How was the research conducted?
The study by Harvard scientists involved volunteers who spent three weeks indoors without windows or natural light. Since all watches and devices were confiscated, participants did not know what time of day it was. They could only rely on their feelings.
Each subsequent day they went to bed four hours later. Experts monitored how many calories were burned in the participants' bodies at rest at different times of the day and night. Since the time of going to bed and waking up changed every day, the scientists were able to track the schedule of energy expenditure.
Photo: istockphoto.com
What are the results?
The experiment showed that in the morning the body was less active than in the evening, while in the afternoon the body at rest burned 10% more calories than at midnight.
Scientific approach: 5 ideal express breakfasts
A person burns about 130 calories without extra effort in the middle of the day. And, despite the general belief that you can afford everything delicious for breakfast, it is better to eat a cake or drink a cup of cappuccino with syrup at lunch. According to study co-author Jean Maffey, this is when the body is more efficient at converting calories into energy.
Photo: istockphoto.com
We count calories and exercise. How to lose weight by summer in two months?
How to calculate calories correctly to lose weight? Is it possible to lose weight only in “problem” areas? How do men who lose weight differ from women?
The head of the weight correction clinic of the First City Hospital, nutritionist, gastroenterologist Svetlana Isakova answered AiF’s questions .
Yulia Borta, AiF.ru: Svetlana Nikolaevna, how do you understand how many calories you need to eat in order to lose weight?
Svetlana Isakova : There are many formulas on the Internet with which you can calculate the daily caloric intake of your diet depending on gender, age, level of physical activity, etc. The range of the calorie corridor for a healthy person can be from 1500 to 3000 kcal per day. To calculate calorie content, the most popular Harris-Benedict formula is:
For men, the daily requirement is 66 + [13.7 x weight (kg)] + [5 x height (cm)] - [6.76 x age (years)];
For women, respectively, 655 + [9.6 x weight (kg)] + [1.8 x height (cm)] - [4.7 x age (in years)].
Considering the complexity of the formula itself, trust online calculation to calculate your basic exchange rate. The reliability of such calculations is 95%, this is a completely acceptable result for home use.
Article on the topic
Psychological weight. What reasons prevent you from losing weight?
The spread of calorie content in a daily diet can vary up or down even for one person. For example, on Sunday, when we rest and sleep longer, calorie consumption is minimal - approximately 1400-1700 kcal. To lose weight, you need to follow the rule: burn more calories than you consume.
Example: your daily expenses are 1500 kcal, which means your diet should be at least 250 kcal less (which is more than 20% of the basal metabolic rate). With the same consumption and expenditure of calories, there will be no weight loss. It is permissible to create a minimum calorie range for a short time (800-1100 kcal). On such a “diet” you can start losing weight, but you should not use such a diet for a long time. Therefore, in the third or fourth week, the calorie content of the diet increases to 1200 kcal. By the way, within 1200 kcal you can create a surprisingly tasty and rich diet with five meals a day - with the first, second, third course and compote, and the menu can include milk porridge, cottage cheese, meat and even a sandwich.
Sleep and lose weight. How does the body burn calories during sleep? More details
— What if you want to lose weight quickly, in a month or two?
— You can lose an average of 3-6 kg in a month by creating a diet of about 1200 kcal per day, and stay on it for a month. In such a short period of time there will be no harm to health. Next, you need to adhere to the principle of rational nutrition, be sure to correctly calculate the required calorie range, minimize baked goods, fatty foods, and evening overeating.
By the way, if your body weight is in the “overweight” category and not obese, then 5-7 kg is enough for the figure to be visually corrected - the waist is defined, the cheeks “gone” a little. And sometimes it’s not difficult to do this: it’s enough to give a little more physical activity and reduce the content of fat and fast carbohydrates in the diet - give up sausage, mayonnaise, dishes with fatty sauces, burgers, fried potatoes, sweets and baked goods.
Article on the topic
Parental control. At what age do children tend to gain weight?
“However, some people don’t eat anything that harmful, they don’t like sausages and sausages, but they are overweight.
- In this case, you need to analyze the diet in detail to find out where the extra calories are “hidden”. You can do this yourself by, for example, writing down what you eat over the course of a week. For example, some people end up with extra calories in natural country cottage cheese, where the fat content is more than 18%. It is basically impossible to lose weight by eating such cottage cheese. The fat content of cottage cheese should be reduced to 5%. I suggest using 2% fat cottage cheese. It is ideal for reducing body weight. But each specific case has its own characteristics. For example, such low-fat cottage cheese is not beneficial for women over 50 years old. The absorption and transport of calcium directly depends on the fat content of dairy products. With a lack of calcium, osteoporosis develops. And with age, calcium is already lost, and the risk of developing osteoporosis is higher. Hence the conclusion: low-fat dairy products are not good for everyone. Everything is individual. When compiling a diet, it is necessary to take into account not only height, weight, physical activity, but also chronic diseases, digestive characteristics, the rhythm of sleep and wakefulness, and even eating habits. To take into account all the nuances and not harm yourself, it is better to consult a nutritionist.
Crunch on an apple, not chips. Putting together a balanced diet remotely Read more
— Is it possible to lose weight only in certain places? In the abdomen, thighs?
— This is called “figure correction.” In this case, you need to pay attention not only to the calorie content and composition of the diet. It is necessary to choose the right set of physical exercises. Sometimes it's enough to start swimming in a good training regime. For example, a girl wants a toned, flat stomach (“abs”), but she doesn’t like to run, can’t work out in the gym, and can’t lift weights. But she likes to swim in the pool. This means you need to learn the correct swimming technique, practice regularly in the pool and achieve your goal.
Everyone can find a workout that they like and will help them form a beautiful figure. For some, it’s enough to start running (because running is always “drying”), for others, it’s enough to take up active dancing, yoga, or roller skating.
In addition to the type of training, it is important to choose the right pace of training. The pulse should be at least 120 beats/min. Calculate your submaximal HR (heart rate). The formula is simple: 220 minus age, multiplied by 0.65 (minimum limit) or 0.85 (maximum allowable limit).
If you just want to tone your body so that your heart and lungs work normally, and maintain yourself at a good training level, a comfortable load is enough, without overexertion - that is, cardio load.
Article on the topic
Why am I not losing weight? How to force your body to burn fat
To “burn” fat and give relief to your figure, you need interval training. Here you will have to try and sweat. In addition to intensity, the duration of the workout is important - at least 20 minutes. Next, try to increase your workout time to 40 minutes. The principle is alternating loads of different intensity, but it is important to come to the point of “ultimate endurance”. Long-term training at the limit of your capabilities will not lead to physiologically correct weight loss; with a low-calorie diet, you will spend protein from muscle (lean) mass, and not from fat tissue.
You need to approach your training regimen gradually; consult at least a fitness trainer and nutritionist. The correct calculation of calorie intake and the correct training regimen will bring your figure in order in 2-3 months.
Properly selected physical activity allows you to avoid such an unpleasant situation: your cheeks have lost weight and your breasts have collapsed, and everything below the waist that you wanted to remove remains an “anchor” until the very end.
Therefore, in order to lose weight by summer in 2-3 months, we count the diet by calories, try to ensure that protein is present in every main meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner), and add the right physical exercises.
Looking for a miracle diet. Is it possible to lose 20 kg in a month? More details
— Are there differences in weight loss between men and women?
- Certainly. The differences are largely explained by different hormonal backgrounds. For example, it is very difficult for menopausal women to lose weight - nature itself dictates that they gain excess weight. Another “brake” in a woman’s weight loss is the menstrual cycle. It seems like they just got going, started losing weight, and a week later the menstrual cycle started. Fluid retention occurs, weight stops falling or even gains. And we have to start again. Because of this, women's diet may change twice a month. In a man, a lot depends on the level of testosterone. Testosterone is a hormone that increases the growth of muscle tissue, so men naturally have 40% more muscle mass. And in the process of losing weight, it is muscle mass that helps burn excess calories. Therefore, men's metabolism is definitely faster.
However, I repeat: in order to lose weight, energy expenditure must be higher than consumption. If you consume more calories than you expend, there is no gender difference - you will gain weight rather than lose it.
What does this depend on?
Scientists have decided that it's all about the circadian rhythms that control our biological clock. The participants were not guided by time; the body worked exclusively according to these very internal circadian rhythms. Each of them wore a special sensor, which measured important vital signs, including body temperature. This allowed scientists to determine energy consumption. More calories are burned when the temperature rises.
Morning, evening or night: when is it most effective to exercise?
Myths and truths about nutrition: should you count calories to lose weight?
Appetizing forms: how many calories are in popular fast food?
How to achieve a calorie deficit?
Let's look at some tips on what to do to lose weight: how many calories you need to spend per day, how to eat properly, and move.
- Walk to lunch.
- When dining out, order wisely. Replace salad dressing with olive oil.
- Eat slowly. By chewing each piece at least 20 times, you reduce your energy intake to 70 kcal per meal.
- Use a small plate. It will create the illusion of a large amount of food.
- Eat half a serving, wait 15 minutes. See if you are still hungry.
- Eat regularly. Hunger will not help you lose weight.
- Don't add milk to coffee. Avoid cappuccino and other coffees with frothed milk.
- Replace sugar in tea with honey.
- Limit your alcohol intake.
- Beware of pasta. They have a lot of sugar.
- Don't go shopping hungry.
- Serve food, do not eat from the pan.
- Don't use too much oil.
- Don't buy popcorn at the cinema.
- Beware of fruit smoothies, some fruits have a lot of calories.
- Leave ¼ of the food on the plate.
- Get enough sleep. People who sleep less than 6 hours eat about 300 more calories per day.
- Don't eat in front of the TV - this way you won't pay attention to the amount of food you consume.
Does this affect training time?
Since the study focused on calorie burning at rest, it's not entirely clear whether there would be any benefit from exercising during this time. So you don’t have to rush to move classes to the middle of the day.
In addition, not many people took part in the experiment - 7 people, so the results can still be called only preliminary.
Photo: istockphoto.com
How many calories can you burn in one gym workout?
Classes in the gym are always intense, so you burn calories faster. During an intense workout, you can burn 7-9 Kcal per minute, and if the session lasts 60 minutes, then the person losing weight gets rid of 500-600 Kcal. But these data are not accurate, because a lot depends on what kind of sport a person is involved in:
- While performing exercises with a gymnastic ball, you can get rid of 200 kcal in 1 hour. Typically, such a load is gentle, the pace of the exercise is low or average, so the rate of calorie burning will also not be very impressive.
- Zumba is a specific workout that resembles a fast dance or a set of aerobics exercises . You shouldn’t expect excellent results, but burning 300 kcal in an hour of active exercise is quite possible.
- General complex. We are talking about a full-fledged workout in the gym, during which gymnastics, exercises on standard machines, and strength training are given. In 60 minutes you can burn about 600 kcal. It doesn’t matter at all what speed the exercises are performed, the end result remains the same.
- Tabata is a short-term workout that lasts only 4 minutes , but during this time strength exercises are performed at a very fast pace. In 1 minute of such a load, almost 14 kcal are burned! If you perform 3-4 approaches to Tabata per day, then it is not difficult to calculate the number of calories that you will be able to get rid of - 250 kcal minimum, which is not bad at all, considering the amount of time to complete the complex.
For whom is this important?
The study's findings particularly impact people with shift and night work schedules. This is no less important for night owls who are used to staying awake at night. Disturbances in circadian rhythms primarily affect health. This can lead to consequences such as diabetes, obesity, and cancer.
Interestingly, the time of expenditure of the greatest amount of energy varies individually (from 12 o'clock to 18 o'clock in the evening). Scientists have determined that despite the general time indicators of the study, it is important to adapt to your internal biorhythms, and the body will focus exclusively on them.
