The first thing to do when starting any diet is to figure out what you’re trying to achieve, and set goals around where you want to be. Do you want to diet to lose weight? Do you want to diet to improve your health? The goals you make will determine how you should approach your diet, but more than that, setting the goals gives you something to work towards - it’s easier to achieve something when you commit yourself to a specific goal.
However, one thing to keep in mind is that your goal should be reasonable - losing weight too quickly or losing it the wrong way can lead to either health risks, or can set you up to gain it back more easily. The most successful diets are the ones that allow you to pace yourself. Losing 1-2 pounds/week is more than enough, it took a long time to put on the weight, be patient taking it off if you want to remain healthy, and be successful.
Before you set specific weight goals, it’s important to determine the ideal body weight range for your height - this can help you to get an objective idea where you should set your goals.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Exercise
One of the most important factors in a good healthy diet is exercise - any diet that tries to lose weight without exercise is likely either misleading, ineffective, or unhealthy.
To be successful with exercise (especially if it’s not normally part of your routine), is to look for ways to integrate it into your daily lifestyle, instead of just getting exercise whenever you have a free moment. Look for any opportunities to get more exercise - take the stairs instead of the elevator, park further away from your office and walk, as long as you’re moving around, you’ll be burning off more calories than if you were sitting.
A helpful tip is to schedule your exercise as you would other activities during the day - put it in your calendar, work it into your routine as a planned activity - or it will get pushed aside.
If possible, you should also try to plan your exercise for after meals, as that’s when you will get the maximum effect of burning calories, instead of having your body convert those calories into stored fat.
To be successful with exercise (especially if it’s not normally part of your routine), is to look for ways to integrate it into your daily lifestyle, instead of just getting exercise whenever you have a free moment. Look for any opportunities to get more exercise - take the stairs instead of the elevator, park further away from your office and walk, as long as you’re moving around, you’ll be burning off more calories than if you were sitting.
A helpful tip is to schedule your exercise as you would other activities during the day - put it in your calendar, work it into your routine as a planned activity - or it will get pushed aside.
If possible, you should also try to plan your exercise for after meals, as that’s when you will get the maximum effect of burning calories, instead of having your body convert those calories into stored fat.
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