Diet And Weight Loss
One wonders: is physical activity necessary to lose weight, in addition to diet? Studies tell us that a sedentary lifestyle promotes weight and body fat gain. On the other hand, increasing physical activity favors weight maintenance and weight loss, compared to a low-calorie diet alone, by improving the distribution of body fat and limiting the loss of lean mass, which decreases the risk of diseases related to overweight and obesity. ‘obesity.
Does Workout Increase Appetite?
Those who practice physical exercise usually feel hunger stimuli in proportion to the energy consumed. At the same time, sedentary people often have more appetite than necessary and follow a diet with more difficulty. Appetite is influenced by various factors related to the regulation of appetite and energy requirements and conditioned by complex hormonal and neural signals, which differ at an individual level. Studies tell us that exercise, especially vigorous intensity, leads to greater appetite control; however, data on physical activity practiced by women are scarce and less clear.
Are The Calories Expended In Exercise Negligible?
Calories spent for physical activity always affect body weight (try our App to calculate body mass index (BMI) and fat mass. For example, walking two km (half an hour) for one person weighing 70 kg means consuming about 70 kcal. However, for a few hours after a brisk walk, oxygen consumption (and metabolism ) remain higher and fatty acids are consumed for recovery processes.
Recovery is about 5-10 kcal every hour; it’s not much, but added to the calories consumed with half an hour of walking, you get about 100 kcal. If this walk is done every day for three months, up to 1 kg of fat mass can be burned without any dietary restrictions! The effects must therefore be evaluated over time provided that we are constant in physical activity and nutrition.
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Physical Exercise: What To Eat To Lose Weight
The first rule is to observe a balanced diet. Any sport or physical activity you do, even to lose weight, must take into account that the necessary energy must derive mostly from carbohydrates, without excluding fats and proteins, in particular those with essential amino acids, among which the branched, important to donate immediate energy and repair the muscle fibers deteriorated by the activity. The nutrients that should not be overlooked are:
- Carbohydrates, the body’s main source of energy, both complex ones such as those found in pasta, bread, rice, polenta, preferably wholemeal, which are essential, especially if the activity is prolonged,
- Proteins, with branched-chain amino acids that help us repair muscles, give immediate energy and promote the reduction of fat mass . We find them above all in foods of animal origin such as eggs, meat, milk and derivatives and concentrated in cheeses such as Grana Padano DOP, rich in high biological value proteins with nine essential amino acids, including the branched-chain leucine, isoleucine and valine. Furthermore, this cheese has the highest amount of bioavailable calcium among the most consumed milk derivatives; it contains antioxidants such as zinc, selenium and Vitamin A, and those of group B with high amounts of B12.
- Minerals and vitamins that we find in seasonal vegetables and fruit, for their supply of minerals and vitamins, essential for the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats as well as contributing to hydration, and together with water, restore the diminished mineral balance with sweating.
How To Eat To Get More Results From Physical Exercise?
It is advisable to have five meals a day (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner) which provide calories with this minimum and maximum proportion: from carbohydrates (50-60%), from proteins (15-20%) and fats (20 -35%), diet for the body of the athlete or the sedentary person, except for some particular individual conditions. You can download our Calorie Menu program for free to understand the principles of balanced nutrition, which provides you with four weekly menus with five daily meals balanced in macro and micronutrients calculated on the calories you should consume daily.
How Much Physical Exercise To Lose Weight Constantly?
After obtaining the eligibility from the sports doctor and adopting a balanced normal-calorie diet that respects the energy balance, with only aerobic physical activity alternating with that in the gym with overloads that should involve the large muscle groups continuously, you can obtain excellent results by training for 60-90 minutes a day, a goal to be achieved progressively and under the guidance of an expert trainer.
In this way, you should burn about 1500 – 2000 kcal per week (and even more depending on body weight, type and intensity of exercise). Practiced regularly in a year, this activity corresponds to the energy contained in about 8-12 kg of body fat (although the actual loss of fat mass and weight will be a little less).
If this activity is added, for some periods, even a modest caloric restriction (3-400 kcal per day), the results that can be achieved in a year will be excellent. Aerobic exercise is the best for reducing weight, body fat and waist circumference. Still, muscle mass can be maintained or even increased when combined with anaerobic exercise, especially in the gym with weights.
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