How To Lose Weight - Calories Are Important

The simple truth behind weight loss is that you have to eat fewer calories than you use up each day. That results in a calorie deficit, which, over about a week, will mean a drop in weight. Daily changes in weight don’t really mean too much - your weight can fluctuate by up to 2lb in a day just due to water retention or the time of the month.

So if you go for an exquisite and expensive meal in a posh restaurant don’t weigh yourself when you get home. One of my clients did just that and believed she had put 2lb on in 3 hours!

I pointed out that the extra was just her digestion at work and that she hadn’t ruined a month’s worth of healthy eating and regular exercise. If you eat as you should for most of the time (6 days a week), then you can have what you like for the seventh. After all, even the Creator rested on the seventh day.

So when people ask me for guidelines on how to lose weight, this is what I tell them:

• Eat at regular intervals. Cutting your food intake right down will not make you thinner, merely miserable. And you won’t be able to maintain any weight loss that you achieve by starving yourself. You will end up fatter and even more miserable.
• Always eat breakfast. Your blood sugar will be low, and your body needs nourishment after the night. Wholegrain toast or oatmeal is ideal.
• Cut down on processed and packaged foods and cook fresh from scratch. It really does not have to be complicated. A chicken breast griddled and served with basmati rice and salad is dead easy, healthy and filling and takes 20 minutes from start to finish.
• Avoid fast food where possible. Even the so-called "healthy" options from the big chains are made from processed ingredients and are full of salt and sugar. If you are starving and there is nowhere else, have the smallest option, no fries. Never, never supersize. One of those huge sodas contains as many calories as the rest of the meal!
• Always plan ahead. Keep lean, cooked meat and salad veg in the fridge at all times, tinned soup, beans and tuna in the cupboard, so you’ll always have the basis for a healthy snack.
• Drink lots of water. The body often mistakes thirst for hunger.
• Drink alcohol in moderation. It is full of calories and has no nutritional value whatsoever, meaning it is all stored as fat.
• Last, but not least, take some regular exercise. A 30 minute walk at a brisk pace will burn up around 200 calories and do you good both mentally and physically. Do something active 5 times a week and you’ll be surprised how much better you’ll feel, and the excess pounds will begin to melt away.
• And if you want to indulge, do it! Enjoy every minute and every bite and then get back on track. Life has to be worth living.

I'm Carol J Bartram and I hold qualifications in Personal Training, Nutrition and Pilates.I believe that a healthy lifestyle is a balance of exercise, sensible eating and some relaxation - Work, Eat and Play! If you would like to learn how to fit all these into a hectic schedule, please visit my website Natural Weight Loss.

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