The Secret To Losing Weight - Shed The Pounds By Burning The Fat And Eating Healthier

Everyone who has ever been a little overweight is looking for the 'secret' to losing weight. How many times have you started a new diet? Come on now, be honest. If you have been trying to lose weight for a while, you have probably stopped and started more diets than you care to admit.

The results tend to be the same. It is fantastic for the first couple of days when you are really motivated and determined that this time you are going to succeed. After a couple of weeks, you have lost around seven pounds and are feeling happy. But then the weight loss slows down and you become de-motivated. Weighing your food to keep to a specific calorie count and only being allowed to eat certain foods begins to lose its attraction. You feel deprived and annoyed that yet again another diet program is not going to live up to its promise.

So what can you do? The first thing you should do is throw out the diet books. You already know you need to lose weight. The real way to lose those excess pounds is to create an energy deficit. This means that you must consume fewer calories than you use during the day. You need to increase your physical activity and start eating more healthy foods. It doesn't mean that you should starve yourself though as your body will think that you are actually in danger and will start storing fat while using lean muscle for its energy source.

You have to change your eating habits. Instead of three large meals a day, you should eat five or six smaller portions. This will help to increase your metabolism rate and start burning calories faster. You are also less likely to feel deprived as you won't be hungry. Eating little and often will also help to stabilize your blood sugar levels. This will prevent you from hitting those highs and lows which can cause cravings and snacking.

You should eat healthy foods though, which means that you should increase your consumption of fruit and vegetables. You also need to eat complex carbohydrates, proteins and some good fats. Good fats can be identified as those which do not solidify at room temperature. Every meal should contain a portion of each. Any program that forbids any of these foods is best avoided. Your body needs high quality protein to repair itself and carbohydrates and a little fat for energy.

We all need to get more active and one of the best ways to slim down and tone up is to combine healthy eating with aerobic exercise and some weight training. You would not do both activities on the same day but alternate them. Choose whatever form of cardio exercise you enjoy and do this three times a week before eating breakfast. Cardio exercise is any exercise that gets the heart pumping faster.

On the other days, get yourself down to the gym and start lifting some light weights. Speak to a fitness instructor, tell him what you are trying to achieve and he will help you to develop a program. Lifting weights does not mean that you will end up with bulging muscles.

So, the 'secret' to weight loss is - exercise more and eat less - simple as that!

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