What foods should you keep in your diet - should you eat bread, should you ban cheese because of its fat content?
Getting back to weight-loss basics is simple; your weight is a balancing act, but the equation remains; if you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight.
Because 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound of fat, you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in to lose 1 pound. So if you cut 500 calories from your typical diet each day, you’d lose approximately 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories).
Cutting calories doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, it might be as simple as forgoing one extra item a day, swapping foods or trimming serving sizes. The number of calories you save is likely to translate into pounds lost.
So it really doesn’t matter what diet you choose. You don’t need to follow any diets at all: you just need to eat fewer calories than those you burn up. If you do that, you will experience weight loss.
The right way to diet and weight loss is done slowly, over time, and while eating a balanced diet with plenty of healthy foods. You gained the weight gradually, and you can lose weight the same way. The big benefit of losing weight slowly is that you re-educate yourself about food, eating, and exercise.
I’ve been a yo-yo dieter for years, and it never worked. I was a weight loss expert - I know dozens of ways to lose weight fast. Keeping the weight off was the challenge. Fast weight loss programs taught me nothing about food - and I thought about food every second I was dieting.
As soon as the diets ended, I went back to eating the way I always had. And no surprise, put on weight again, the way I always had.
Doing weight loss slowly was a thrill: the weight just drifted off without me noticing. Since I never weighed myself, the only way I knew I was losing weight was that my clothes were much bigger on me. I needed belts, and got into my “skinny” clothes again.
Changing one habit at a time (smaller portions, daily exercise, and better food choices) is doable. You don’t have to think about it. And you don’t have to “diet”. You’ll lose weight the same way you put it on, and along the way, you’ll have more energy, and you’ll look great. Fast diets can leave you looking tired - because you are. Your face is pale, you’re your skin looks faded.
If you’ve tried fast weight loss and have always put on weight again, try the slow route. You may be surprised and pleased at how well it works.
