The amount of energy we use and the type and amount of food we eat are factors that affect our weight. When we eat but don't use the energy from that food, we gain weight. If we use a lot of energy throughout our day and don't eat enough to replace that energy, then we lose weight.

A key to weight control is to balance the food you eat and the energy you use in your day. Regular physical activity, along with healthy eating, can help you to control your weight.

Am I at a healthy weight?
Being underweight, overweight or obese can lead to problems with your health. One way to check if you are at a healthy weight is to figure out your Body Mass Index (BMI).

Note: BMI is not accurate for people who are very muscular/athletic, for children or youth, pregnant women or older adults.

Here are two ways to calculate your BMI:

• Use a BMI calculator or
• Divide your weight (in kilograms) by the square of your height (in metres). Then compare your BMI to the table below:

BMI = weight/(height)2

What do I need to know before trying to lose weight?
There is no specific recipe for the number of calories you should eat and the type of activity you should do in order to lose weight.

Remember that you shouldn't lose more than 1 kg (2.2 lb) per week. Losing weight faster than this may make it hard to keep this weight off and can cause health problems. A registered dietitian and a certified fitness trainer can help you create a physical activity and healthy eating plan that works for you.

Can increasing my physical activity help to reduce weight?
Yes, it can!!

In some studies, people who increased their physical activity without changing their eating habits lost more fat and lowered their risk for chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. (This is compared to people who only changed their eating habits, but did not become more physically active.^1,2,3,4,5)

Being active can help you increase your metabolism (the rate at which you burn calories), which can help you to lose weight. You burn more calories when you exercise than when you rest. When you've been moderately to vigorously active, your body keeps burning calories for some time after you stop that exercise.⁶

Exercise that builds muscles also makes weight loss easier because muscle burns more calories than fat. Just remember that muscle weighs more than fat. If you're doing activities that build muscles, you may not see a change when you step on the bathroom scale (although your body may be more toned).

How active do I need to be to lose weight and keep it off?
To lose weight, build up slowly until you're doing at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per week⁷. This works out to about 30 minutes on most days of the week.

To improve your health, try to reach 200 to 300 minutes per week (about 40 to 60 minutes on most days of the week).⁷ Being active every day is even better!

Just remember:

• You'll know that you're exercising moderately if you're breathing faster, can still talk and feel warm. You might even sweat a bit. When you're exercising with moderate effort, your heart rate will be beating at about 55 to 69% of its maximum rate.
• Your maximum heart rate is about 220 minus your age.
• You don't have to do 40 to 60 minutes of physical activity all at once! You can add up physical activity in stretches of at least 10 minutes each throughout the day to reach that total.
• Find activities that are easy to do, inexpensive and that you enjoy. You're more likely to stick with these kinds of activities.

How much energy do I need to burn to keep the weight off?
The American National Weight Loss Registry tracks people who have lost weight (30 lb) and kept it off for one year or longer⁸. Results show:

• women ate about 1400 kcal/day and burned an extra 400 kcal/day in addition to the calories they normally burn at rest,
• men ate about 1810 kcal/day and burned 520 kcal/day in addition to the calories they normally burn at rest.

Note: the numbers above are guidelines and not formulas for losing weight. Please see the Resource section below for more information on this topic.

How will healthy eating help me?
You may think it's easier to eat less instead of being more active, but very few people can successfully keep excess weight off by just dieting. Dieting can make you to lose muscle and slow down your metabolism, actually making it harder to lose weight.1 If you're physically active, but not eating healthy foods or enough food, you will feel tired.

Instead of trying to find quick ways to lose weight, adopt a healthy lifestyle that you can stick to. Being physically active and eating healthy food will help you achieve a healthy weight and prevent diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Source: Canadian Health Network