Most Canadians know that achieving and maintaining a healthy weight are important to improving overall health and reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.
But you may also know that controlling your weight is not always an easy thing to do. On the one hand, weight loss seems simple: As long as you burn more calories than you eat, you should be able to shed pounds.
According to Canada's Food Guide, men who are active 60 minutes every day of the week need to eat about 3,000 calories a day, choosing from the four food groups – vegetables and fruit, grains, meat and alternatives, and milk and alternatives. Women who are similarly active should eat about 2,300 calories a day. But if you are not very active, you need only about 1,800 to 2,000 calories a day.
A safe weight-loss plan is to eat 300 to 500 fewer calories a day to lose 1 to 2 pounds (500 g to 1 Kg) a week. So if you fall into the 2,000 calories a day group, for example, then you'll need to cut your calorie intake to 1,500 to 1,800.
But many people who have tried to reclaim their waistline can point to a time when simply cutting back on calories didn't work. That is why, in addition to modifying portion sizes, being physically active is essential to successful long-term weight loss and maintenance.
According to the U.S. National Weight Control Registry, more than 5,000 people who have self-reported losing more than 30 lb (13.5 Kg) and kept it off for more than one year, did so by being physically active. In fact, 94% of registry participants increased the amount of time they spent on exercise, with walking being the most popular form of activity. Some 90% of registry participants were active, on average, an hour per day.
Getting up, moving around, and generally being physically active on a regular basis will help you lose weight – and keep it off. There are obviously many opportunities to be active such as joining a local baseball league, going to the gym, or starting a jogging program, if that interests you, but these aren't the only ways to increase your activity level. You can walk your kids to school, bike to work, walk up and down the stairs five or more times to do your laundry and take laps around your local mall while window shopping.
According to Canada's Physical Activity Guide, individuals should strive for 30 to 60 minutes of activity, most days of the week. If all you can do is walk around the block twice after dinner, that's a good start. Any activity is better than doing nothing. Besides, when you're up and about, you're less likely to be eating.
To give you an idea of how much activity you need to burn off the calories you eat, let's look at two examples. If you have a chocolate milkshake (1 cup/250 mL), you'll need to walk for 50 minutes to use up all the 251 calories in the shake. A medium size orange – 62 calories – only requires 12 minutes of walking.
One of the best things about physical activity is that the benefits add up, so if you can't find the time for an hour of activity, you can essentially gain the same calorie burning benefits from taking several 10-minute walks throughout the day. In other words, break your activity into manageable pieces that will fit into your schedule.
You should be aware that the impact of physical activity on weight loss is rapidly reversed as soon as you stop being active. So it's important to make sure the activities you choose are enjoyable and can be sustained over your lifetime. That way, you can easily maintain the energy in, energy out balance.
If you're unsure if your weight is putting you at risk, visit our Healthy Weight Assessment page for more information.
Before starting any activity program, be sure to talk to your doctor or other healthcare professional.
This physical activity column was written by a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor and reviewed by Foundation experts.
Posted: May 2009
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