Know the Basic Mechanism of Weight Loss
The total U.S. weight loss market stood at $72 billion in 2018, and there were forecasts that it would grow 2.6% annually through 2019–2023. This is just the size of the weight loss market of the U.S. Global numbers for the weight loss industry is astounding.
Not surprisingly, weight loss thus far has been viewed through the lens of the calorie equation. We now know that while this may be true, but this not the only factor in weight loss, but may certainly be a part of the whole picture.
So, what is the calorie equation?
The calorie equation simply says if you intake more calories than your body needs, you will gain weight; if you intake fewer calories than your body needs, you will lose weight; if your weight is constant, it means you have found the perfect balance between calorie intake and calorie consumption.
You might be wondering what the calorie is in the first place. To understand it in simple terms, not technical terms, whenever you eat or drink something, it has calorie value associated with it.
Your body needs the energy to sustain basic functions and perform physical activities. The food you eat is converted into energy by the complex process, and the energy is measured in terms of calories.
Your body has certain energy or calorie requirements that you need to fulfill with the food.
The number of calories your body needs depends on the two basic factors:
- Basal Metabolic Rate, which in turn depends on various factors such as your sex, age, and body size
- Level of physical activity
The problem with this equation has to do with the fact that the absorption of those calories is different depending on the food that is consumed, for example, 100 calories of broccoli act very differently in one’s body than 100 calories of cookies.
The other factor at play is the individual differences between people which also determines the amount of calories that will be absorbed.
How To Lose Weight?
The first thing people usually look to, is decreasing the amount of calories consumed and increased their activity in the form of exercise. While exercise is crucial for our overall health, a lot of times, people find it difficult to sustain and end up gaining the weight back.
This constant back and forth, also known as ‘yo-yo dieting’ has even more detrimental effects on the metabolism.
The right place to start would be to change the diet to include more ‘nutrient-dense’ foods and less ‘calorie-dense’ foods or ‘ultra-processed’ foods. Sometimes that may not be enough.
You may need the help of an expert nutritionist, diet planner, or obesity physician. There are numerous factors that can lead to obesity and having an expert by your side who can give you the right Weight Management Advice will help make the process easier. The disease of obesity is complex and hence, it requires great knowledge and expertise.
You can tune to the podcast, Decoding Obesity by Dr. Avishkar Sabharwal, who is M.D. and Dipl. ABOM, trained in Internal Medicine both in India and the U.S. and is board certified in Obesity Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine, to know more about Obesity Prevention tips and weight loss in detail from medical experts.
