Understanding The Basics of Losing Weight
If you are overweight you must try to lose some of that extra pounds. It is well researced and documented in many medical journal that obesity is the leading cause of many of our ailments. Obesity is linked to high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. In fact, if you are overweight and you have not had you blood pressure, blood sugar or cholesterol checked you need to have the checked immediately and at least yearly. Most people that have type 2 diabetes are overweight. If you lose weight you can decrease your chances of developing these condition. Furthermore, if you have any of these condition losing weight, eating the right foods and increasing your activity can improve your numbers drastically.
Contrary to what many people think, there is still no magic pill or ‘extra-special’ diet that can help you achieve your weight loss goals. There are no shortcuts when it comes to losing weight. Like most things in life, losing weight requires determination, effort, discipline, and most of all, perseverance. Getting rid of 10, 20, or even 50+ pounds boils down to what you choose to do daily. If you choose to eat right and exercise day in day out, you will eventually get rid of all that excess weight and fat. You will be very happy you stuck it out.
However, if you choose to neglect your daily weight loss obligations, you will never achieve your weight loss goals. The truth of the matter is that being overweight or obese is not fun at all. If you are tired of looking or being called fat, it is high time you take matters into your own hands. Do not wait for the perfect day to begin your weight loss journey as this day may never come. Your new life awaits you. All you need is to take the first step, and the rest will be history.
If you are ready to embark on the challenging but rewarding journey of losing weight, it is necessary that you get to know some tips for fast and lasting weight loss. Knowing these tips can help you to achieve your desired results in no time. You also need to maintain a high level of focus and discipline every day so that you do not backslide and end up gaining weight instead of losing it.
No human being is perfect, so it is quite possible for you to veer off your weight loss road at one point or the other. However, you should not focus on your misstep or failure but rather focus on how you are going to get back on the road. Never punish yourself or feel demoralized because of slow progress or failure. The key is to keep pushing on even when times get tough. Here are 3 tips for fast and lasting weight loss.
1. Eat Less (Quantity)
Number one is to eat less. This is a no-brainer, but many people tend to forget this when trying to lose weight. Common sense should tell you that eating more directly translates to gaining weight. Here, it does not matter the kind of food you eat. It can be healthy, natural foods, or it can be unhealthy processed foods. The fact still remains, eating more causes you to add weight.
Eating less creates a deficiency of calories that is necessary to help your body shed pounds. You must adapt your body to get used to getting a certain amount of calories daily and nothing more. Calories are the basic unit of weight gain. The more calorie-packed foods you ingest, the more weight you accumulate over time. The best thing you can do is to gradually reduce the amount of food you eat. This means no more super-sized meal orders at your local fast food joint. Also, no more having unnecessary meals and snacks throughout the day.
All of this is aimed at cutting back the quantity of food that you consume on a day to day basis.
2. Eat Better (Quality)
Apart from reducing the quantity of food you consume, you also need to improve the quality of the food you consume. Quality is determined by how nutritious, and beneficial food is to your body. You may already know that junk foods such as pizzas, fries, cookies, and other yummy treats are not really quality foods as they have very few nutritional benefits. On the other hand, there are foods such as fresh vegetables and fruits that are packed with a wide range of healthy nutrients.
You are what you eat. If you are used to eating low quality, unhealthy foods, then you are of low quality and unhealthy as well. The only thing you get from eating lots of junk food is a ton of extra calories that are converted into body fat. So, what should you do if you want to lose weight? Well, you should firmly resist the temptation of eating junk foods.
3. Exercise Regularly
Last but not least, if you really want to lose weight fast and stay that way, you should get your body moving. Regular exercise is a key element in any weight loss program. However, to make it easier for the average person, regular exercise does not have to be very intense or demanding. Exercise can be anything from walking to jogging, aerobics, yoga, swimming, hiking or just any physical activity that gets your heart rate up and your sweat glands working. That’s all that is needed. You must engage in your physical activity of choice as often as possible in order to lose weight fast.