Weight Loss Terminology
You want to start your new diet plan, but you hear all of these terms and you are not really sure what some of them mean. There are many complex sounding terms when people refer to diets. This is a small list of some of the terms as I started my diet, that I found useful to know or understand. I hope that these are of use to you as well.
Binge Eating – This is when you eat much more food than most other people, but you do it all at one time or a period of time. You often feel that you are eating out of control. An example of this might be you take out a bag of potato chips and eat the whole bag alone while watching a TV show.
Body Mass Index – You might hear this term as BMI. It is the most commonly used method of assessing weight. Actually in terms we can understand, it is an index of a person’s weight in relationship to their actual height. They obtain a measurement by taking your weight in kilograms and divide that by the square of the height in meters.
Body Fat – This is the actual percentage of your body mass that is not lean muscle, water, bones or vital organs.
Calorie – When you start any diet plan you always hear cut your calorie intake. This is a unit of measurement that is the amount of energy that is released from food upon oxidation by the body. Many food labels now will tell you the amount of calories that each portion contains.
Carbohydrate – This is a group that includes sugars, starches and fibers. If you are on a low carbohydrate diet you need to be aware of the different foods that are in this group.
Diet – I am sure we all know what this word is as it is commonly thought of as a food plan that you are following to help you lose weight. In fact though all of us do follow a diet as it is the food and drink that you do consume in your normal daily life.
Exercise – We hear all the time that we need to exercise to lose weight. You do not have to just do exercise in a gym. Almost any activity that you do that requires physical movement is exercise. Good examples of things that you can do for exercise are walking, running, lifting weights, biking, skiing, and even gardening
Fad diets – These are the trendy diets that you hear about. Some of these diets may help in reducing weight while others do not help at all when you are trying to lose weight. Remember before starting any diet or diet program you really need to seek medical advice from your doctor.
Hypertension – This is a medical condition whereas the blood pressure is above the normal range.
Ideal Weight - This is the weight that is right for an person and it is based on your age, height and bone structure. Your doctor can help you with what is an Ideal Weight for you.
Lifestyle Changes - If you want to change you have to change your habits and also some of the activities that have caused you to gain weight. This is the lifestyle you currently live. If you do not do exercises now, you would start to do them. This change has to take place over a period of time and it becomes a Lifestyle change.
Metabolism – This is the chemical processes that take place within a living cell that breaks down substances to help provide energy.
Food Journal – This can be simple or complex, but it is just writing down everything that you are eating and drinking so that you can see what you are eating and how you can change it for the better. It is also good to list in this journal, things that might have triggered you to eat something on your plan, for instance if you have a stressful day and you find yourself eating when you are not really hungry. This can add insight and help you with your diet program.
Nutritionist – This is a expert who is trained in the field of nutrition. This person can help set up a diet plan based on your own needs in regards to health problems or other related issues. They usually talk with you to explain what you need to change and they listen to you so that you can work together to make a diet plan that will work, but that will also be healthy. They also often have follow ups and have handouts that will help you maintain your loss once you have reached your goals.
Plateau – How many times have you heard someone say that they have reached a plateau? Dieters often use that term when they have reached a place where they cannot seem to lose any more weight.
Reasonable Goal – This can be set during your diet as a place that you would like to achieve in a set time. For instance you might say I would like to lose 10 pounds this month. It becomes a goal that you can reach in a set time that seems reasonable to you. It is not your final goal, but it is a goal on the way to your end result. I find that setting these smaller goals makes it easier to lose weight and helps in not setting yourself up for failure.
Serving Size –This is the amount of the portion of food. This is used on labels of food products. If you look at a label it might say 1 portion equals 120 calories and that helps you determine how much of that product you can eat. It might say that a serving size is ½ cup or 1 ounce depending on the products. It is a great reference point when trying to plan your diet.
Vegetarians – This is a very general term used to describe people who do you eat meat, poultry, fish or other animal-derived foods in their diets.
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