Fat Loss 4 Idiots Book

As an aid to focusing on serious weight loss and life changing habits, I've listed fifteen ways you can affect the way your body can lose weight and keep it off.

No. 1 Meal Portions

It is important to help the body to help itself. One way to do this is to have four or six small meals a day rather than two or three big ones. This means that the body will be better able to digest foods and your brain will soon realise that you have increased the regularity of your food intake. Interestingly, the body uses more calories digesting smaller food portions taken more often in a day - in other words you are boosting your metabolism and so making it use up more calories from your fat stores.

No. 2 Whole Foods

The consumption of Natural Whole foods is always better for the body as it is designed to eat foods in their original raw state. Even home cooked natural foods are better than processed ones. Plenty of opportunity to include lean beef, chicken, fish, etc., along with fruit, vegetables, nuts and whole grains.

No. 3 Low-Glycemic Carbohydrates

These are not the processed or refined ones. These are the more natural of carbohydrates. They come in the form of vegetables, oatmeal and whole-wheat products. They are in a better form for the body to digest and are full of nutrients that the body needs to function.

No. 4 Fibre

This aspect of our dietary needs is often neglected. It is known to ward off diseases like circulation problems, varicose veins, even some cancers. This is because of the way it enables the body to function. The inclusion of Fibre in our diets mean we will process our foods better, feel fuller sooner, and aid our bodies in reducing the need to store so much body fat. We need to have between 25 and 35 grams of Fibre a day, yet the average is only 14 grams.

No. 5 Protein

Lean protein should be eaten at each meal as it not only helps prevent hunger pangs but also helps us to retain lean body mass while losing the extra body fat.

No. 6 Healthy Fats

Not all Fats are bad for us. We need certain essential fats like Omega 3 which is found in a variety of foods like Olive oil, walnuts and even almonds. These essential fats are important as they act as anti-oxidents, ward off certain diseases and even help our brains to function.

No. 7 Fruit and Vegetables

You can't get more natural than fruit and vegetables. Our bodies should consume between 5 - 10 servings of each. There is such a variety of them that we can really let our creative juices flow in the ways we can incorporate them into our daily diet. The nutrient levels are wonderful and they are good at making us feel full too. You might even try mixing them up in a juicer.

No. 8 Drinking

Water is very good for us (we should be drinking between 8 and 12 good sized glasses of water a day). After all our bodies are 70% water! However, we can try varying our drinking by including Green Tea or even Nettle Tea. The important thing is that we really cut down on caloried sweet drinks and caffeine.

No. 9 Balance

We've already mentioned Healthy Fats but it is also important to have a balance of the fats we consume. Basically we should have one third saturated, one third monounsaturated, and one third polyunsaturated fats.

No. 10 Good Habits

We are all good at taking short cuts but often these lead to bad habits. Food planning is no different. We need to plan our meals and include a few of these methods of weight control at a time and thus create good habits which we can include in our food regime. Like all things, repetition can lead to a whole new way of doing things. We need to be trend setters in our goal towards weight control and maintenance.

No. 11 Super-foods

There are a number of fairly simple basic foods that can become "super-foods". These include yogurts (the low fat plain variety - try them instead of cream on fruit), tomatoes, spinach, mixed berries, whole oats, quinoa, olive oil, haricot beans, etc. There are so many things we can add to our daily food that can make our menus really versatile.

No. 12 Limits

Like all good plans we do need limits. Perhaps one of the most important one is the limit of how much fat we include each day. We know it is essential, we know we must vary the types of fats, but we also need to limit the amount. As a guide we should aim to keep it under 30% of our in-take for each day.

No. 13 Exercise

Nothing has quite the impact on our efforts at weight control that exercise, or the lack of it, can have and it often affects the level of success we can achieve. However, this is not about how long you stay on a treadmill, nor even how far you cycle, swim or run. It is about the type of exercise that you do. A well planned exercise regime can achieve more if it is focussed on the right area. Strengthening exercises that use muscles often keep the body burning calories even after the exercise period. Like everything else it is about planning and developing good habits. Often a trip to the gym and the use if an organised training plan can be very worth while.

No. 14 Journal

Keeping a daily journal can be invaluable. It can show you how you are achieving your goals and explain why you missed it. You can also vary your food plan to improve your results. You can also spot a food allergy or a food that is leading to hunger pangs.

No. 15 Percentages

The other thing is to realise that we are not perfect. We are going to slip up sometimes. The journal and other points above will alert us to this fact. However, it is important to realise that so long as we are about 90% on target, we should have every expectation of succeeding.

I hope the above helps and that it gives you more ways to help you towards your goal of weight loss and the following one of maintenance.

Karen Jones shows how to diet for that special event. There is a huge amount of information on dieting out there but you need to have a sensible approach to dieting. http://www.myverylowcaloriediet.com