More Uncommon Questions And Answers About Losing Belly Fat

There is probably more misinformation believed to be fact in the field of weight loss than in any other area of health education. Here are some more questions that should be asked about banishing the belly, but aren't.

Q. Isn't it true that small changes in diet, exercise, lifestyle all add up to sustain weight loss? 

A. For instance, is it true that obese people who walk a mile (1.6 km) a day can lose 50 pounds (22 kg) in five years? Isn't it a fact that cutting out 100 calories a day from your diet and add to a pound of weight loss in 35 days?

These and many similar assertions are all based on the old idea that a pound (450 g) of fat supplies 3500 calories of energy. This 50-year-old idea simply is not true. The 3500 calories per pound of fat measurement was made by observing men on extremely low-calorie and liquid diets for just a few days at a time. For every 3500 calories missing in their diets, they typically lost about a pound of body fat or belly fat.

Obese people who walk a mile a day typically lose 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in 5 years, not 50. For them, it is as if a pound of fat is equivalent to 17,500 calories, not just 3,500. Small changes in diet and lifestyle may result in small changes in weight and belly fat in the short term, but the body adjusts to make losing fat, and losing weight, harder and harder the longer you stay on the same diet or the same exercise routine. Just about the only sure way to lose weight through exercise is to do hard, manual labor at a variety of tasks, and do it all day long.

Q. Smaller weight loss goals are more likely to result in success than ambitous, hard-to-achieve weight loss goals, aren't they?

Two studies have found that people who decide to lose weight are more likely to achieve their goals when they decide to reach an ideal weight, not just to "lose weight." Making a weight loss program more "realistic" reduces disappointment with the program but does not result in losing more weight. Choosing a goal of losing more weight results in losing more weight.

Q. Is it true that the faster you lose weight, the more likely you are to gain it back?

No, a series of clinical trials find no difference in long-term results between very-low-calorie and low-calorie diets. Weight loss through exercise is so unusual that is has not been well-studied.

Q. Isn't it true that having sex burns 100 to 300 calories for each participant? Isn't having sex a great way to lose weight?

Sorry, the scientifically measured energy expenditure in sexual intercourse averaged 21 calories per participant, in one of the few studies that has tackled this question. There are many reasons to have sex, but weight loss is not one of them.

See Also: Can You Lose 100 Pounds Without Surgery?

Q. Doesn't eating more fruits and vegetables accelerate belly fat loss?

Sorry, eating more plant foods won't help you lose weight unless you also eat less of everything else.