Help To Lose Weigh Morning Habits?

Young men ages 19–25 have higher energy

needs.

They require an average

of 2,800 calories per day to maintain their

weight and up to 3,000

if they’re active.

To lose 1 pound (0.45 kg) per week,

moderately active young men

should consume 2,300–2,500 calories daily.

Energy needs decrease as men age.

Between the ages of 46–65,

moderately active men need an average

of 2,400 calories per day.

After 66 years, the average man’s

calorie needs decrease

to about 2,200 calories per day.

Children

Children have widely varying calorie needs

based on their age, size, and activity level.

Whereas the average toddler

requires 1,200–1,400 calories per day,

the average moderately

active teenager requires 2,000–2,800 calories

per day. Active teenage

boys require even more.

Children who are growing and developing

normally and engage in regular physical

activity usually don’t need to count calories.

When they’re provided with a range of

healthy options to eat, most moderately

active kids naturally eat the amount of food

their body requires.

What are calories?

A calorie is a unit that measures energy.

Calories are usually used to measure the

energy content of foods and beverages.

To lose weight, you need to eat

fewer calories than your body

burns each day.

How to reduce calorie intake

Calories are simply a measure of energy.

To gain weight, you need to consume more

calories than you expend.

Conversely, you lose weight

if you use more calories than you consume.

That said, cutting calories without considering

which foods you eat is usually not a

sustainable way to lose weight. For example,

choosing more nutrient-dense foods will

benefit your health

more than opting for nutrient-poor ones.

Though it works for some people, most

end up hungry and eventually revert

to their old habits.

For this reason, it’s highly recommended

to make a few other permanent

changes to help you maintain

a calorie deficit in the long term,

without feeling starved.

The following evidence-based eating and

lifestyle changes have been shown to help

people lose weight.

1. Eat more protein

When it comes to losing weight,

protein is the king of nutrients.

Adding protein to your diet is a simple,

effective way to lose weight

with minimal effort.

Studies show that protein both increases your

metabolic rate and helps curb your appetite

(5Trusted Source, 6Trusted Source,

7Trusted Source, 8Trusted Source).

Because protein requires energy

to metabolize, a high protein diet

can increase the number of calories

you burn by 80–100 calories per day

(7Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source,

10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source).

Eating protein helps you stay fuller longer

and may help you consume fewer calories

throughout the day.

One older study showed that

people who ate 30% of calories

from protein ate 441 fewer calories per day

(12Trusted Source).

In other words, you can increase

the number of calories you burn

and decrease the number

of calories you consume simply

by adding protein to your diet.

Protein can also help fight cravings.

In one 2011 study,

consuming 25% of daily calories

from protein reduced obsessive thoughts

about food by 60%, as well

as the desire to snack late at night by 50%

(13Trusted Source).

If you want to lose weight

sustainably and with minimal effort,

consider increasing your protein intake.

It may not only help you lose weight

but also prevent or reduce weight

regain (14Trusted Source,

15Trusted Source, 16Trusted Source).

SUMMARY

Increasing your protein intake can boost

your metabolism, fight cravings, and

significantly reduce appetite.

This can help you lose weight

and keep it off.

2. Avoid sugary soft drinks and fruit juices

Another relatively easy

change you can make

is to eliminate liquid sugar

calories from your diet.

This includes sodas, fruit juices,

chocolate milk, and other

beverages with added sugar.

Your brain doesn’t register liquid calories

in the same way it registers solid calories.

For this reason, drinking sugary soda doesn’t

make your brain automatically compensate

by having you eat smaller amounts

of other things

instead (17Trusted Source,

18Trusted Source).

Studies have shown that sugary drinks are

strongly linked to an increased risk of obesity,

with one study in children showing a 60%

increased risk for each daily serving

of a sugar-sweetened beverage

(19Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source).

The harmful effects of sugar go beyond weight

gain. It can have negative effects on

metabolic health and raise your risk

of many diseases (21Trusted Source).

Eating fruit, which also contains fiber

and other important nutrients,

isn’t associated with the same negative

effects as drinking fruit juice

or other sweetened beverages.

However, eating large amounts

of added sugar and sugary drinks

can harm your health

in a variety of ways.

There’s no physiological need

for these beverages,

and the long-term benefits

of avoiding them can be enormous.

SUMMARY

It’s important to avoid sugary soft drinks

and fruit juices, as liquid sugar is the

single most fattening aspect of the

Western diet.

3. Drink more water

One very simple trick to increase weight loss

is to drink more water.

Studies have suggested drinking water

can increase the number of calories you burn

for up to 90 minutes

(22Trusted Source, 23Trusted Source).

Drinking about eight, 8-ounce glasses

(2 liters) of water per day

may make you burn about 96 more calories.

However, recent studies

suggest drinking water may

not increase the number of calories you burn

(24Trusted Source).

The timing of when you drink water

may be even more important.

Drinking water immediately before meals

may help reduce hunger

and make you eat fewer calories

(25Trusted Source).

In one 12-week study, drinking 17 ounces

(0.5 liters) of water half an hour before meals

made people lose 44% more weight

(26Trusted Source).

When combined with a healthy diet,

drinking more water, especially before meals,

appears to be helpful

if you need to lose weight.

Drinking caffeinated beverages,

such as coffee and green tea, may also boost

metabolism slightly, at least in the short term.

Doing so is associated with losing weight

and keeping it off

(27Trusted Source,

28Trusted Source, 29Trusted Source,

30Trusted Source).

SUMMARY

Some studies have shown that drinking

water may boost metabolism.

Drinking it half an hour before meals

can help you eat fewer calories.

4. Exercise and lift weights

When you eat fewer calories, your body

compensates by saving energy,

making you burn fewer calories.

This is why long-term calorie restriction can

significantly reduce your metabolism.

Plus, it can lead to a loss of muscle mass.

Muscle is metabolically active, so this can

reduce your metabolism even further.

The only proven strategy to prevent this effect

is to exert your muscles by lifting weights.

This has been repeatedly shown to prevent

muscle loss and stop your metabolism

from slowing during long-term

calorie restriction (31Trusted Source).

When trying to lose weight,

it’s important to maintain

or strengthen your muscles

in addition to losing fat.

If you can’t get to a gym,

consider doing bodyweight exercises,

such as pushups,

squats, and situps, at home.

Doing some cardio,

including walking,

swimming,

or jogging,