The 5 Foundations of Healthy Weight Loss

Energy and Weight Loss

Your body uses food as energy. If your body does not use up all that energy it stores the excess as fat.

If you are looking to lose weight in a healthy manner you need to remember that the key to weight loss is to use up more energy (calories) than you are eating or drinking. This can be done in 2 ways.

Reducing the amount of calories you eat

Increase your levels of exercise and activity

Take it slowly

Introducing changes rapidly into you diet will leave you feeling deprived and miserable. This feeling inevitably makes you quit your diet, eat the foods that you have been deprived of, and ending back on the yo-yo diet cycle.

Therefore make small changes to your diet.

Only have 1 biscuit instead of 2.

Change full fat milk to semi skimmed

Use olive oil instead of butter in your cooking

Only eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full

Increase your activity

Do something that you enjoy and introduce it slowly into your routine.

If you are not used to going to the gym, don't sign up for a year's membership and be disappointed when you have only attending a handful of times.

Go shopping. Walking round the shops is a great way to exercise. Your mind is preoccupied so you don't even notice you are exercising.

Join a team event with a friend,

Go walking with the family at the weekend

Get together with a few friends and hire a personal trainer to train all of you at the same time. This is much cheaper, more enjoyable and more effective (in terms of motivation) than doing it yourself.

Train for an event. Set yourself goals, for example a 5km charity walk e.g. The Walk For Life or a 3km Fun Run with the kids

Reduce your Calorie Intake

It is much more difficult to lose weight if you are eating cakes, crisps or chocolate on a regular basis. Don't deprive yourself of these treats but each week remove 1 element which contributes to your weight gains for example

Drink fizzy water instead sugary fizzy drinks

Swap full-fat to semi skimmed, or semi skimmed to skimmed

Snack on nuts, seeds and fruits. If you are still hungry eat a chocolate bar if you fancy it

Cut down on alcohol by 1 unit a day.

Be Patient and the weight lose will come.

It will take a couple of weeks before you might notice a significant difference, but do not be put off. Keep your motivation up and persevere. It will be worth it in the end.

Mike Toal has written many articles on weight loss and dieting. His website has many more articles, product reviews and tips for successfull weight loss. Visit http://www.weight-loss-programs.co.uk