by deViant

Created on: February 22, 2006   Last Updated: April 18, 2007

Unfortunately, it comes back to the same old formula - there are no miracle pills, diets, cures etc - only simple, regular (!) exercise combined with a healty (i.e. low in saturated fats, low in salt, veggie-rich, low in sweets & high-fat foods...) diet will make you shed pounds AND maintain that lower weight.

It's recommended you do a minimum of 30mins exercise 5 times a week (even dog-walking, stairclimbing etc counts), either all in one go or 10 min 3 times a day. Of course, you'll loose more weight if you do more exercise, but make sure you vary what you're doing and maybe go with friends, as otherwise, you'll be bored pretty quickly and go back to the old ways..

A healthy diet doesn't mean you can't have any treats, just 'schedule' them in; keep a food diary, make sure to drink plenty of water (2.5l a day - not all at once but throughout the day!) and plan your treats, such as dessert, afternoon snack etc - don't impulse-eat or shop!
If you have the time, do your shopping once a week and have good recipes as well as snack options (fruit, veggies and dip etc) in mind when shopping, so you denfinitely won't run out of good healthy food at any point, and aren't tempted to grab a chocolate bar instead.

By the way, any and I mean ANY of those weight loss pills or miracle cures - FORGET them, they only make the people rich that sell them adn don't help you in the long run! No matter how promising and 'real' they sound!
Good luck and keep it up!

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