Sassafras Station Blog

I got asked a question in an email about losing weight. I thought it would make a good post so here it is.

There are entire books on virtually every weight loss topic. I will give you some basics as I have seen it or understand it.

Weight loss / fat loss is a simple formula. Your body will burn a certain number or calories per day. If you consume more calories per day than you burn you will gain weight. If you consume less, you will lose weight. Supplements and exercise help you either burn more calories or consume less. One common number used is 3500 calories for one pound of fat loss. This means that if you burn 3500 calories more than you consume over a period of time you will lose 1 pound. This is not exact, but it can give you an idea.

1. Muscle burns more calories 24 hours a day than fat. If you gain muscle and don’t change your diet or exercise you will lose fat. Muscle weighs more than fat so you may not lose weight but will become leaner.
2. Exercise burns calories while you do it.
3. Health supplements and diet pills help you either burn more calories or consume less. I don’t recommend anything that can’t legitimately be called a health supplement because hard core diet pills are not necessary for most people and can be very dangerous. There are natural supplements that do anything you want to do as it relates to weight loss.
4. Eating a healthy diet lowers the number of calories you consume each day. Simple things can have big impacts. For example, if you have a snack every afternoon that consists of a Coke and a candy bar, you are taking in around 400 calories. If you have an apple or handful of pistachios and a glass of water, you are down to around 150 calories. That simple change (assuming nothing else changes), should help you lose 1/2 a pound a week. Trading soda for water is a great way to cut calories.

The key is to find things you can and will do. The more calories you burn or cut, the faster you will lose weight.

Health supplements like Hoodia can help you eat less, but be careful not to starve yourself. Green tea is thought to boost your metabolism so you burn more calories. Acai berries give your body essential nutrients like antioxidants and omega fatty acids which should help you feel better and have more energy which makes it easier for you to exercise and be more active all day which burns more calories.

To get great results, you use all of these things and they add up to relatively quick weight loss.

I hope this helps. As I said, there are entire books written on each topic so this is a very simple summary.

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