The Smart Way To Lose Weight

The smart way to lose weight helps you reach your goals and maintain a healthy weight. Making gradual dietary changes and controlling your diet with a variety of foods help you lose weight safely. Physical activity, such as aerobic exercise and weightlifting, encourages fat loss. Moderate aerobic activity burns fat during your workout, and weightlifting can increase the amount of fat your burn by boosting your metabolism for 36 hours after your workout.

Encourage Permanent Change

Making gradual changes in your eating habits helps encourage permanent lifestyle changes. For example, you may cut down unhealthier foods or cut individual foods out of your diet one at a time. Switching to the low-fat version of the foods you like can help keep foods you enjoy in your diet while supporting your weight-loss goals. Reducing alcohol in your diet and increasing your daily physical activity are other types of changes you can gradually build upon.

Dual Force

Combining a controlled diet with regular exercise is a smart way to lose weight, because this increases your chances of reaching your weight-loss goals and maintaining a healthy weight for the rest of your life. The results of a December 2009 study led by professor Tom R. Thomas of the University of Missouri suggest that combining diet and exercise helps you maintain improvements in metabolic health, even if you happen to regain the weight later. You may not actually attain significant weight loss by only reducing the number of calories you eat, according to a 2010 monkey study at the Oregon Health and Science University.

Balanced Nutrition

Losing weight while eating a variety of foods contributes to smart weight loss by helping you get all the nutrients your body needs every day. Eat a low-fat diet that includes multiple foods from each major food group: fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, lean protein, nuts and seeds. MayoClinic.com recommends against diets plans that overemphasize individual foods, such as grapefruit, or drastically reduce entire food groups from your diet, such as carbohydrates.

Low Risk

The smart way to lose weight involves activity and diet regimens that minimize your risk for other medical problems. Losing weight too quickly can increase your risk for developing metabolic problems, such as gallstones. You may reduce your risk of gallstones by planning to lose no more than 1 lb. to 2 lbs. each week. Your doctor can help you design a weight-loss plan that meets your individual health needs.