Overall Weight Is Influenced by Many Things

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The science of losing weight confirms that cutting calories will allow you to reach your weight loss goals more quickly than exercise, but once you’ve shed unwanted pounds, being more physically active helps to prevent regaining lost weight. So, balance is important for healthy living.

Weight gain is inevitably influenced by many factors. Fat cells produce leptin hormone to signal the brain when you are full and your stomach produces ghrelin hormone to tell your brain that it is time to eat.  

To lose weight, you have to strategically create an energy deficit to burn stored fat. However, your body will pull from both fat stores and existing muscles when it needs fuel.

Follow the Science for Losing Body Fat

Check out the science-based tips discussed below to better support your commitment to losing weight and keeping it off:

1) Focus on Lifestyle Habits – Creating new habits for how, when, and where you eat can be as important as making better food choices. Eating in the car, at your desk, or in front of the television are all examples of distracted eating.

2) Be Creative in Meal Prep - Simply prepping the ingredients required for specific meals ahead of time is a great way to cut down on the time spent in the kitchen cooking, especially for evening meals. What works best for you will depend on your goals and daily routine.

3) Something Sweet & Something Savory – People generally enjoy experiencing a variety of flavors. At snack time, combine carbs, protein and healthy fat, like an apple slice with nut butter on it, to curb appetite and satisfy your need for sweet & savory.

4) Self Monitor Your Body’s Feedback – According to The Greater Good Science Center at Berkeley, listening to your body’s reaction to food not only can help you lose weight but can help you create a healthier relationship with food.

Stress and weight gain are scientifically linked for well-known reasons. Cortisol releases hormones that often lead to emotional eating, which can totally wreck any menu plan and sabotage your best efforts for losing weight.

Avoid Overeating and Underactivity to Keep Weight Off

The science of weight loss suggests a calorie deficit is a critical component that influences the rate at which you can lose weight. In addition, achieving fat-burning balance over the long-term will require being more physically active. In the long run, you may need to change how you eat at home, the workplace, restaurants, movies, and other places where food is served. Researchers recommend eating low density foods with higher nutritional values.

A sensible approach to losing weight and keeping it off begins with creating healthy eating and exercise habits that are sustainable for the long haul. The science of weight loss recommends making small nutritional changes over time that will become your new eating habits. Evidence of weight regain suggests that a significant part of long-term weight loss may involve restructuring the individual’s environment that initially promoted overeating and underactivity.