Are You Keeping Weight Loss Goals Realistic?
With spring and warm weather knocking on the door, some may feel a renewed energy to better manage their weight and lead a healthier lifestyle. Despite ads on television and online promising fast weight loss, a healthy diet combined with physical activity is still the foundation for long-term weight loss success, said Janice Hermann, Oklahoma State University Extension nutrition specialist.
“Before everyone gets too focused on weight loss, a better approach is achieving and maintaining good health,” Hermann said. “Combining that approach with realistic goals is the best way to achieve good health. View weight loss as slow and steady, which can help shift attention from short, drastic changes to a more moderate diet and physical activity level that are more attainable and long-lasting.”
To lose weight, calorie intake from foods and beverages must be less than calories expended from basic body functions and physical activity. Reasonable and healthy weight loss should be about 10% of body weight in a year. For a 250-pound individual, that’s 25 pounds per year, or about one-half pound per week. A 10% weight loss can have many positive health benefits.
Excerpted from KZRG
