Losing weight isn’t always safe or healthy. In fact, some people go to extremes in order to shed a few pounds. This may be through fad diets or even eating disorders. It doesn’t have to be this way though. There are a number of safe and healthy ways to lose weight.
Nutritional Awareness
Before people can lose weight, they need to become nutritionally aware. What this means is that instead of jumping at the first fad diet that comes along, research should be done to determine the safeness of the diet. For example, if the diet requires the dieter to give up a certain food group, such as grains, it’s not a safe diet. The body needs certain foods in order to operate properly. Knowing which foods the body needs helps people make better decisions for their diet and in turn will help them lose weight safely.
Small Changes
People are under the misconception that in order to lose weight they must give up everything at once and start to exercise several hours per day. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Baby steps are essential for obtaining weight loss goals. Small steps may include cooking at home and walking more.
Water Consumption
One can of soda contains roughly 150 calories. For those drinking 4 to 5 cans per day, that’s 600 to 750 calories from soda alone. Switching to water can save a huge number of calories each week. In fact, it could save 4,200 to 5,250 calories per week.
Food Journals
The purpose of a food journal is to make someone aware of her daily consumption of food. For the first few days, write down what is eaten in a normal day. Then make small changes to make the food consumed healthier. For example, switch from a breakfast of fast food to fruit salad paired with whole wheat toast. Keep writing down the foods eaten each day and compare that to how the scales change each week.
Calorie Counting
The Mayo Clinic explains that weight loss comes down to how many calories someone takes in compared to how many calories are burned. There are a number of calorie calculators that can help dieters determine how many calories they should consume in order to lose weight. As the dieter works to meet those numbers they’ll understand that eating healthier allows them to eat more because healthier foods are lower in calories.
Exercising
There’s no denying the fact that exercising is a safe way to lose weight. The key is to remember that it must be done in a safe manner. Instead of jumping up the first day and working out for three hours, start off by working out 15 minutes per day and slowly adding more time to the work out. Also start out with exercises that aren’t too difficult. For example, start out walking 15 minutes a day and then add weight training.