How to Lose Weight Without Dieting

The United States has long been one of the wealthiest countries in the world and the sad news is, there is no sight. We can't take the newspaper or turn on the television without hearing more danger from weight gain or carrying excess belly fat, but what do we do? Some health conscious people are searching for answers to the old dilemma of how to lose belly fat. You can lose weight, but it will take hard work and determination.

The first thing you need to know about losing weight is that it's not about some new products designed to ease your wallet, if not your waist. These products are all intended for one purpose, reducing the amount of calories you take or maximizing the amount of calories burned. Sure, some products can help you control hunger, but that's about reducing calories. Other products can stimulate metabolism and are intended to burn more calories. Therefore, the basic principle remains the same ... consuming less calories than burning the body. That's when weight loss will happen.

If you are serious about losing weight, the first thing you need to do is figure out how many calories your body needs on a given day. There are three main factors that will help you determine this number; Your BMR, or the Basic Metabolic Rate, the level of physical activity you are involved in, and something called the food's thermal effects, which we'll cover in a minute.

The first factor - your BMR or Basic Metabolic Rate, is the amount of calories your body will use during rest. While you are not involved in any physical activity, your body burns calories to achieve its basic functions, such as stabilizing your body temperature, pumping your heart and keeping other organs running smoothly. The amount of calories your body burns through the BMR will be around 60 to 70 percent of the total calories your body needs a day.

One of the most commonly used formulas for calculating BMR is Harris-Benedict formula:

Adult male:

66 + (6.3 x pounds in weight) + (12.9 x inches in height) - (6.8 x years in years)

Adult women:

655 + (4.3 x in pounds) + (4.7 x in inches) - (4.7 x in years)

The next thing that will affect the amount of calories your body needs is physical activity. The amount of calories burned during exercise, or physical activity, will take into account the second highest amount of calories your body needs. Every activity requires energy, or calories, to stimulate your body. From simply getting up and brushing your teeth, to run a marathon, energy will be needed to stimulate your body. The amount of energy will depend on how much weight you have. The more you gain weight, the more calories you need to move your body.

The last factor that affects how many calories your body needs is the effect of eating terms. The effect of these terms is that your body needs to process and digest the food you eat. When we eat, our body must break down into nutrients and this digestive process takes energy. The effect of food terms can be calculated by multiplying the amount of calories consumed by 10%. About 10% of all calories are consumed in the digestive process.

It's important to understand how our bodies consume calories; this will allow us to make educated choices about how we choose to stimulate our bodies. Making smart food choices will help us reduce the amount of calories that come in, as well, making smart choices about physical activity will help us burn excess calories. Whether we reduce calories or increase the amount we burn (or a combination of both), we will be able to lose weight and keep it off!

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