Fat Loss for the Long Haul

If you are overweight then this is probably not the first time you have been on a diet. The problem with most diets is after it is over then your weight loss changes to weight gain and you are right back where you started. So how do make that fat loss last for the long haul.

First thing that I would like to bring up is about the specific diet plans and which ones work. I would like to tell you the secret about these diet plans that you probably did not know. So here it is. They pretty much all work. The next fad diet that comes out is going to work. The last one worked, and the one before that worked. So with all of these diets flying around that work why are we still heavy.

There is a pretty simple reason to this. The problem is that we are so focused on losing weight. We get our new diet plan. We follow it for a few weeks to a couple of months. We lose weight, we get a lot of compliments, and it makes us very happy. Then the diet is over, because you can't starve yourself forever. The weight comes right back and next year we will do it all over again.

The problem is that we never went past step one. We went on our diet and we lost some weight. We committed to that diet and stuck with it until we hit our goals. We never gave any thought to the commitment that it would take to keep that weight off. Not taking that next step is the whole reason we will be on a diet again next year.

Now there is no doubt that you can go on a 1200 calorie diet and drop some serious weight. The problem is that you cannot stay on a 1200 calorie diet forever. You can make it a couple of months but after that you are going to need some food. When you go back to eating then you are going to go back to gaining weight. Unless you are prepared to make some long term changes.

When I say long term then it pretty much means that they last forever. There are really only two things that you need to change. That is not so bad when you say it. Just two things. Unfortunately they are doozies because they concern your eating habits and your physical activity.

Let's talk a little about the physical activity side first. Without this then you are completely wasting your time with that diet. Really why even torture yourself with a diet if you are not going to put the effort into keeping the weight off. So if we want to keep the weight off then the first thing we need to do is make a long term commitment to getting our exercise.

So here is the bad news. We need to get at least an hour of exercise a day and we need to be walking about 5 or 6 miles a day. That sounds like a lot doesn't it. Here is the good news. You don't have to do it all at once. You can split it up so that you don't have to go out there and walk 5 miles straight.

One thing you can do is get a step counter. Your goal will be about 12000 steps a day. You can have just one planned exercise session a day and have the rest spread out. So maybe you could go for a 3 mile walk every day right after work. Then you just change your habits enough during the day where you are walking a couple of extra miles spread out through the day. Spreading it out like this makes it much easier to live with.

Something else that you should know. If you have not exercised in a while then start slow. Take it from my first hand experience. If you just jump right back in and overdo it then it really hurts. Usually for days. Start off by walking for about 10 minutes or so and then slowly work your way up to it over several weeks. Believe me you will not be doing yourself an favors by doing too much in the beginning. Just take it slow.

This increase in physical activity is going to be the biggest deciding factor in whether or not you keep the weight off. It is absolutely essential even if it may be unpleasant at first. Without making a commitment to this exercise every day then you will just put the weight back on and all of the effort that you put into your diet will be wasted.

With that let's move on to the second part which is your diet. Since you have dropped the weight and you are getting your exercise then there is no longer a need to starve yourself. That is good news right. You probably also will not want to go back to eating the same as you did before though. Here are a few tips to keep your diet in line with keeping your weight off.

First thing is that we need to eat at least three meals a day. Healthy meals of course. One of the bad habits that a lot of us get in to is skipping breakfast. Routinely skipping meals is actually a horrible thing to do when you are trying to keep the weight off. This is because of your metabolism.

When you go long periods without eating then your metabolism slows down and the next time you eat it will try to store as many calories as it can. Our bodies of course store calories as fat cells so this is not something that we want. So eat breakfast every day. Even if it is just a bowl of cereal get something in your belly in the morning.

To go right along with the breakfast thing and keeping the speed of your metabolism up we come to snacking. Try to stay away from the potato chips and candy bars as much as possible. You can indulge of course but it should not be a daily routine. Eating some healthy snacks between meals on the other hand is actually good for you.

Go for snacks that are high in fiber or fruits and veggies. Eating these snacks between meals will help you in a couple of different ways. For one if you let yourself get real hungry between meals then you are more likely to over eat. For the other the more often you eat then the less time your metabolism has to slow down. These snacks can keep your metabolism clipping along all day every day.

For the last tip just a little general advice about your over all eating habits. We want to keep the fatty foods on the low side. You can have them just they should not be your dominate food group like is common in our world of fast food hamburgers and fries. The next thing is increase how much fiber you are getting. A long term high fiber and low fat diet will help you become successful with keeping that fat off.

If you really want your fat loss to be for the long haul then just remember that it takes a commitment for the long haul. You have to make some changes to your eating habits. You don't need to starve. Just change. You also need to exercise. Without the exercise then all of your efforts will be for naught.