perfect diet

HOW TO LOOSE WEIGHT THE HEALTHY WAY






The healthiest way to lose weight is neither crash diets nor 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 miles a day or pounding the treadmill.

Not only will the struggle to do so leave you feeling disheartened and demotivated, you're also far more likely to injure yourself and set your fitness levels back further.
The same goes for people who suddenly start starving themselves.

Diets that severely restrict calories or the types of food 'allowed' can lead you to be deficient in the nutrients and vitamins that your body needs. So if you need to lose weight, what should you do? Energy needs and weight loss Your body uses food for energy. It stores any excess energy as fat. This means if you eat more food than your body needs for daily activities and cell maintenance, you will gain weight. To lose weight, you need to get your body to use up these stores of fat.

The most effective way to do this is to: reduce the amount of calories you eat increase your levels of activity. This is why experts talk about weight loss in terms of diet and exercise. Introduce changes gradually Small changes can make a big difference. One extra biscuit a week can lead you to gain 5lb a year – cut that biscuit out of your diet and you'll lose the same amount. You are also more likely to stick to, say, swapping full-fat milk for semi-skimmed or making time for breakfast each morning than a diet that sets rules for all foods. You should think of weight loss in terms of permanently changing your eating habits.

While weight-loss goals are usually set in term of weeks, the end game is to sustain these changes over months and years. Increase your activity levels Someone who increases the amount they exercise, but maintains the same diet and calorie intake, will almost certainly lose weight.

No matter if you hate gyms - even light exercise such as a short 20 minute walk will be beneficial if done most days of the week. Every single time you exercise more than usual, you burn calories and fat. There are lots of ways to increase the amount of activity you do.

Team sports, racket sports, aerobics classes, running, walking, swimming and cycling will all improve your fitness levels. Find something you enjoy that's easy for you to do in terms of location and cost. You are then more likely to build it into your routine and continue to exercise, despite inevitably missing the odd session through holidays, family commitments, etc.

Get out and about at the weekend. Leave your car on the drive and walk to the shops. Try to incorporate longer walks into outings to the park, coast or countryside and take a picnic so you are in control of what you are going to eat that day. Every extra step you take helps.

Always use the stairs instead of the lift, or 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 the living room while watching your favourite programme.




REDUCE YOUR CALORIE INTAKE

If you are overweight, you can't continue with your current eating habits. It's not possible to reduce body fat while eating lots of food, cakes and sweets.

This doesn't mean you can never have any treats, but you need to learn how to limit these foods to small quantities - say, for special occasions. In terms of weight-loss, you can get your body to use up existing stores of fat by eating less and making healthier choices.

This doesn't mean crash diet (anything less than 1500 calories), which usually ends up with you either getting weaker or giving up in desperation. Quick-fix diets can lead to a yo-yoing effect of drastic weight loss followed by weight gain, resulting in a vicious cycle. There are no shortcuts to losing weight in a healthy and reasonable way.

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





Glug, Glug Ya Big Lug!

For the health-conscious dieter, the mantra should be water, water everywhere... and all the time. Drinking a big glass of water whenever you feel hungry and before a meal or snack fills the stomach briefly and makes you feel fuller and stop eating sooner.
Breaking down body fat and body muscle during weight loss produces wastes that must be eliminated through the kidneys. Drinking enough water is important to keep the kidneys functioning to remove these wastes.
Popular high-protein diets produce more waste products from digestion, let alone from breaking down stored fat. Kidney function is even more important when on a high-protein diet. Drinking more water does not "flush fat."
If the dieter is drinking plain water, he/she is less likely to be drinking something with calories in it. The amount of water we need has long been tapped as eight 8-ounce glasses a day. That's 64 ounces... or a half-gallon.
Can't stomach that much plain water? Try these great-tasting alternatives: -- Have plenty of flavored seltzer waters available. -- Use fresh lemon, lime, or other citrus fruit slices in your water. Or try cucumber slices for a refreshing taste. -- Low-fat and fat-free milk are healthful beverage alternatives. Next to water, low-fat or fat-free milk and soy milk are the best beverage options for your family. -- 100% fruit juice made solely from fruit with no sugar added.

Fruit juice has the added benefit of being full of the vitamins that are naturally found in fruit, such as vitamin C and folate. -- Vegetable juice is a great low-calorie choice that offers antioxidants, such as vitamins A and C, and other nutrients such as lycopene, which has been linked to a reduced risk of prostate cancer. -- Unsweetened teas (those that are already bottled) and homemade iced or hot herbal teas can be great calorie-free options.
The Best Diet Is Not A Diet! Summer's just around the corner and I've already started dreading my sleeveless, clingy shirts that highlight the extra pounds I've packed on over the winter. Mother Nature is forcing me to stash away my long-sleeved, flannel shirts, baggy sweatshirts and comfy, loose sweatpants that I've lived in since September. I'm sure most of you can relate. What's that? You say you don't have the time or the money to start a weight loss program? To that I say... au contraire.