Weight Loss.....Don't Lose Sight Of The Basics!

by Cooper Elling

There are so many weight loss fads, strategies and diets these days it's easy to over complicate a relatively simple process!.

Now I’m not saying it’s easy to lose weight, but the basics are simple. It’s not about eating all meat, drinking only liquids, or sticking to a strict diet of Special K.

Maybe a few of the random diets out there have worked for some people, but I’m sure all the diets that worked in the long haul had a lot of the same basic principals.

Burn More Calories than you Consume

Food is fuel. Our body needs it to survive and it’s a very good, and also delicious, part of life. However, when we eat more than we need it is going to go somewhere and that somewhere is typically your belly, hips, thighs and butt. So, to simplify the process of losing weight, you simply need to burn more calories than you take in.

Exercise

Exercising will help increase the amount of calories you use up. Don’t get caught up in the technology on your treadmill thinking, “I’ve been on here forever and it says I’ve only burned 200 calories, that’s barely anything!”.

Guess what, your body uses calories to ride your bike to work, walk up and down stairs, even when you’re at rest. However, in addition to the extra calories you are burning at the gym, exercise also increases your bodies’ metabolism, which means more calories burned as you go about your day.

Eat Healthy

Not only does healthier food fuel your body better, but the right food choices will fill you up with a lot less calories. Fruits and vegetables are good for you because of all the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, but also because they pack a big nutritional punch in a smaller calorie package.

Trust your brain, you know what’s loaded with calories, it’s just about listening to yourself. Don’t lie to yourself that your salad is healthy when it’s smothered in 500 calories of creamy calorie-packed dressing.

Establishing Habits that Last

Stop thinking about losing weight as a diet and start talking about changing your lifestyle. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need to change your habits. Your old tendencies are the same ones that helped you put on weight and get out of shape.

Instead of looking at “diets” that will help you lose 30 pounds, do what you know works. Eat healthier and get some exercise. Changing your ways may be hard in the early going, but they will eventually stick and become your new way of living. You will be happy, your significant other and kids will be happy and your life in general will improve.

About the Author
Cooper is passionate about health, fitness & blogging. When he's not working out he writes about about laser liposuction, cooking and a myriad of other topics. He's also active with Sono Bello on Twitter and Sono Bello on Facebook.