There are many “diets” out there that promise extreme amounts of weight loss in ridiculously short amounts of time. The problem with these kinds of diets is that you may lose weight in the short term, but sustaining that loss when you go back to your original eating habits is impossible. Eating only grapefruit or cabbage soup is not a healthy way of eating long term. You will be missing out on crucial nutrients, vitamins, and minerals with a diet like this. There is no quick fix. No magic bullet when it comes to losing weight.
A realistic healthy amount of weight loss is between a half to two pounds a week. It may not sound like much, but could you be happy about losing 8 pounds in a month? What about 16 pounds in 2 months? Depending upon your build, that could be an entire size or 2 reduction in your clothing size. It adds up over time. There are more benefits to just fitting into smaller clothes. Studies show that losing even 10% of your body weight improves your cardiovascular health by lowering cholesterol and blood pressure and reduces your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Your energy will increase as well. Your motivation to lose more will increase as you start to see results.
So, what is the best way to achieve a healthy amount of weight loss? You must burn more calories than you take in to lose weight. This is the only way to lose weight in a healthy manner. Here are some ways to help you accomplish this:
Add more vegetables, fruits, and high fiber foods to your diet. They fill you up, thus leaving more room for the higher calorie foods.
Cut out soda. This will save you tons of calories. Try switching to tea or water. Flavor it with lemon or lime if you don’t like the taste of plain water.
Write everything down that you eat. Keep a journal. Once you start doing this on a regular basis, you will start to see where your problem areas are. Do you find yourself getting hungry late at night? Maybe you need to add another vegetable at dinner so you aren’t hungry later.
Keep junk food out of the house. If it isn’t there on your shelf, you can’t eat it. Stock your refrigerator and pantry with healthy food and snacks so you aren’t tempted.
Eat less, but don’t starve yourself either. Your body needs fuel to operate. Don’t make it try to operate on too little food.
Do some exercise every day. This can be a simple as walking. Start out slowly if you need to and build up. Take the elevator instead of the stairs. Park further from your office or the grocery store. Play with your kids. It won’t feel like exercising, but you’ll be getting the benefits.
Find a Weight Loss Buddy. Support is key to success and achieving your goals. Stay away from negative influences. If you have a friend who wants to go out for a huge meal every time you get together, suggest an alternative activity.
Get your family involved. It’s much easier to eat healthy when the rest of the family is doing it too.
Hopefully, these suggestions will provide a start in your desire for achieving a healthy amount of weight loss.