by Chris Martin

Created on: November 08, 2008   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

Losing weight naturally is something many Americans try to achieve, but continually struggle to do. With the societal value placed on a healthy and fit body, fad diets and weight loss products are numerous. However, the best way to lose weight is to do it naturally. This can be done by adhering to a few rules.

Rule #1: Set realistic goals. If you have struggled with weight loss throughout your life, do not expect to be able to drop 10 pounds in a month. The rate of weight loss varies from person to person, but the healthy maximum weight loss guidelines point to 2.5 pounds a week. These results, however, are not typical. Therefore, set a realistic overall goal, as well as smaller goals. For example, if you want to lose 30 pounds in a year, set small goals along the way until you reach your total goal. With that being said, you should not feel like a failure if you do not reach your goal by the time specified, because if you have lost weight, you achieved your goal.

It can be more helpful to not place a pound number for your goal. Instead, you could set a fitness goal, such as wanting to be able to run a mile without stopping. Also, remember that after working out for some time, your body composition will change and you will become more muscular and less composed of adipose tissue, meaning that you may be losing fat even if you are not losing weight on the scale.

Rule #2: Exercise regularly with progression. Regular exercise is key to weight loss. You will not lose weight solely because you want to you have to work for it. With that being said, doing the same workout routine for a year will result in a weight loss plateau. Our bodies are very efficient at performing tasks that require the least amount of energy expenditure. This means that once our bodies adapt to a training stimulus, we will burn less and less calories while doing that exercise if we do not include progression. This could mean increasing weight in resistance training, changing incline while walking or running on a treadmill, or decreasing stability while exercising.

To combat our body's adaptation to training, cross training is a very effective mode of exercise. It constantly keeps the body guessing' what is to come, so we do not see a plateau and can continually see results. Variety in training stimuli also decreases the chance of overuse injuries such as shin splints or stress fractures, keeps you the exerciser interested, and keeps workouts fun and exciting. You may include such things as resistance

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