There is little sense in losing weight for a short time only to pack it back on again. Yo-yo dieting puts you at increased risk for various health conditions, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, gallstones and depression. When you lose weight, lose it for good.
New Life-Style
To lose weight and keep it off, stop going on diets. Instead, embark on a new lifestyle that includes a healthy, balanced diet and daily exercise. Rather than jumping into a Spartan diet that requires you to significantly reduce your caloric intake to a level you can't possibly maintain, make steady improvements to how you eat and exercise.
Steady Weight Loss
Many health and fitness experts, including the National Institutes of Health, recommend you lose no more than 1 or 2 lbs. per week. When you do crash diets, you are more likely to lose water weight, which is temporary, or to lose lean tissue instead of fat, according to Donald Hensrud, M.D. from MayoClinic.com. Also, when you lose weight less quickly you are less likely to develop skin folds because you give your skin more time to tighten and adjust to your slimmer build. So, if you lose 2 lbs. per week, you are losing weight as quickly as you should. And that's over 16 lbs. in two months -- impressive weight loss.
The Plan
To lose 2 lbs. per week, you must eliminate 1,000 calories per day by reducing your calorie intake, increasing your activity or preferably doing both. Identify a long-term goal for how much you want to lose altogether, using an online ideal weight calculator, such as Halls.MD.com. Then focus on short term goals. Focus on what calories you will eliminate each day and what exercise or activity you will do each day.
Improve Your Diet
Though you will have to change your habits, which can be challenging, losing weight does not have to involve suffering and deprivation. Identify the high-calorie, high-fat foods that add unnecessary calories, and replace them with lower-calorie, more nutritious alternatives. Replace high-calories beverages, such as sugared soda, whole milk, alcohol and juices with diet soda, skim milk, green tea and water. Reduce to a bare minimum foods that are fatty, fried, processed, starchy and sweet. Replace fatty meats with skinless turkey or chicken breast, and fatty dairy products with low- or non-fat dairy.
Each week identify hi-cal culprits that infest your diet, and replace them with healthier alternatives. Weigh yourself at least once a week, always around the same time of day. If you don't lose weight, then you have to get more aggressive in cutting out and replacing high-calorie foods. Continue this process until you have migrated completely to a lean, healthy, balanced diet.
Exercise
If you don't exercise, start, and if you do, do more. Cardio exercise, such as walking, running, swimming or biking, provides the greatest calorie burn for the perceived effort you put into it. Cardio increases your breathing and your heart rate to supply oxygen and fuel to your muscles. You should work at a moderately intense level to gain the greatest calorie burn and cardiovascular and respiratory health benefits. Exercise at an intense-enough level that you feel yourself breathing heavily, to the point where you can talk but can't whistle or sing. Do at least 30 to 60 minutes of moderately intense cardio on most days of the week. Do strength training for 20 to 30 minutes two or three days a week as well, to enhance you muscle tone, burn calories and steadily boost your metabolic rate.
Caution
Consult with your physician before starting a new exercise program.
References
- BodyBuilding.com: How Many Calories Are You Burning?
- MayoClinic.com: Fast Weight Loss: What's Wrong With It?
- National Institutes of Health: Gallstones
- National Institutes of Health: Weight Control
- National Institutes of Health: Tips For Losing Weight
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: Physical Activity and Weight Control
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