10 tips on how to lose weight and keep it off

Obesity besides the looks that it gives to your body it also increases your risk of many serious health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, arthritis, and even in some cases cancer. Losing weight, even a few pounds can help you reduce these risks!

Many weight loss diets and programs on the market today promise you miracle results in a very short of time. Most of them are not only unhealthy but their main disadvantage is that you gain the weight you lost (and sometimes even more) immediately after you stop following the proposed diets.

The most important thing to notice when following a weight loss program is how to lose weight and keep it off. You can do this by following several techniques that will help you lose weight the healthy way.

One of the best tips in weight loss is to use more calories than you eat. This means that your daily activities should help your body burn more calories than those consumed by food and drinks. Here are some numbers to help you out:

• One pound equals to 3,500 calories.
• If you during a day you consume 3,500 calories more than you can burn, you will eventually gain a pound.
• If you manage to burn 3,500 calories more than the calories you eat, you will be able to lose a pound.

It should be noted and understood that the exact number of calories a person needs on a daily basis depends on age, sex, and activity level.

Typically though the situation is the following:

• Most men that are between the ages of 41 to 60 need about 2,200 calories a day.
• Most women that are between the ages of 41 to 60 need fewer calories than men, typically they need between 1,600 and 1,800 a day.

As a quick rule of thump in order to lose weight and keep it off, you do not need to suffer and for sure do not follow any stick or miracle diets available on the market! You should make changes to your diet and lifestyle gradually, things that you enjoy and can stick with them long-term.

10 tips on how to lose weight and keep it off

1. Do not hurry, weight loss takes time.

• Set your weight loss goals so as to lose only 1 or 2 pounds a week. It is proven that people who lose weight in a faster pace are more likely to gain the lost weight it back.

• Do not try the advertised miracle diets and weight loss drugs. No only they are un-healthy and dangerous but for sure they don’t work for long.

2. Be careful on what you eat and drink.

• Keep a daily journal for a while and record everything you eat and drink. Most people tend to eat without realising it and they end up consuming much more calories than they really need. A weight loss journal will help you find out this habit.

• Do not eat while watching television. When eating make sure that you sit down at the table not doing anything else.

• Eat slowly and chew your food very good. You should know that it takes about 20 minutes for our brain to get the signal from the stomach that we are feeling full. It is a fact that people who eat too fast they end up eating too much.

3. Prepare more home made food

• When you prepare your own meals at home it is easier and healthier to know what and how much you eat.

• Preparing your own food is not only healthier and safer but it is also less expensive than bying read made food or eating out.

• When you go to grocery stores or supermarkets to buy food make sure that you read the nutrition labels for each item you are buying.

4. Be selective when and where to dine out.

• It is a well know secret that if you want to lose weight you should eat out less.

• Some ready made meals and especially large fast-food meals contain more than 1,500 calories. This is almost enough for a whole day!

• When you do eat out, watch out the food portions. They are usually too large and enough for 2 people to share. In such a case try to share a portion with someone else or take the half portion as take away.

• When eating out you can select more salads. They are healthier and have less calories (without the dressing!)

5. Watch what you drink. Drinks have calories too!

• One regular can of cola has about 150 calories. These calories are known as empty calories since they have absolutely no nutritional value.

• If you do some simple mathematic calculations if you drink one less soft drink a day  you can lose up to 15-lb a year, without doing anything!

• If you want to drink something, you can drink water (lots of it), unsweetened tea, or low-fat milk

6. Fruits and vegetables are your best friend

• You should aim for 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

• Fruits and vegetables will keep you healthy and give you a feeling that you are fill up and contain very few calories.

7. You should try and fight your hunget but by consuming fewer calories.

• It is up to you to make smart choices while selecting your food. For example you could eat 8 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables instead of eating a fast food salad (800 calories).

• When you have a choice, choose foods high in fiber that will fill you up. Such foods are fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, and whole-grain cereals, breads, and pasta.

• Before each meal you can have a broth-based soup or green salad. This will help fill your stomach up and you will end up eating less calories.

• Water, Water, Water – at least 8 glasses a day.

8. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day

• Breakfast is the most important meal of the day especially for people who want to lose weight. It is proven that people who eat breakfast can lose weight easier.

• Skipping any meals (and breakfast in particular) makes you hungrier and more likely to overeat on the other meals.

9. Eat healthy snacks

• If you really have the need to eat a snack or two then select among fruits and vegetables instead of candy, cookies, and chips.

10. Exercise and physical activity

• Exercise can improve your mood and has a lot of benefits to offer to your health besides weight loss.

• You should try and exercise for at least 30 minutes (moderate physical activity). Typical exercises can be walking, running. Repeat that for at least 5 days a week. You don’t have to join a gym and start weight lifting or very intense exercise.

• Walking is the easiest exercise to do and it will not only help you to burn those extra calories, but it also improves the health of your heart, and strengthens your muscles, which are vital to weight loss.

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