Healthy Weight Loss

Exercise more

The healthiest way to lose weight is neither crash diets and fad diets nor sudden bursts of exercise. The body likes slow changes in terms of food and exercise. For example, someone who has not exercised for years should not rush into running three miles every day. Exercise needs to be increased slowly.

People who eat a lot will experience problems if they suddenly start starving themselves. Introduce changes gradually. Even relatively light exercise such as a short walk may be beneficial if done frequently. The calories you eat minus what you use in exercise and maintaining your body will be stored as fat.

Someone that increases the amount they exercise, but maintains the same diet and calorie intake, will almost certainly lose weight.

How to exercise in a fun way

Thankfully we are all different in our likes and dislikes and, therefore, exercise in a variety of ways. It is essential that you find an activity that is enjoyable, appropriate, accessible and affordable for you. That way you are far more likely to build it into your routine and continue regular exercise, despite the inevitable set backs due to illness, family commitments, etc.

For people who do not like sweating in a fitness studio there are fun alternatives.

When going to the local park, nature trails or trips to the seaside, try to incorporate longer walks into the outing and take a picnic so you are in control of what you are going to eat that day.

Always use the stairs instead of the lift. Bear in mind that every single step helps.

Get off the bus a stop before the usual one and walk the rest of the way.

Use commercial breaks between TV-programmes to stand up and do exercise, or consider using an exercise bicycle in your living room while watching your favourite programme.

Reduce calories

For many people it may be beneficial to reduce their calorie intake by eating less and eating more healthily. It is not necessary to crash diet. This usually ends up with the person concerned either getting weaker or giving up completely in desperation. This in turn can lead to a yo-yoing effect of the weight loss - weight gain cycle. Cut down on fatty foods and eat more bread, fruit and vegetables.

Eating 300 to 500 calories less per day, may lead to losing between one and two pounds per week. This is a realistic weight loss. It may seem slow, but would add up to a weight loss of more than three stone in a year.

Having a glass of water instead of juice, eating less lunch than usual and having smaller portions of the food you enjoy are all ways to reduce calorific intake without having to necessarily alter your diet significantly. Avoid a second helping at dinner and snacks between meals, which may have become a habit. Cut down on beer and alcohol. All these things will influence your health in a positive way.

Write down your weight every week

From the day you decide to lose weight, weigh yourself once or twice a week before breakfast. Keep a record of this weight and see the pattern that develops.

Be patient and persevere

It might take a week or two before the results will show, but they will steadily appear. After the first month you will be able to both see the results and measure them.

Rewarding oneself with something nice for reaching certain targets can be beneficial. For example, going to the movies or getting a new CD to celebrate the progress - whatever suits you as an individual for all your hard work.

You must not forget to share your joy with your friends and relations. Explain to them how you are losing weight because other people's support is valuable.

Let's face it: if a person is really serious about fighting their weight problem, then they can no longer enjoy lots of food, cakes and sweets. This does not mean that they have to completely cut out everything unhealthy - that would be torture. But they can learn how to enjoy these foods in small quantities.

Every single time a person exercises more than usual, they burn calories and fat. Avoid being impatient and remind yourself that the results will slowly manifest themselves. Remember that there are no shortcuts to losing weight in a healthy and reasonable way.

Health risks associated with being overweight

Studies show that women who lose only 10 to 20lb halve their risk of developing diabetes.

For men, the risk of heart problems is reduced considerably. It may seem like these are problems to worry about in the future, but time flies by and tomorrow becomes today.

We age gradually over time and sooner or later, our bodies will react to how we live our lives. By losing weight it becomes easier to grow old gracefully, without having to be troubled so much by illnesses.

Usually people gain weight as the years go by. A few pounds over the years are not a problem. But people who gain more than 20lb compared to their weight as an 18-year-old, will rapidly increase the risk of health problems due to that extra weight.

Women who are 20lb heavier than when they were 18-year-olds have increased their risk of dying of a cardiac arrest sevenfold and have doubled their risk of dying of cancer.