Healthy Weight Loss Plans: 3 Essential Ingredients

There are probably as many different weight loss plans as there are people trying to lose weight.  There are thousands of different pills, exercise programs, low carb plans, low fat plans, low calorie plans, protein shake plans, certain type of food plans, and the list goes on and on.  But many of these are not healthy and few of them lead to effective and lasting weight loss.

A healthy weight loss plan includes these 3 essential ingredients:

1) It must be well balanced. By this I mean that the plan allows and encourages you to eat a wide variety of foods from all of the major food groups.  This is important so that your body gets all the things that it needs to function well.  Your body needs protein, fiber, calcium, iron and a wide range of vitamins and minerals to function effectively.  Also, it is hard to stick with a plan that strictly limits your food choices.

2) It should encourage slow and consistent weight loss. Those fad diets that try to get you to lose 10 pounds in a week or less are not healthy.  The weight loss comes from depriving your body of what it needs and the loss almost never lasts.  A healthy weight loss plan helps you to slowly and consistently lose weight until you reach a healthy weight goal that you are comfortable with.  Then it helps you to maintain that weight.  A healthy weight loss plan is one that you can be comfortable with for months, years, and even the rest of your life!

3) It includes a plan for increased activity. No, you don't have to spend hours in the gym every day to lose weight.  But any plan that completely ignores any type of exercise will be hard to maintain. Even walking can do wonders for weight loss and also for better health.  Moderate exercise can help reduce and avoid the potential for many health problems, and it burns calories which greatly enhances you weight loss efforts.