by Carol Gioia

Created on: August 20, 2010

When you make the decision to lose some weight, your first thought may be to cut back on what you eat. You might begin skipping breakfast, working through lunch, and taking other shortcuts to losing weight quickly, including fasting.

Before long, you learn the error of your ways, when you begin snacking to quell hunger pangs, or overeating at dinner after starving yourself all day. Not only might you gain back the weight lost, but often pack on a few additional pounds. Losing pounds, and then regaining them again, is not “fast” or successful dieting.

The best way to successfully lose weight, and keep it off, is to coordinate a healthy eating plan, consisting of enough calories to keep your body functioning, and adequate exercise to burn off excess calories your body doesn’t need.

Learning the fast and sure way to lose weight:

* Count calories

Educate yourself on proper nutrition. Obtain a calorie intake chart from your doctor, a dietitian or on-line and figure out how many calories your body requires to maintain health while shedding pounds. Get into the habit of reading label when you grocery shop. Opt for fresh food items, as opposed to processed foods, so that you can control the ingredients and calories. Preplan menus for three healthy meals per day within the allowed calorie count for your eating plan, allowing for two low-calorie snacks in between meals.

* Familiarize yourself with negative-calorie foods

All foods contain some calories, however some are so minimal in caloric value that they are referred to as negative-calorie foods. Many fresh fruits and vegetables are in the negative calorie food category. Go on line, obtain a list and incorporate many of these food choices into your daily menus. Some, like apples and pears, contain fiber and are good for healthy digestion. Others, such as watermelon and strawberries, act a a diuretic, enhancing your weight loss efforts.

* Drink yourself to a healthy weight

Avoid alcohol, caffeine laden soft drinks, and coffee, which stimulates the appetite. Opt instead to drink lots of cool, refreshing water. Water will keep you hydrated and flush toxins from your body. Dehydration often masks itself as hunger, so drinking lots of water will help you to resist unnecessary snacking. A glass of water before meals will also make you feel full and help to eliminate overeating. A healthy hot liquid option is green tea, which also acts as a diuretic.

* Exercise

Weight might stubbornly cling, in spite of adopting a healthy eating plan if you don’t get enough exercise. Abandon sedentary activity and get your body moving. Establish a daily exercise regimen and stick to it. Forego movies and television and participate in sports, dancing, cycling or any other physically demanding activity as a routine and watch the pounds disappear as if they have melted off.

In addition to all of the above, ensure to get adequate sleep. Tiredness also tends to mask itself as hunger. When your body is tired, take a short nap, as opposed to reaching for a snack to regain energy. Eight hours of restorative sleep at night is the best course for keeping tiredness from undermining your weight-loss efforts.

There is no magic pill or diet to facilitate fast weight loss, but if you modify your lifestyle to include healthy eating and adequate exercise you might be pleasantly surprised to spy your reflection in a window, or mirror, one day soon and discover a new, svelte you.

Learn more about this author, Carol Gioia.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.