The secrets to weight loss are not that secret. The Mayo Clinic states that the not-so-secret plan for weight loss includes "a healthy, calorie-controlled diet combined with exercise." Weight loss requires a commitment to make lasting changes to both your personal health habits and to your lifestyle. To lose weight and to keep it off, a few obvious strategies help to kick-start the program and maintain a positive attitude toward weight loss.
Establish Realistic Goals
Setting a goal provides a target for weight loss, but unrealistic goals add to frustration when they aren't met. Setting unrealistic monthly loss goals starts the program off on a negative footing. Before committing to any weight loss program, meet with a medical professional to determine a healthy goal for the year and divide that into monthly goals. Attempting to lose enough weight to fit into a piece of clothing provides motivation, but the total weight loss may not be a realistic goal to meet in just one year. While a weight loss goal of several pounds per week is a reasonable goal for most overweight people, your individual health profile may require smaller losses. Only your doctor can determine the safety of your individual weight-loss program.
Design Healthy Menus
The Mayo Clinic suggests dieters resign themselves to a lifetime of weight monitoring. Setting up a healthy recipe repertoire is one way to accomplish this goal. Healthy eating includes following menus developed by the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, and Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness. Calorie counts, including 1,200, 1,400, 1,700 and 2,000 calories, typically identify diet menus. Discuss the appropriate menu selection with your doctor or a trained nutritionist to guarantee that you have a sufficient number of calories each day to supply nutrients and energy requirements to match your personal activity level. Eat a variety of healthy foods with selections from all the food groups. Don't follow a diet that focuses on just one food group.
Be Active
Activity burns calories and must be part of the weight-loss program. Weight loss requires burning more calories than you consume in a day. Losing 1 lb. of fat requires burning 3,500 calories. Cutting, even a small number of calories, every day, combined with daily activity guarantees weight loss. Steady aerobic exercise performed for at least 30 minutes a day allows weight loss, when combined with a healthy daily menu. Incorporate activity as part of your daily calendar. Set aside time to walk or work out and select activities you enjoy. Avoid high-stress activities, if you haven't exercised regularly for years. Talk with your doctor and a counselor to determine physical activities best suited for your diet program.
Snack on Healthy Foods
Snacks undermine a diet and can account for 100 to 200 calories in one snacking session. Unhealthy snacks lead to weight gain. Satisfy your immediate hunger with snack foods totaling less than 100 calories and foods that offer high energy and quality nutrients. Recommended foods include fruit, vegetables, whole-grain crackers, crispbreads, pretzels, nuts, seed and light cheeses and yogurts.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Weight Loss: 6 Strategies for Success
- "CA, A Cancer Journal for Clinicians"; American Cancer Society Guidelines on Nutrition & Physical Activity for Cancer Prevention; Lawrence H. Kushi, et al.; 2006
- MayoClinic.com: Weight Loss: Snacks: How They Fit into Your Weight-Loss Plan
- "Los Angeles Times"; Exercise Without Dieting -- It's a Losing Battle; Timothy Gower; April 12, 2004
Member Comments