The Real Answers to Losing Weight

When I started out trying to drop a few pounds I wanted to make sure I was doing it right this time. So many times in the past I would starve myself or try one of the popular fad diets in hope of dropping a whole lot of weight. Most of the time I would lose an initial amount usually between ten and twenty pounds, but never really more that that. This time would be different since now I would do some research and find the correct way of losing weight that I could now ask myself the question “How do you lose weight”?  

I found an article by Ginny Graves on MSNBC called “Forget fad diets. Get the facts on weight loss” where she ran certain questions past a group of weight loss experts and here are some of their thoughts:

 What's the biggest thing you've learned from successful dieters? That no particular diet works better than another, but it becomes an issue on which diet you can stick to the longest. Most successful dieters tend to weigh themselves more and keep track of the foods they eat, usually by a diary or journal. Most importantly they eat breakfast 7 days a week.

Does exercise help? It will help you emotionally and also for health benefits, but for weight loss there’s no huge difference.

Why is it so hard to lose weight just by exercising? Unless you’re a professional athlete you just don’t burn enough calories to off set the food you eat. Just about everyone over estimates how many calories you actually burn.

If exercise is part of your weight-loss plan, what's the best type to do? Without a doubt aerobic exercise is the best since you burn more calories than with any other type of exercise.

To lose weight, what's the single most important change you should make to your diet? Drink water and reduce or quite all together the caloric filled drinks. You are starting your day by over 217 extra calories by these drinks.

 Is fat really the demon it's been made out to be? No, you can lose weight on any diet. It’s the control on calories that helps with weight loss. You can’t overeat and expect to lose weight. The portions are the problem and restaurants are the biggest culprit with this habit.

What are dieters' most common psychological pitfalls? They try to do too much. With this extreme makeover mentality and the instant gratification, dieters tend to set goals that are almost impossible to make even under the best of circumstances.

 You can see by some of the answers that you can figure out the best method of weight loss. Eat smaller portions; keep track of calories and exercise to maintain your health.