Written by: Joseph Brandao- BS Kinesiology, United Medical Fitness

When it comes to weight loss we often hear about how we need to exercise and eat healthy foods, but what do you do if you’re exercising and choosing healthy foods and nothing is changing? Should you just give up? Of course not! The first thing you have to understand is it’s complicated, but not impossible. To simplify things, the #1 piece of information I can give is that you have to burn more calories than we consume! Most people underestimate how many calories they eat and overestimate how many they burn in a day. Don’t confuse “healthy” foods as always OK. I often meet with people and ask them how their diet is and I get the response “Good, I don’t eat bad, lots of…” then they list a bunch of foods considered healthy. That’s great and all, but do you know how much? How many servings are you having? It doesn’t matter if the food is “healthy” or not, you won’t see changes on the scale unless we are confidently burning more than we consume. It can be tedious keeping track of calories, but luckily its 2020 people! There are countless, free smart phone apps that have made it so much easier- you can save recipes/meals you eat often, quickly choose from foods in your history, or even pull up the menu of a restaurant. The best part? No math! The app will add up all of your entries for you.

            So what about exercise? You’re going to need to consider how long and what kinds of things to do while working out. Which form of cardio is best for you, and whether you should use machines or dumbbells, etc. Research shows a combination of moderate intensity resistance (weight) and cardio is best for weight loss. That’s right, weight lifting for weight loss! Throw out that old school myth that lifting weights can only make you big and muscular. It’s a known fact that resistance training increases your metabolism long after the workout is over, meaning you burn more calories and fat even when you’re no longer working out. Doesn’t that sound nice? So pick up those weights before or after cardio to really amp up your daily calorie burn!

            Are you still unsure or unconfident that you can do this by yourself? Come by and see us at United Medical Fitness. We have high-tech equipment to tell you how many calories you burn so you know how many to consume and we have highly trained Kinesiologists that can create. exercise programs finely tuned for you. We also have a Registered Dietician on site to answer any questions you may have about food and to help you get a nutrition plan that works for you. Our services are all-encompassing and will get you the results you desire.

Contact us today at 951-466-0004 or by email at info@unitedmedicalfitness.com