Losing Weight Quickly And Safely: Can It Be Done?

Losing weight does not come easily for anyone. Whether you are fifty pounds overweight or twenty, losing the weight is not an easy thing to do.

While most people choose to go on a diet because they think that they need to look better, the real motivation for losing weight should be about being healthier overall.

The problem with many diets is that they take too much time and are too complicated. There is a large amount of planning involved when it comes to meals. In addition, even when following the diet strictly the weight does not come off very quickly at all.

In fact, most of the time a person will only lose one or two pounds a week when they first start a new diet. This can be disheartening and lead to the oh-so familiar yo-yo effect.

When someone steps on the scale and sees a two pound weight loss when they think it should be more, they are likely to spiral out of control and quit the diet and begin their poor eating habits again.

Healthy Weight Loss

What many people do not realize is that losing one to two pounds a week is the healthiest way to lose weight. Losing this much (or little depending on the way you look at it) sets reasonable expectations and leads to achievable goals.

If you are carrying quite a bit of extra weight, these numbers can be increased slightly but in all likelihood, striving to lose more than two to three pounds per week is a surefire way to:

1. Burn muscle rather than fat
2. Become discouraged and give up

Let's get scientific for a second. One pound of body fat equals 3,500 calories. If you didn't know this I bet this is quite a shocker - you can actually measure how much you should be eating based on your own weight loss goals.

Very broadly said, having a 500 calorie deficit per day will let you burn about one pound per week (500 x 7 = 3500). Neat huh?

To lose weight faster it is important to increase the amount that you exercise.

Diets for Fast Weight Loss

When trying to lose weight quickly it is important to make sure that you are eating healthy. Starches and added sugars should be eliminated from the diet. In addition, avoiding fat from dairy and meat will help increase weight loss as well.

Some of the foods that should be considered when trying to lose weight include:

• Fruits
• Veggies
• Soy products
• Egg whites
• Fish
• Shellfish
• Lean meat
• Skinless chicken breast
• Non-fat dairy food

It is important to eat a lot of vegetables as they will help you feel full. Drinking water will also help you feel full. All tempting foods should be removed from the home when you are starting a healthy weight loss plan.

Make sure that you only eat from a plate when you are sitting at the table. Do not graze from the fridge or grab unhealthy snacks. If you need a snack try to make it a fruit. Make sure that you keep busy so that you do not start eating just because you are bored.

It is important to make sure that you do not get discouraged when dieting. Allow yourself some of your favorite "bad" foods on a weekly basis. Having a cheat day can help keep you on track the rest of the week.

Problems with Diets

One of the biggest problems that people have when dieting is tracking their calories and exercising enough. When first starting out this can seem daunting, but once you get the hang of it, counting calories becomes second nature.

If the majority of your diet is fruits and vegetables, the calories that you are taking in are minimal and you should begin losing weight quite quickly. However, eating this healthy can be quite difficult for some people and may lead to failure.

Whatever happens you need to realize that this is a difficult and time consuming process and that you are the key to your success.

Rather than be overwhelmed, follow your plan by setting small, but achievable goals which you are able to meet and focus on them one at a time.

When you meet each goal write it down in a weight loss diary. If there is ever a time you are feeling unmotivated or unsure of yourself - look back to your plan and your logs to realize just how far you have gotten.

The road to weight loss begins with a single step that you motivate yourself to take and transforms into a difficult and never-ending journey of discipline, motivation and self-improvement.

What you need to do is decide whether you are ready to take the first step.

Sick of pseudo-science and yo-yo diets that simply don't work?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7853963