by Fuad Murad

Created on: February 11, 2008

Losing weight might seem like an insurmountable ordeal to many. I know this because I have been in that situation. However, after losing 35 kg (77 pounds) I realized that in hindsight it was not all that bad. The hardest part of losing weight is the psychological and mental part of it. You must envision yourself after losing and convince yourself of it. You must be determined to change your current lifestyle and habits. The next step is to set a realistic time line of when you want to lose this weight. Even if you could lose 20 pounds in 2 weeks, you will gain those pounds back in the blink of an eye. The goal here is to give your body time to adjust to your new healthy lifestyle and improved eating habits. The actual diet part of it is the easy part. The rules of weight loss are very simple. As a rule of thumb losing weight means burning more calories than you consume and one pound of fat is equal to 3,600 calories. As a dietitian I would recommend only losing 1-2 pounds a week, this means cutting down 400-500 calories a day from your normal intake. It is that simple. How you go about accomplishing this is up to you. However, be keen on taking in the essential nutrients your body needs. DO not focus on certain foods while leaving others out. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, lots of whole grains, and increase your intake of low fat dairy (milk, yogurt) because recent studies have shown that increasing your low fat dairy intake substantially increases your body's ability to get rid of fat.

I have found that the best way to boost your metabolism is to eat six small meals a day; 3 small meals and 3 snacks. The reason for this is that this method keeps your blood sugar levels constant without sugar spikes. It is these sugar spikes which cause cravings and crashes. Generally for most people, men and women ages 20-40, I would recommend a 1500 calorie/day meal plan with the following meal breakdown:
1. Breakfast - 200-300 calories
2. Snack - 150-200 calories
3. Lunch - 350 - 500 calories
4. Snack - 150-200 calories
5. Dinner - 250-300 calories
6. Light snack - 150 calories.

Do not complicate things too much, eat what you like but in moderation, yes burgers and pizza are ok every once in a while. And a final note to those who drink lots of sodas and sugary drinks; if you drink one 375 mL (13 oz)can of soda everyday, you consume 56,000 calories from that soda alone per year, which equals 15 pounds per year. This is one of the easiest things you can do to lose weight, just cut back all that sugar from sodas, desserts and other things.

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