Practice Balance for Long-term Weight Loss

I have to be honest and tell you that more than 75 percent of the exercise required for long-term weight loss involves your fork and knife. No amount of exercise can compensate for poor dietary habits. A successful weight loss plan is one that you can integrate into your lifestyle and live with for the long-term.

Fad diets don’t work because they are too restrictive for most people to follow and to incorporate into their daily lives. How many times have you seen someone lose a lot of weight in a short period and hear people say, “Have you seen so-and-so, since she’s been on that new diet? She looks so good.” Then you see that person a year or so later, and she is heavier than ever. That’s the typical outcome of a fad diet because sooner or later you will start to feel deprived and then you will return to your old eating habits.

The key to eating healthy and maintaining your weight loss over the long-term is balance and moderation in the foods you consume daily. You can eat any food you desire as long as it is in moderation and balanced with the rest of the foods you consume. For example, I love brownies, so when I have a brownie for dessert I only have one. I also balance the carbohydrates and sugar in the brownie by not having bread with my meal.

The first step in learning balance and moderation in your diet is knowing how to classify foods into their basic sources of protein, carbohydrates, and fats as well as how they are used in your body. The second step is mastering portion. Knowing how many calories you consume from each food source and what your serving sizes are enables you to balance your meals. Eating this way can be easily incorporated into your lifestyle - it’s a plan you can stick with for the long-term.