Losing Weight without a Traditional Diet

The Grapefruit Diet. The Juice Diet. The South Beach Diet. The Atkins Diet. Every day, we are bombarded about the "best" weight loss diet, the diet that's sure to help 110% of those looking to lose weight, the diet that will cure all your problems, from dandruff to diabetes and beyond.

Unfortunately, most people find themselves gaining weight on these strict diets! In addition, traditional diets cause binging on unhealthy foods, bring about guilt and burn-out, and are nearly impossible to adhere to in the long-term. Indeed, diets don't work, but the truth is that you don't need a traditional diet to lose weight! With the right strategy and information, your weight loss is not contingent upon silly traditional diet double-talk, gimmicks or fancy names.

The true theory of weight loss

The basic theory of weight loss is simple: you lose weight when you burn more calories than you consume. For the average woman who wants to lose weight, her total calorie intake per day should be somewhere between 1100-1500 calories a day. Men can add an extra 200 - 300 calories more per day.

While the calories may seem generous, the reality is not. You can easily consume that many calories through just four mocha lattes from a national coffee shop chain! And that's the first problem - people eat more calories than they realize, and therefore, they don't lose any weight, even if they think they're sticking within their total calorie count. If you have a fast-food quarter pounder, say good bye to almost half of the above daily calorie allowance!

Fiber: The secret to weight loss

The trick to losing weight is to pick and choose your foods wisely. You need to find a balance between receiving sufficient nutrition and fiber, but minimal fat and calories. The goal is to stay full for longer periods of time, eventually decreasing your calorie intake.

Fiber is very popular among healthy weight loss advocates because it not only fills you up and keeps you full longer, but it performs the vital job within the body of keeping your system healthy. Fiber helps your body extract the vitamins and minerals necessary for health, ensuring that waste doesn't build up to overly high levels. Fiber can often be found in fruits and vegetables, and thus, why people who want to lose weight are encouraged to eat more of them. Because most fruits and vegetables are also low in fat and calories, you can eat almost as many of them as you want, while still keeping your body in balance. If you have blood sugar issues, however, you will want to watch your ratio of carbohydrates to fiber, keeping your carbs relatively low, with no more than 45 grams per meal.

Rationing your calories intelligently

When you eat to lose weight, but aren't on a traditional diet, you will need to intelligently ration your calorie intake. That means, in general, that you'll have to stay away from foods that are high-fat, high-calorie, and low-fiber, and instead, choose foods that have a high fiber count, lower calories and low fat. Since foods that are high in fiber and low in fat are naturally healthy, you'll find that you'll lose weight without any extra effort.

Incorporating long-term exercise

As for exercise, general guidelines outline that people should obtain 20 minutes of aerobic exercise daily that gets your heart rate up and keeps it up. Keeping a balance between cardiovascular exercise and strength training will be the most beneficial exercise you can do to help you with your weight loss. About every three months, change your routine - this will help avoid the plateau effect and keep you from getting bored.

Eating healthy foods that are high-fiber, low-carbohydrate and low-fat and exercising on a regular basis will help you shed those unwanted pounds. Indeed, eating in a healthier manner means that you won't be able to have everything you want, but it also means that you never have to feel guilty for having something that's not always the healthiest. Making the switch to healthy foods and exercise will do just as much for you as a traditional diet - but without the stress and guilt.

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