Best Bet for Weight Loss

Losing weight can be a difficult battle, one made more difficult by one's personal metabolism. Some people simply do not lose weight as easily as others. Age, too, is a factor as losing weight can become more and more difficult with the advancing years. So what works for one person might not work as well for another. However, there is a simple way to force off those pounds, a method that will work for just about anyone.

Basics

• The best bet for weight loss is a combined diet plan with exercise. Losing weight is a simple formula of burning more calories than are consumed. Everything you do, from daily activities to sleep, burns calories. Fat stores when there are an excess of unused calories. And fat burns when the number of calories taken in is used up and more calories are required. The trick is to reduce the amount of daily calories through diet and to burn more calories than normal by adding in exercise.

  Before beginning any sort of diet or new exercise program, speak with your doctor for his recommendations. It is better to lose weight slowly and safely than to speed the process at the risk of your health.

Exercise

• High cardiovascular exercises tend to burn more calories than low-impact exercises. However, any exercise is still better than none. So exercise, pushing your normal limits, and exercise regularly. When trying to lose weight, daily exercise is your best bet. To take care of your body, vary the type of exercise done. For instance, you might do weight training one day and aerobics the next. Swimming, walking and biking are also good exercises.

Diet

• Adjust your diet. To really peel off the pounds, remember low carbohydrates, low fat, low calories and high fiber. The fiber will help you to feel fuller. You can eat almost limitless supplies of salad, but to lose the weight, you should lose the dressing. Salad dressing tends to be either high in carbohydrates or high in fat. If you must have dressing, have it on the side and simply dip the ends of your fork into the dressing, just enough for a touch of flavor, before stabbing a forkful of lettuce. Eat low fat meats, such as skinless chicken breasts or baked fish (no breading). In general, breads, fruits and sugar are out, at least while you are dieting. Eat more steamed vegetables.