Calories to Lose Weight - How Many is Too Many?

Calories to lose weight, how many is too many? When trying to lose weight some people can become obsessed with numbers. They study calorie charts to see how many calories are in each lettuce leaf. There is obviously nothing wrong with knowing which foods are the worst offenders when it comes to hidden calories but this is not the only thing that matters.

Weight loss is not the same as fat loss. If you try to lose weight rapidly there is a danger of losing lean muscle tissue and water weight, and only a little body fat. This is not only bad from the point of view of looking good but the act of losing muscle can cause your metabolism to slow down, which makes losing body fat even more difficult than it was before. So losing muscle is not good and can impact your long term fat loss results.

As weight loss and fat loss are two different things it is important to remember that rapid weight loss is not always ideal. Losing weight quickly can make it more likely that the weight will be put back on. Of course we all want to lose fat rapidly but this must be done carefully and scientifically if the weight loss is going to be permanent.

If you have a weight loss program and perform it properly you will be able to achieve the weight loss you want quickly by losing fat not just weight, by maintaining your lean muscle mass. Lean muscle mass is vital to long term success in weight control because it keeps your metabolic rate high.

It is easy to be attracted to the latest fad diet but any diet has to be supported by a suitable exercise routine to be truly successful. Its important to do resistance training in addition to aerobic exercise routines as this will help maintain the muscle mass. For long term success, build an exercise routine of at least 30mins into each day and include some resistance work with light weights. Weighing every portion of food you eat is neither practical nor sensible in my opinion but it is sensible to know which of the foods you prefer are the high calorie offenders and think about replacing them with lower calorie options.

The real answer to what is the right number of calories to lose weight is less than you are using each day. When deciding on a sensible number of calories to lose weight it is also important to take into account your height and body shape and also your lifestyle. If you are doing strenuous manual work you will be able to consume more calories than a sedentary office worker. There are many sites where you can calculate your bmi (body mass index) to ascertain how much weight you need to lose. Once you know your bmi, you will have a target to work towards and can devise a plan to achieve it.