by Jenna Pope

Created on: December 02, 2009

There are those lucky souls who can eat whatever they want and never gain weight. For the rest of us, though, losing the weight and keeping it off is part of everyday life. We are bombarded with television commercials for Sizzler and Red Lobster and Denny's Grand-Slam Breakfast - as if these supersized portions, loaded with fat, calories, carbs, and salt amount to normal eating. Most of us, however, know that the media is selling us a very unhealthy bill of goods.

* So What Can We Eat? *

The answer to my weight problems was a low-fat, low-calorie diet consisting of 1200 calories and 30-or-less fat grams per day. On this diet, I have lost 27 pounds in six months and am still losing. I plan to adhere to this eating plan for the rest of my life. Eating a low-fat, low-calorie diet, rich in fruits, grains, and vegetables is a healthy and effective way to lose weight and keep it off permanently. Once you have lost the weight, you can increase your calories slightly to maintain your lower weight.

* Weight-Loss Mathematics *

One pound equals 3,500 calories. So to lose one pound, you must eat, 3,500 calories less.

Keep this link:

http://www.caloriecontrol.org/healthy-weight-tool-ki t/weight-maintenance-calculator-women

It will tell you how many calories per day you need to maintain your current weight.

When I weighed 140 pounds, I needed 1,571 calories to stay at that weight. So I subtracted 1200 calories from 1,571 calories and got 371 calories, which was the number of calories that I would need to cut from my diet every day while on my 1,200-calorie diet. Then I divided 3,500 calories by 371 and came up with 9. That meant that it would take me nine days to lose one pound. Then I added exercise to my weight-loss regimen and ended up losing almost two pounds a week. (Exercise speeds up weight loss.)

So here is the formula:

Calories per day needed to maintain current weight MINUS 1200 calories = number of calories you need to remove from your diet per day.

Then divide 3,500 calories by the calories you are removing from your diet daily = how many days it will take you to lose one pound.

For me (figures only), it looked like this:

1571 minus 1200 = 371

3,500 divided by 371 = 9 (rounded off)

* Slow vs. Fast Weight Loss *

You can take diet pills or go on a crash diet to lose weight quickly. But I assure you, dieting in this way will not keep the weight off for life. To do that, you must re-train yourself to eat differently. That is the key to permanent weight

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