Best Way To Lose Weight

There is no secret to losing weight. The concept is painfully simple, and implementation is ten times as painful. There are four main keys to losing weight. They are:

• Having goals
• Proper diet
• Exercise
• Follow through

Every weight loss product or book doesn't really reveal any secret. They merely elaborate on one, some or all of the above four concepts. That's not to say that any of the products are a waste of time and money. That's not true. We need such help and support to keep us going.

This is a crucial first step to any endeavor and still overlooked by many. Without a goal you are not likely to achieve much at all, whether it be saving money or raising children. Set a goal.

Your goal should be a SMART goal. What's a SMART goal? It's:

• Specific
• Moderate
• Attainable
• Really Healthy
• Time-bound

Your goal for weight loss should be specific. Obviously, this should be how many pounds you want to lose. Choose a target weight and stick to it until you acheive it.

Your goal should be moderate. It is not healthy to lose too much weight in a short period of time. This can cause serious health hazzards. Moreover, most people that lose weight too fast put the weight back on almost as quickly.

Your weight loss goal should be attainable. This is where many people fail. They goals they set are not reasonable or attainable. The result is disappointment and failure. A goal to lose 50 pounds is likely to fail because it will take too long for you to see results and you will lose faith and motivation.

A goal to lose 10 pounds is much more reasonable and attainable. Furthmore, you will feel a sense of accomplishement upon achieving the goal and you will have an occasion to celebrate. The celebration of success is important to you having the body you want. This success in turn will give the motivation to set a new goal and lose even more weight.

Your weight loss goal needs to be really healthy. Let's face it, the reason most of us are overweight is because we don't eat healthy diets. If the only food that was avaiable to us was the food that people ate 100 hundred years ago, very likely, with the exception of a few, we would not have a weight problem. Our diets today consist of refined and processed foods that lack nutrients and force us to eat more and gain weight. When the body gets the nutrients it needs in a meal, it won't crave more food than is needed.

Finally, your goal must be time-bound. The time you give yourself to reach your goal should not be so short that you set yourself up for failure and disappointment. Likewise, it shouldn't be too long that you lose interest and motivation.

It you set a SMART at the start of your weight loss effort, you will indeed be on the way to achieving success.

Losing weight is not just about eating less, it's about eating healthy. This is perhaps that hardest part of dieting and losing weight. We have become so accustomed to a diet that has given a third of this nation diabetes that we think to eat anything else is abnormal.

A word of caution: When trying to lose weight, it is important not to be too fanatical about what to eat and not eat. Baby steps is the way to go, otherwise you will set your self up for failure.

So what is a proper diet? What's the best diet for losing weight? The answer is there is no one-size-fits-all super weight loss diet. Remember, any diet product or book worth using or reading is just helping you to achieve one of the above four concepts. There is no secret. There is no one way. However, here is a little technique I think is useful as we try to find the foods that work best for us.

The Raw-Processed/Refined Continuum

A good way to quickly assess how healthy you are eating is to jot down everything you eat in any given day. Then, place the food or beverage items on a raw---processed continuum. If most of what you eat comes in a package, can, box, bag or any kind of packing, it is very likely heavily processed or just plain bad for you. This kind of food would go on the processes end of the continuum. Of course, some foods are more processed than others. Two of the most processed foods on the planet are a large part of our daily diet: sugar and flour. Then there is the delicious scone, which is basically just flour and sugar.

Foods like fruit, vegetables and fresh meats would lie on the "raw" side of the continuum. Then there is everything else in between. Now, it is not expected that you completely change your eating habits over night. However, you can become aware of what you are putting in your body and slowly, step-by-step, begin to make the necessary changes in your diet.

You can't really expect to lose weight and keep it off if you don't permanently change your eating habits. If you want to lose weight, you will likely have to permanently change the way you eat, period.

Humans did not evolve as sedintary creatures. We walked or ran everywhere and carried everything on our backs or in our arms. Because we now drive cars, we have to deliberately replace the exercise we would be getting otherwise. Don't expect to lose weight without exercise. Don't believe that humans can live a healthy life without exercise. Don't believe that there is a "no exercise" diet out there that is any good for you.

Many dieters fail here by thinking they have to exercise more than they really do, at least at the start. If you are not accustomed to exercise, then you need to worry more about developing the habit, rather than seeking maximum benefit from it. For non-exercisers, a good way to start is to pick a time of the day that is good for you and walk for 20 minutes. Focus more on making it a habit. Once you are into it, you can step up the pace and start getting more physical benefit. As it is, walking is really great exercise. Alternatively, if you try to do too much too soon, or think you have to jog miles and miles everyday, you are setting yourself up for failure.

Follow through is also where many people fail with dieting, and many other endeavors in life. However, if you have a good SMART goal, you are more likely to succeed than not. If you want to lose weight, set a goal with time deadline and stick to it. Make the goals short and attainable so you have many chances to succeed and celebrate.

A Word About Diet Pills

I can't recommend any form of synthetic medication for dieting purposes. The medications come with too many side effects and inconclusive results. Furthermore, the idea that we can take a pill instead of eating right and exercising is dangerous. Not eating right and not exercising will eventually cause you dozens of other health problems. Weight just happens to be the current manifestion of this unhealthy lifestyle

Set a good SMART goal, eat right, exercise and follow through and you will achieve success in losing weight. Furthermore, apply these principles in other areas of your life to acheive success there as well.