Weight LossFactors that Affect the Speed and Success of Weight Loss: An Overview
Increasing obesity and associated health issues have brought a lot of attention to the topic of weight loss in recent years. The goal of losing weight is not only to look good or be able to fit into smaller clothes, but also to reduce the risk of chronic diseases and improve overall health.
We will discuss weight loss in this article, including the science behind it, a healthy diet, regular exercise, and the factors that might contribute to successes or failures.
How Your Body Burns Fat: Understanding the Mechanisms of Weight Loss
A calorie deficit is a key to losing weight. This means that you must consume fewer calories than your body burns each day. Weight loss occurs when your body uses stored fat as energy when it is in a calorie deficit. In contrast, weight gain occurs when you consume more calories than your body burns.
The number of calories an individual needs depends on several factors, including his or her age, gender, height, weight, and level of physical activity. Losing weight requires consuming fewer calories than your body needs to maintain its current weight. In order to lose weight safely and sustainably, a calorie deficit of 500–1000 calories per day is required.
Calorie expenditure, also called energy expenditure, refers to how much energy your body burns throughout the day to breathe, digest food, and move. You can optimize your health and manage your weight better by understanding the components of calorie expenditure. Calorie expenditure can be divided into three components: basal metabolic rate, thermic effect of food, and physical activity.
1. Basal metabolic rate (BMR)
Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) measures how much energy your body burns at rest in order to maintain basic functions like breathing and circulating blood. A person’s BMR represents 60–70% of their daily calorie expenditure and is determined by factors such as age, sex, weight, and muscle mass.
A person with more muscle mass has a higher BMR because muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat tissue. The larger body size and higher muscle mass of men generally lead to a higher BMR than that of women. The BMR also tends to decrease as you age due to the loss of muscle mass and the increase in fat.
2. Thermic effect of food (TEF)
Thermic effect of food (TEF) is the amount of energy consumed by your body while digesting, absorbing, and metabolizing food. The amount of TEF you expend depends on the type of food you eat and accounts for about 10% of your total calorie expenditure per day.
In comparison with carbohydrates and fat, protein has the highest TEF, as digesting and absorbing it requires more energy. It is possible to burn more calories throughout the day by eating a diet high in protein. In spite of their lower TEF, carbohydrates still require energy to digest and metabolize. The TEF of fat is the lowest since digesting and metabolizing fat requires very little energy.
3. Physical activity
Walking, running, cycling, strength training, and daily tasks such as cleaning and gardening constitute the most variable component of calorie expenditure. A person’s level of fitness, age, sex, and body weight influence how much physical activity they get each day. Physical activity makes up approximately 20–30% of their daily calorie expenditure.
Calories are burned more quickly if you are engaged in vigorous activity. Running or HIIT (high-intensity interval training) are high-intensity activities that burn more calories per minute than walking or yoga.
8 Key Factors That Can Impact Your Weight Loss Journey
Trying to lose weight can be daunting, and many factors may affect your success.