by Marina Stein

Created on: June 03, 2009

If you compare weight loss plans that are effective you will immediately see that all of them have something in common. This common denominator is a realistic program to change your lifestyle so you eat healthier and get some exercise. The main words here are "change your lifestyle". In order to be successful at weight loss you need to change the way you live and every effective weight loss plan makes you do exactly that, whether you realize it or not.

It would be so sweet to swallow a pill and be done. Unfortunately, there is no such magic pill available. Effective weight loss plans are the ones which help you reduce calories taken in and increase calories going out without you being exhausted and tired on the second day. There is just no other way to loose weight but to make sure that the expenditure of calories is higher then the consumption of calories but the seemingly easy way of restrictive crush diet does not work.

You can't eat nothing but lettuce (cabbage soup, grapefruit, etc) for two weeks, then go back to your old ways and keep the weight off. The reason is simple: when you go on the very restrictive diet your body thinks it is a famine. In order to survive your wise body will store every available calorie which is not used for dire necessities as (you guessed correctly) fat, for the future use. This mechanism helped our cave ancestors during times when food was scarce. When the famine is over (meaning you go back to your old habits of eating) your body is still scared and storing the calories away. That is why after a strict diet it is easy to gain more weight then you lost.

Obviously, keeping weight from coming back is the most important part of weight control and effectiveness of a weight loss plan should be evaluated from this point also. You will not be able to follow too strict or complicated plan for your whole life and this is a requirement for successful weight management. So when choosing a plan, remember that you will need to stay on that plan for as long as you live.

If you understand those main guidelines you can always create your own successful weight loss plan without joining any organization such as Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig. All you need to have is determination and ability to comprehend basic principles of weight control. Get some research done and decide what will work for you, stick to your plan and make your friends and family your support group.

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