will lose weight. Again, for the third plus time, calories are just energy, that’s it.

However, you will hear some people spout that not all calories are the same. They are simply wrong. All calories are the same. Repeat after me, all calories are the same. Thermodynamics is thermodynamics. Physics is physics. Gravity exists. Two plus two equals four.

Okay, now, are all foods equal? No, not all foods are equal. Eating healthier will help you lose weight. Why is this? Because natural, whole foods are more satiating than foods that are processed. Think about it, or rather experiment with this. Go to McDonald’s. Order a Big Mac, medium fry, and a regular-sized M&M McFlurry. That’s 1,510 calories of food. Will you be full? Perhaps, perhaps not. Now try eating 17 medium-sized red delicious apples, which is worth about 1,513 calories, in one sitting. Chances are, you will fail. The average person would literally not be capable of performing this Herculean feat, unless they want to to puke all over their immediate vicinity.

This is the reason eating healthier will help you lose weight. All calories are equal, but not all foods are equal.

The video below compares food side by side. After seeing the comparisons, you will gain a proper perspective on the calorie density of different foods.

Additionally, exercise plays a role in weight loss as well. As you are likely aware, the more someone exercises, the more energy they use; thus, the more calories they expend. Cardio is an effective way to lose weight. You can use this website of multiple calculators to help you calculate how much calories you burn. Beware that the calculators aren’t perfect. Assuming that you are correctly tracking the amount of calories in your food (i.e. not cheating), if you find that you have trouble losing weight while exercising, just multiply any number you get from the calculator by approximately 75%. This will lower the chance that you are overestimating the amount of calories you burn.

For safety, make sure that you are not losing more than two pounds a week. Losing weight in a healthy fashion means losing fat, not lean muscle mass. If a person loses weight too fast, then their body will use an improper proportion of muscle to sustain itself. You don’t want this. For health purposes, you want to lose visceral fat, which is located within your abdomen. For the purpose of looking good in swim trunks or a bikini, you want to lose both visceral and subcutaneous fat. For simplicity’s sake, lose fat. Period. (Don’t over complicate this by thinking too much about these two types of fat.)

In addition to cardio, proper strength training will also help your body burn calories (and appear more attractive). The more lean muscle mass you have, the more efficient your overall metabolism becomes. This is because muscles use more energy than fat.

With the information above at your disposal, most of you will never ever have to visit weight loss clinics ever again. Though, there are exceptions to this statement. Certain unlucky people have a hormonal condition known as hypothyroidism. This disorder can make losing weight much more difficult to lose weight, since it can seriously lower one’s metabolism. If you think you have any medical issues involving your hormones and/or metabolism, then CONSULT A DOCTOR and ignore this advice. Going to weight loss clinics may actually benefit you.