There's no easy answer to this question - and how easily you lose weight and keep it off - depends on a variety of factors. Some(how much you eat or exercise) are within you control others (genetics, body type) aren't.
Heredity:
You genetic makeup (the physical traits that get passed down to you form your parents) plays a big part in determining your size and weight. Fatter people tend to have very efficient metabolism, they requiere less fuel to run than thin people, and store excess fuel in the form of fat.
As powerful as they are, genes only determine a tendency towards higher or lower metabolic efficiency; they do not by themselves determine what actual body metabolism will be.
Body-Type:
Have you ever heard someone say a person is "big boned"? It's a way of saying the person has a large frame, or skeleton. Big bones usually weight more than small bones. That's why it's possible for two person with the same height, but different wights, to both be the right weight.
Each type has its own advantages and characteristics.
-Ectomorphs are typically tall and thin, and don't gain fat or muscle as easily as others. They make good distance runners and ballet dancers.
-Mesomorphs are generally shorter and stockier and gain muscle mass (and weight) more easily. They are good at power sports like soccer, softball and sprinting.
-Endomorphs carry more body fat - their metabolisms actually slow down when they try to lose weight. They excel at distance swimming, field events and widht lifting.
Set-point theory:
According to this theory, each person has a predetermined level of body fat. How the body controls its fat stores is unknown, but the regulatory mechaninsm, sometimes called the adipostat, is probably located in the hypothalamus.
The adipostat monitors body fat stores, possibly through the actins of leptin on its hypothalamic receptor, and works to maintain the prescribed level oft fat, or set point, buy adjusting appetite, physical activity, and RMR to conserve or expend energy. Thus, actions perceived to be voluntary, such as eating and physical activity, may be subtly controlled by the set-point mechanism.
B.M.R:
For every ten years beyond our early to mid-twenties our metabolism slows about 10%. While a reduction in metabolism is observable as we age, such a reduction may be more due to a sedentary lifestyle than to mere aging.
Muscle tissue is metabolically active compared to fat, and thus our metabolic level at any moment is in large part due to the state of our muscle mass. Inactivity accelerates loss of muscle tissue over time which decreases metabolism, making it all but certain that weight will be gained.
Activity, on the oter hand, reduces muscle loss, or even increases muscle mass, with the effect of increasing metabolism and making it easier to lose weight.
Diet:
A person's food related habits and cultural expectations are also important determinants of their weight, influencing the types and amounts of foods consumed, families who push members to eat, or who keep high fat snacks and deserts handy are at greater risk for weight problems than are families that promote sensible portion sizes and save treats for special occasions. The speed at which people learn to eat nad the consciousness with which they do are important too.
People who eat quickly tend to eat more than people who eat slowly as it takes a few minutes for you stomach to tell your bain it is full. Fast eaters sometines finish their plates bebore getting the stomach's fullness message.
In theory, if you ut 500 calories a day form your diet, you'll lose a pound in a week. In real life, it's not that simple. For example, a woman weighing 125 pounds at age 20, and starts the pattern of overeating by just 25 calories a day will consume 9,125 excess calories over the course of a year and so will gain 2 1/2 pounds (a pound of body fat is equivalent to 3,500 calories) and weigh 175 pounds by the time she is 40.
Activity Level:
Where a person's genetics are more or less set at conception, the amount of energy a person expends in physical activity is under voluntary control. People can choose to be more active, and becoming more active will help people to lose weight. Exercise builds lean muscle mass and burns up fat reserves. Muscles are very metabolically active. Adding muscle mass through strength training raises metabolism (the rate at which the body burns calories) which makes it easier to lose weight.
A significant loss of muscle mass, on the other hand, which is what happens when people are sedentary, reduces resting metabolic rate and makes it harder to lose weight. Adding muscle mass helps people to look firmer and slimmer because muscle takes up less space than fat. Careful strength training reduces the risk of accidental injury, improves bone density, helps with digestion and assists in lowering blodd pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels (all predictors of disease when elevated).
Behavioral and Psychological Issues:
Several psychological factors affect weight. The message to eat often comes from external cues rather than hunger-noon means it's time for lunch, for example. Food and emotions are closely linked; many people use food for comfort or to release tension. The amount of exercise a person engages in is also shaped by habit and attitudes toward physical activity.
Some studies suggest that lean people may expend more energy than obese people in ordinary activities, as well as during formal exercise. For example, lean people may walk around (rather than sit) while on the phone, or they may take the stairs rather than an elevator or escalator.
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