Dieting is really a simple concept. You need to eat less calories than you expend and voila - you're wearing your skinny jeans! Unfortunately, that voila part does take a bit longer than most would like so we try to find any loopholes that we can, and there are none. Most newbies to the "health" world just assume if they spend all their time on the diet aisle, eating low calorie, low fat, low carb rabbit food, the pounds will just fall off. Wrong.
It cannot be said too much: If you want to lose weight, eat less. That's it. Of course if you drop down to an unhealthy amount of calories per day, you'll probably gain it right back as soon as you start eating again. We've got to learn to think long term. You don't just want to lose weight, you want to be healthy forever. So to expand on the "if you want to lose weight" stuff, you absolutely must take a well rounded approach.
You must include some form of exercise and keep this up regularly for the rest of your life. Secondly, it's not that you necessarily need to eat less than you do now as much as you need to eat better than you do now. You have to clean up your diet and start eating what your body needs not what your mind tells you your mouth wants. Your body is made to eat certain things. Protein, carbohydrates, lipids (fats), and certain other essential vitamins and minerals. You can learn more about how much of each of these you need at mypyramid.gov, the official United State Department of Agriculture website detailing the food pyramid.
Common sense can be applied here. You are not a rabbit. If anything, much of us resemble much larger animals after the years of eating like them. So why would it make sense to eat like a rabbit? Because you're rushing. We want to lose weight right now so we go extreme. A moderate approach is always best. Low calorie versions of some of your favorite high calorie foods are a great choice. 100 calorie bags of cookies and crackers for every meal is not.
While buying low calorie versions of your favorite processed foods is generally better than the full fat and calorie alternatives, it's your best bet to knock out all of these at once. Buy your food fresh and cook it yourself. Processed foods are full of preservatives and excess sodium and other products your body doesn't need.
See the proof in your results. It's time to get real. How much weight have you lost? Even when you brag to your friends about how healthy you've been eating, do you actually feel better? Don't take the easy route and don't settle for a wild guess. Do your research and go about your weight loss the right way. Don't starve yourself just to see results quickly. Eat what you need and be patient. Anyone can do it, it just takes time.
