By: Steven Gearing
Submitted: 2010-11-07 12:07:30 | Word Count: 935
How can I effectively lose weight and keep it off? This question is on the minds of millions of people all over the world, each year companies spend billions of dollars trying to develop the next best quick weight loss solution while we buy these products hoping that what the label guarantees will ring true; unfortunately 9 times out of 10 you end up right back where you started. That’s not to say commercial diet kits are useless they have helped many people to slim down substantially, but how many of the people who lost weight in the beginning regained the same weight again a few months later down the line?
Losing weight can be tricky, as we all have different body types that react to certain diets in various ways; you probably have a friend who is able to eat their own body weight in high calorie foods and never seems to gain a single pound. This is because their body regulates itself naturally at a certain weight and when he or she over eats their body will compensate by working much harder to get rid of this extra fat; their heart rate will go up or they might start sweating profusely as a side affect, but their waist line remains the same. This rule also applies to starving yourself of fat and calories during heavy dieting, studies have found that when our body doesn’t get its regular dose of fatty and sugary foods it goes into starvation mode; holding on to fat stores, slowing down your metabolism and releasing a chemical that causes you to feel sluggish and sleepy.
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In fact there is no one perfect weight loss solution out there that will work for everyone, instead you may as well use several weight loss diet tips and see which combination works best for your body type. To help you get started, here are a few tried and tested weight loss diet tips:
(a) Weight Goals – As with all things in life you need goals while trying to lose weight, this will keep you actively moving forward and give you the confidence not to give up. You can start by finding out your current weight and subtracting how ever much you want to lose over 1-2 months. Remember to set a challenging goal, but don’t make it unrealistic or else you may give up out of disappointment; between 5-8 pounds in 2 months is a good starting goal. Keep a journal of your progress, your goal might increase or decrease depending on how you are doing; if it looks like you’re going to easily break your initial goal, put it up.
(b) Keep track of calories – This is one of the oldest and most effective weight los diet tips around, knowing how many calories are going into and coming out of your body will help speed up your fat burn. Check the back of the packaging of all of the food that you eat and find out exactly how many calories you absorb per day, now subtract between 500 – 1500 calories from that figure and this will become your limit. You can find suitable foods in your local supermarket that fit into this limit, try to be as creative with your food choices having an interesting menu is vital to keeping you interested in your diet.
(c) Lots of water – This is another obvious one and another of the top weight loss diet tip out there; water is essential for every chemical process in our bodies, it can help you to cleanse your system of toxins and speed up the weight loss process. A sudden lack of liquids in your system will make you sluggish, sick and cause your system to retain its water stores giving you a bloated appearance. If you’re on an intense low calorie diet drinking several glasses of water with your meal will help to give you a full satisfied feeling.
(d) Treat your self – This is a newly developed idea that is slowly being integrated into many of the latest weight loss diets. During your low calorie and fat diet you should leave aside one specific day every 5th or 7th day to treat your self to whatever you want; obviously don’t binge, but enjoy a burger or large subway sandwich. This keeps your body from going into starvation mode and tricks it into believing that it is still eating a regular diet; it also makes dieting much easier for you to handle.
(e) Keep exercising – You’re probably already going through a daily routine, but if you aren’t exercise I a vital part of weight loss and one of the most important weight loss diet tips there is. The 2 types of fitness that you should focus on are cardio and strength training. Cardio is one of the best forms of activity to directly burn calories while you are moving; it includes swimming, running, cycling and jogging. Strength training on the other hand was deigned for burning fat and building muscle; it makes use of free weights to do focused exercises working out specific areas of your body. The great thing about strength training is that it burns off calories while you are working out and continues to burn fat for up to an hour after you’ve finished.
