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This is a question I always get asked: “I don’t like dieting, can I just lose weight?” There would be variations of the above query – but the import would be the same – different types of exercise on the diet for fat loss. In fact, the media promotes this kind of thinking by showing that if you eat a gulab jamun or two, you should train for an hour to “burn it”.
To put it simply, it’s not possible to just exercise and get lean without reducing your food intake. Let me confirm this with some numbers. While please realize that human biochemistry is far more complex than just old calories in and out, this simple math will be fine for all of our fat and thumb loss purposes.
How many calories are there in a samosa?
Since it’s jolly season, let me spoil the fun by wondering how many calories are in a samosa, jalebi, or chocolate donut? And I know enough people who have had one after another. So here it is
Samosa has about 262 calories (Shutterstock)
Samosa – 262 calories
Jalebi – 440 calories per 100g
Chocolate Donut – 437 calories
Chew those numbers for a while, unintended pun. Eating 1,000 odd calories of highly palatable high calorie food is very easy and can be done without breaking a sweat. But if you were to go into a 1,000-calorie deficit, how much exercise should you do? Not easy at all. In a 30-minute workout – jogging / yoga / strength training, an average gym goer burns around 250 calories. If I’m fit enough this can be extended to 45-60 minutes, it could burn 450 calories. Therefore, at least two hours of training would be required. Let me know how many of us can train for two hours every day.
One kg equals 7,700 calories
If the goal is to lose 1 kg per week. Hence a daily deficit of 1,000 calories is required. Attempting this deficit with exercise alone is silly business and is a good way to get an overuse injury, compromise your immune function, ruining your health in the process. You can’t train bad nutrition.
The Smart Person’s Guide to Fat Loss
Follow these steps to make your fat loss journey as smooth as possible:
• Clean up your diet – eliminate junk foods – pizzas, burgers, desserts, etc.
• Reduce the portion size.
• Add more protein to your diet – vegetarian and non-vegetarian sources of protein – such as soy, paneer, meat, chicken, eggs etc.
• Stop all snacking between meals, even if the snack is labeled “fat free”, “diet” etc.
• Get your tea or coffee without sugar. Stay away from juices and sodas.
The above steps will start losing fat. The goal is to lose fat and maintain muscle mass, which is why protein intake is increased by reducing calories. I recommend adding a 30-minute full-body weight training session three times a week. If you don’t have access to a gym, doing push-ups, squats, plank at home is the way to go.
After a couple of months of diligently following the above program, your fat loss will begin to stabilize. Now is the time to add 30 minutes of cardio: brisk walking, cycling, jogging three or four times a week. This should restart the fat loss.
Now it’s time to add 30 minutes of cardio: brisk walking, cycling, jogging three or four times a week (Shutterstock)
To conclude
So the answer to the question of whether fat loss is possible without controlling food intake is an unconditional no. Creating a calorie deficit through diet is faster and easier than doing it through exercise. Diet alone does not work as exercise helps increase metabolic rate and helps maintain muscle mass, which would otherwise be lost by reducing calories. Now go and do it!
Kamal Singh is a certified strength and conditioning specialist who has been training for 15 years
From HT Brunch, November 29, 2020
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