Wednesday, July 23, 2008

How to Lose Weight

How to lose weight is now such a complicated issue with all the different diet plans and fad diets that are on the go. You start cutting out carbs and then you think it is the GI that you need to look at and before you know where you are, you are trying meal replacement instead. None of this is really going to give you the long term result that you are looking for. To get long term results, first of all takes a shift in thinking, and what I mean my that is to stop thinking about diet as meaning weight loss, but think about diet as the food you eat, after all we all know deep in our hearts what is good food and what is bad food, and whether you like it or not, if you eat rubbish you are going to look rubbish. One of the things to be wary of when looking to lose weight is trying to get a quick fix by taking miracle cure supplements.

Now let me clarify this by saying that I am a believer in supplements, and I drink a certain type of Green Tea regularly which I know works on my metabolism, however I would not rely on that alone for me to lose weight and the same goes for any other kind of supplement like that, remember we are looking for a long term fix. Also, be wary of trying to do a really really strict regime to lose weight quickly. You see the problem with doing this is that you are going to deny your body of some of the nutrients that it needs, which in turn will develop cravings. Then once you have cravings you are fighting a constant battle in your head, which eventually you will lose and a bout of binging awaits for you. So, what can we do to safely and effectively lose weight? Well as mentioned before the first thing you need to look at is you food.

Is your diet high in refined white flour, sugar and the like? If so you may want to try cutting back on some of that and introducing more fruit and veg. Do you snack on potato crisps? If so why not try exchanging them for seeds or nuts (and I do not mean a packet of ready salted nuts here I am on about almonds or something similar). Also try to ensure that you are getting oily fish into your diet such as salmon or tuna (not the tinned stuff though). These are high in protein for you and also contain essential fats in the shape of Omega 3. And the best thing you can do with your new eating plan is combine it with some exercise. Now exercise does not have to mean running so hard that you cannot utter a word, exercise can be just anything that keeps your body and muscles moving. Exercise should be regular and consistent with at least fifteen minutes per day doing anything that is good for cardiovascular health, like swimming, running, brisk walking and even dancing. Before you start your new diet, think about and plan it first.

Do not be afraid to seek advice, but make sure the advice you follow is going to be a long term plan rather than a short term quick fix, and then make simple changes on a daily basis, focus on the positives you are getting out of it, and do not be afraid to reward yourself when you hit your weight loss goals.

If you want to find out more about how to lose weight for the long term visit http://naturalgoodhealthandwellness.com/weight-loss-reviews/ where we have reviewed the best ways to lose weight and keep it off forever.