WELLNESS | Newph

Nutrition & Wellness

How to Make Any Fitness Goal a Reality

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The 'Magic' Formula for Weight Loss
Some people will try to convince you that you need to do crazy things to lose weight, like cut out carbs for life, or eat nothing but cabbage, or follow a complicated regimen of shakes and pills and who knows what else. I'm not one of those people. I know that weight loss is actually very simple. If you burn more calories than you eat, you will lose weight. Tip the equation in the other direction, by eating more than you burn, and you'll gain weight. Balance the equation, and you'll maintain your weight. It's not magic — it's math.

If you want to lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit. First, you need to figure out how many calories your body burns on a daily basis. That number also happens to be the number of calories you can eat each day if you want to maintain your present weight. If you want to lose weight, you must subtract calories from that daily total. One pound of fat is the equivalent of 3,500 calories, so if you want to lose 1 pound a week, you'd cut 500 calories each day (7 x 500 = 3,500). If you want to lose 2 pounds a week, you'd cut 1,000 calories a day. Once you make this subtraction, you have your "magic" number — the number of calories you should aim for each day to lose weight.

Still with me? It might sound a little complicated, but it's actually easy to calculate this number.

Make the Portion and Calorie Cut

We're conditioned to believe that more equals better. Just look at the endless marketing of fast food; we're constantly encouraged to eat more in order to take advantage of a "bargain." But what kind of a bargain are you getting if you're eating 100 french fries in one sitting just to save a quarter you wouldn't have spent in the first place? And the reality is that Americans are paying for this illogical thinking with their health and their lives.

Here are a few techniques you can use to keep your portions under control.
•If you're at home, use smaller plates. This creates the illusion of eating a bigger serving.
•If you're at a restaurant and you know the portions are going to be huge, ask the server to put half your meal in a doggie bag before it even hits the table. This saves you money as well as unnecessary calorie overload.
•Share an entrée with your dining partner.
•Make a new rule for yourself: Always leave something on your plate. This reminds you that you are in control of the food, not the other way around. A little bit of empowerment can go a long way!

Emotional Triggers Behind Eating

You just got into a knockdown-dragout fight with your spouse. Or your kid. Or your mom. Or the guy behind you in the checkout line. Your reaction is to head for the kitchen to soothe yourself with something smooth, fattening, creamy, sugary, salty, or crunchy — pick your poison.

Sound familiar? If so, you're an emotional eater. But you've probably figured that out already. You've probably also figured out that unhealthy overeating leads not only to weight gain but to a destructive pattern of anxiety and self-loathing that's tough to break on your own. Want to break the cycle? I'm here to help.

You've got to start by facing the fact that there will never be a totally stress-free time in your life. There. That's as bad as it gets. Now on to the good news: You can stop emotional eating. The key is to identify the things that make you feel pressured, sad, angry, or anxious. Once you understand your triggers, you can break the cycle and start regaining control of when, why, and how you eat.

The best way to identify your emotional triggers is through self-examination. Face your issues. Bring them out of your subconscious and into your conscious reality. This is the most empowering thing you can do for yourself.