Released May 15, 2009
TEXARKANA, Ark. - Chances are you've seen the ads for pills, shakes and supplements that claim to take pounds off with no exercise. If these claims actually worked, everyone would be thin.
This is a good time to remember, "If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is," says Carla Haley, Miller County extension agent with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
"We all want to be fit and fabulous with little or no effort? And who wants to spend hours on the treadmill or at the track? Unfortunately, there is no magic pill for weight loss," Haley says.
Only two things can help you have successful weight loss - cutting back on calories and exercising, she says.
You have to burn more calories than you consumer. Calories are a measure of the amount of energy provided by the food you eat — the more calories you eat, the more energy you're giving your body. If you give your body more calories than it can use, it's stored as fat.
A pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories. If you want to lose 1 pound in a week, you have to cut your calories by 3,500 calories a week, or 500 calories a day. To lose two pounds in a week, you have to create a calorie deficit of 7,000 calories a week, or 1,000 calories a day, and so on.
Experts recommend that you lose no more than 2 pounds per week, which is a challenge for most people.
"If you want to meet your weight-loss goals, start by comparing how many calories you take in with how many calories you burn," Haley says. Keep a food diary of what you are eating and drinking throughout the day. Those little nibbles have calories too.
"Add in the amount of exercise you get for the day. The best way to do that is get a pedometer to track the number of steps you take in a day, on average, 2,000 steps equals a mile."
Online, you can find Web sites that have a calculator to help you determine how many calories you will burn with various exercises.
Walking is one of the easiest forms of exercise. It uses up oxygen, which causes your body to burn stored fat. It also strengthens muscles, which tones and shapes your body. The increased muscle mass boosts your metabolism, which means you burn more calories, even after you stop walking.
"Although it's not a magic pill, it's very simple. Find a way to reduce the amount of calories you take in and burn more calories, and the weight will come off," she says.
For more information on balancing food and physical activity, contact your county office or visit http://www.uaex.edu and select Health and Nutrition. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture.
-30-
http://www.uaex.edu/news/may2009/0515fitness_weight.htm
Contact: Elizabeth Fortune, (501) 671-2120, efortune@uaex.edu