Long Haul Approach to Weight Loss

From infomercials to supplement labels, much has been said about weight loss. Methods may differ slightly and offer varying degrees of success. People often do lose some excess body weight, but this is the challenge not often addressed by the fitness media: Keeping the weight off for a lifetime. It is a problem often encountered by dieters; the weight leaves only to come back in cycles. The key to keeping that weight off is balance.

The Right Path

• Many Western diets are built around calorically rich foods and sedentary lifestyles. Regardless of a particular weight loss program you have followed (i.e. Weight Watchers), the foundation of lifelong permanent weight loss centers around the proven and medically approved method of diet and exercise. In short, this idea is "eat less and move more." However, such a statement requires some exploration.

Smart Food Choices

• Ignore any diet that restricts or eliminates foods from a diet. Remember: Everything in moderation. The idea is fill your plate with as many nutrient dense veggies as you can, while still consuming ample healthy proteins, heart friendly fats, and energy giving carbohydrates. It is not consumption of food that makes you fat, it is the overconsumption of total daily calories that contributes to excess fat. Choose lean proteins like poultry, cold water fish, and beans (which also offer plenty of fiber) and whole grains, along with the veggies to comprise four to six small daily meals. Limit, but don't totally eliminate refined sugars like candy, pastries, or soda; these foods are "treats." If you deprive yourself of them you will be more likely to gorge yourself later. A little bit is okay every now and then. One way to make sure you are on the right track is to keep a food diary. You hold yourself responsible by writing down everything you eat and tallying the total daily calories, the amount of which varies according to the individual. Eventually these smart food choices will be instinctual, but you should always try seeking out new healthy foods to keep your palette happy and to keep from falling back into negative eating habits.

Keep Moving

• Find a fun leisure physical activity and do it often. Walking, swimming, running, biking, sports, and gym workouts are all popular choices. Either perform these (and many other) activities for at least 20 minutes daily (which elevates the heart rate, thus burning more calories), or engage in intense bouts of exercise (about an hour) at least three days a week. The more intense the workouts, the less time you should spend doing the activity to keep from overtraining.