How To Shed The Kind Of Pounds You Want To Lose

Weight loss is a concept that can have a different meaning for everyone. Do you want to lose body fat? Do you want to lose overall pounds? Do you want to drop inches off certain areas of your body? Perhaps the most common area that people want to lose weight is around their waistline. While a flat belly is certainly an attractive feature, it is also important to maintaining optimal health. When your body carries an excessive amount of fat cells, your internal organs (particularly your heart) need to work harder to keep your body functional. Therefore, you want to shed your body fat in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. You can lose fat pounds and maintain muscle tone by burning more calories than you consume.

Burning more calories than you take in doesn't mean that you reduce the amount of food you eat. In fact, when you add exercise to the mix, you need to consume a certain amount of proteins and carbohydrates to keep your body fueled. The key is to replace high caloric foods with lower calorie proteins (chicken and fish) and complex carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains). These types of carbohydrates (particularly whole wheat pastas) are healthier because they contain more fiber.

There are several ways to burn more calories than you consume. One way is to cut all foods that contain high amounts of fat grams, calories, fructose (fruit sugar), and simple carbohydrates (table sugar) that are commonly found in most sweets such as candy, ice cream, cookies, etc. This pretty much leaves lean meats, whole grain carbohydrates, fruits, nuts, and vegetables.

If this means abruptly modifying your diet, you find these menu items a bit on the bland side. Another way to consume fewer calories than you burn is to continue eating what you normally eat and regulate the caloric intake by reducing the size of your portions. This will take a little more effort to consciously count the calories you consume. You can find calorie counters online. Some are free, others use a subscription service. It's not difficult to track your calories, you just need to do it for every meal and snack you have throughout the day to ensure that you don't exceed your allotted number of daily calories. Once you calculate the calories in the primary foods you eat, it is easier to determine serving size and the number of calories in your head. This way your meal selection goes much faster particularly when you are outside of your usual eating place such as a restaurant or a dinner party.

When you engage in a calorie-oriented weight loss and fitness program, it is recommended that you follow some kind of exercise program. Exercise burns calories fast so you can reach your health and wellness goals sooner. However, you do need to refuel your body to maintain your energy level which means ingesting more calories. Just make sure that you consume foods that aren't going to sabotage your weight loss and fitness regimen and undo the progress you make.

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