Healthy Ways to Lose Weight

If experts can agree on one thing, it is that diets and the diet mentality don't work. Statistically speaking, 95 percent of people who attempt to find healthy ways to lose weight through dieting gain all the weight they have lost back within five years, and often gain more weight besides.

When seeking healthy ways to lose weight, the best plan of action is always to treat it as a long term lifestyle change and incorporate health into every facet of life rather than singling out weight and food as targets for a mass attack. There are many factors that can play into your weight, including genetics, medications, lifestyle choices, fitness preferences, eating habits, and more. Learn from experts about the best healthy ways to lose weight and choose the strategies that are right for your preferences and weight loss goals.

Exercise Patience and Self-Compassion

Monitoring how you talk to and interact with yourself during this lifestyle adjustment phase can be critical to your success with losing weight in healthy ways. Just as you would never speak discouraging or disparaging words to a friend who is attempting to shed pounds and get fit, you can expect yourself to respond similarly if you treat yourself with less than gentleness. Spreading a little patience and self-compassion in your own direction will go a long way towards allowing yourself to set small, manageable goals and a healthy, reasonable pace for your weight loss.

Seek Accountability

One excellent way to lose weight in healthy ways is to seek accountability from others who are going through the same process. There can be great shared enthusiasm and support in connecting with others who are setting and working towards their own healthy weight loss goals. When you are tempted to cheat or simply allow yourself to fall off the weight loss wagon, remembering that you are not alone in this process can give you courage and commitment to continue towards your goals.

Understand Your Body's Ideal Weight

Each human body has a natural set point, or ideal body weight. This body weight is driven mostly by genetics, and the body will fight attempts to drop beneath or rise above this ideal body weight. Your medical doctor can assist you with determining your weight range and your body's ideal weight, and it then becomes easier to work with a dietitian or nutritionist to set healthy, reasonable goals that are attainable for your body's natural genetic makeup.

Use 'Em to Lose 'Em

Medically speaking, weight loss occurs when the body uses more calories than are given to it in an average day. If you want to lose weight, it is important to add in exercise and adjust portions to ensure you are feeding your body towards its ideal body weight.

Adopt New Foods

If your eating habits today have focused on foods that are likely to lead towards or maintain weight gain, it may be time to expand your food repertoire. Adding in healthy yet delicious options like fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, nuts and beans, low fat dairy and yogurt, whole grains and oils low in saturated fats can add variety, color, and balancing nutrients to your daily eating routine and actually assist with cutting down on food cravings that arise from true nutritional imbalances.

Find Exercise You Enjoy

Gone are the days when step aerobics or intense workouts with a personal trainer were the only way to effectively lose weight. Simply parking farther away from the doors of a store or taking the stairs rather than the elevator can add moments of valuable fitness to your day. If you can start to look at fitness as an adventure in building a new fun hobby rather than a weight loss chore, it can become fun to try out Pilates, yoga, zumba, martial arts, swimming, biking, or other fitness activities that you can also do with friends and family. Experts agree that only 20 minutes per day of cardio can add up to 10 pounds or more of weight loss per year if performed regularly.

Eat More Frequently

If you eat more frequently, beginning with breakfast and continuing throughout the day up to six times per day, there is less likelihood of exposing yourself to binge eating or making poor choices at mealtimes out of a sense of deprivation.

Resist Supersizing

In our value-conscious culture, it can be easy to go for the "more for less" mentality that can contribute to weight gain. Work with your doctor to determine the number of calories you should aim for at each meal, and resist invitations to supersize those portions.
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