A Healthy Weight Loss Program is
More Then Just Losing Weight

Healthy weight loss is just a matter of using common sense. There are no short cuts to losing weight effectively and safely. You need to lower your calorie intake, eat the right kinds of food, and of course exercise. A healthy weight loss program is a sensible method of reaching your natural body weight.

Healthy Weight Loss is About Eating Right and Smart

Most adolescents need 1,700 to 3,000 calories a day just to you're your basic physiologic needs and support growth and normal daily activities. These calories will vary based on your body size and your degree of activity.

With a healthy weight loss plan you should get on average 30-minutes of cardio exercise per day or at least several times per week. Anything is better then being inactive.

When considering weight loss there are a variety of activities that will burn calories. Aerobic exercise, such as jogging, burns about 350 calories; an intense two-hour sports practice can burn more than 1,000 calories. The table below shows about how many calories various activities consume. The number of calories burned can vary to some degree depending on your weight and how long and intensely you exercise. The minimum calorie requirements suggested here support only usual daily activities. You must consume additional calories to stay healthy if you participate in aerobic activities such as athletics, dancing, or strenuous work.

Calories burned by various activities

Calories burned- Activity in 60 min (*)

Aerobic dancing - 470
Backpacking (carrying a 40-lb pack) - 670
Badminton - 440
Basketball - 630
Bicycling (10 mph) - 450
Circuit weight training - 420
Cross-country skiing - 650
Racquetball - 800
Rope jumping - 775
Running (7 mph) - 880
Swimming (slow crawl) - 600
Volleyball- 228
Walking

3.5 mph - 350
4 mph (with 5-lb hand-held - 590 weights)
4 mph (with 5-lb ankle weights) - 540

Chores
Digging ditches - 660
Mowing (push or power mower) - 510
Sawing with a hand saw - 550
Weeding - 330

(*)Values vary based on intensity of activity and weight. Values shown here are for a 167-lb person.

Avoid "semistarvation" weight loss diets, they are neither healthy or sensible. These types of weight loss plans will limit your consumption calories during a 24-hour period to a level more than 500 to 1,000 below the number of calories you burn. Deficits greater than 500 to 1,000 calories usually result in very limited additional loss of fat and promote loss of water and some fat-free tissue (muscle). Most people on such diets tend to regain weight quickly.

Severely reducing the number of calories you take in causes your body to lose large amounts of water, electrolytes (substances such as sodium and potassium), and minerals. In addition, the body looks for sources of energy other than fat and finds it in muscle and glycogen (carbohydrate stored mostly in the liver), which it then uses to produce energy This undermines strength and endurance.

Maintain your "natural weight"

In any healthy weight loss plan you should strive to maintain a "natural weight." Natural weight is your weight when you are eating a healthy, balanced diet with enough calories to sustain growth and usual daily activities and getting 30 minutes of aerobic exercise at least three times a week. Your doctor can help you determine your natural weight and body fat composition (what percentage of your weight consists of fat).

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