Fast Track To Healthy Weight Loss

To lose weight efficiently and safely, you must follow a long-term plan to change your lifestyle and eating habits. This includes eating healthier and incorporating more physical activity into your daily routine. The most important part of losing weight is balancing your caloric intake, which is done by eating less and exercising.

Water

Water is a key ingredient in losing weight efficiently. The results from a study of 240 overweight women, aged 25 to 50, presented in front of the Obesity Society in Boston, found that dieters who replaced all the sugary drinks in their diets with water lost an average of 5 lbs. more a year. Water also promotes proper kidney function.

Fruits

Eat fruits for snacks. Fruits contain high amounts of vitamins and low amounts of fat. Aim for two to three cups of fruit daily. A study of 77 overweight and obese dieters conducted by the Department of Psychology at Utah State University found that fruit contributes to the loss of weight and body mass index, or BMI.

Breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because your body has just spent several hours without any energy intake. Eating a healthy breakfast composed of dairy, fruit and low-fat carbohydrates can go a long way in losing weight. A study by the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center found that eating breakfast is a characteristic common to successful weight loss.

Dairy

Low-fat dairy products not only provide a healthy source of vitamin D and calcium, but they may also contribute to weight loss. A study published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" found that higher dairy calcium intake and increased vitamin D intake are related to greater diet-induced weight loss.

Exercise

To help balance your caloric intake, exercise daily. A study published in 2008 in the "Archives of Internal Medicine" on the effect of exercise on a two-year weight loss program in overweight women found that an average of roughly 40 minutes of exercise daily is important in sustaining weight loss of more than 10 percent.