The best way to lose weight
Finding the best way to lose weight is really quite simple. It requires one thing that many diets choose to ignore. The best diets ever created are based on a few simple principles. If you do them right, you will be successful. When you lose even one of these simple items, your success becomes more difficult, but not impossible.
The First Principle: Proper Nutrition Is Essential to Your Diet
Many diets on the market today wish to ignore this fact. They guide you to focus on a narrow group of foods that leaves your body starving for nutrients. When your body feels a lack, it will begin to produce cravings. Your diet must include these essential elements to be successful:
- complex carbohydrates
- fats
- protein
- Dietary fiber
- Adequate vitamins and minerals
Some diets suggest that you should focus on protein and avoid carbohydrates. Other diets focus heavily on eliminating all fats. Many diets do not contain enough dietary fiber or the minimum requirements for vitamins and minerals. Let’s look at each category briefly.
Complex Carbohydrates – Energy to fuel your fat loss
Carbohydrates provide energy. When you try to fuel your body with only protein and fat, you will start to feel lethargic and weak. Include some complex carbohydrates in your diet each day to maintain the energy you need to keep your metabolism strong.
Complex carbohydrates can be found in whole grain breads, potatoes and pasta.
Not all dietary fats are bad
It’s easy to convince yourself that your diet should eliminate all fatty foods. There is a grain of truth to this idea, but only from the point of view of eliminating bad fats. Healthy fats from nuts, fish, and some other foods can help you lose weight faster.
The processed fats found in donuts, French fries, and other fried foods are not healthy. They contain high amounts of calories and very little nutrition. The fats in these foods can slow down digestion and increase the risk of cardiovascular problems.
Protein: The Essential Building Block
Without adequate protein in your diet from fish, poultry, meat, eggs, and other sources, your body cannot maintain and build additional muscle tissue. Including a serving of protein at each meal helps you maintain muscle mass that burns fat.
Protein alone will not build additional muscle, but we’ll discuss this shortly.
Dietary Fiber – Keeping Your Body’s Digestive System in Order
When you’re trying to lose weight it’s very easy to cut out fiber. Without adequate dietary fiber, your digestive system can become clogged. It decreases the frequency of bowel movements and increases the possibility of constipation. Along with a sluggish digestive system comes increased calorie absorption and a slower metabolism, which is not a good combination.
Vitamins and Minerals – Keeping Your Body Healthy While Dieting
With reduced calories and food intake comes the possibility of not getting adequate nutrition. By maintaining a well-balanced diet full of fresh vegetables, healthy cuts of meat, and whole grains, you’ll get most of your essential vitamins and minerals through your diet.
You can still choose to add a good daily vitamin to your diet to ensure you get all the essential vitamins and minerals.
Principle Two: Understanding the Basic Science of Weight Loss
It’s time to understand the real science behind weight loss. To lose excess fat you must burn more calories than you eat. Losing 1 pound of fat requires a 3,500 calorie deficit. All miracle diets must also comply with this rule. (Any weight lost outside of this rule will not be fat, but is likely to be a loss of body fluids.)
To determine how many calories you should aim for each day, vary based on your activity level as follows:
- Low activity: 11 calories per pound of body weight.
- Moderate activity – 14 calories per pound of body weight
- High activity: 16 calories per pound of body weight.
These figures are averages for an overweight person based on findings published by WB Saunders in Clinical Nutrition Volume I. These are the calories you should eat to maintain your weight. To lose weight, you must fall below these numbers. As an example:
A 200 pound man – Moderate activity
- 200 pounds x 14 calories/pound = 2,800 calories per day
- Losing 2 pounds per week requires a deficit of 1,000 calories per day.
- Daily goal = 1800 calories per day.
- Weight loss per week = 2 pounds
The important lesson for the number above is that you have two methods of losing weight. Cut calories or increase activity. As an example with the same person:
A 200 pound man – High activity
- 200 Pounds x 16 Calories/Pound = 3200 Calories per day.
- Daily goal = 1800 calories per day.
- Weight loss per week = 2.8 pounds
This example brings us to an important part of your diet.
Principle Three – Exercise – The Mystery of Metabolism Revealed
We all know people who seem to never gain weight. It seems so easy for them. You have to watch these people very closely. They never sit still. The real mystery behind losing weight faster is starting to move more. This should start with a good daily exercise program, but proceed carefully.
One of the biggest obstacles dieters have in starting to exercise is the tendency to overdo it. Start slow and gradually increase. As an example, if you can walk for 20 minutes a day and only go 1 mile today, try slowly picking up your pace each day. In just a few weeks, you can walk 1 mile a day and burn extra calories. You can slowly add 5 to 10 minutes a day to your walk to boost your weight loss.
As activity increases, you burn additional calories and lose more body fat. Exercise promotes muscle retention and growth, which increases your fat-burning potential. Exercise is an essential component to a successful diet.
Principle Four: The Final Key To The Best Weight Loss Programs Is In Your Head
Knowing the facts about proper nutrition, exercise, and caloric deficits is great, but sticking with the diet is where the real challenge begins. Being successful requires being motivated, staying focused and enjoying the journey. Consider using some of these mental tools to help you:
- Create a list of Affirmations to repeat daily.
- Find before and after photos of successful dieters, view your own before and after photos.
- Read success stories of people who lost weight and imagine their success.
- Start imagining yourself wearing new “skinny” clothes.
- Listen to uplifting music.
Keeping your mind on target is perhaps the most important factor in a successful diet. When you stay focused on your goal, you can adjust strategies and work through temporary plateaus until you achieve success.
Continue learning for the greatest success
Educating yourself on proper nutrition, new recipes, and fun physical activities can take your dietary endeavors from tedious to exciting. Never stop learning new ideas while staying focused on the basic ideas we have discussed. In the end, a successful diet is based on common sense, not miracles.