Dieting and weight loss

Dieting and weight loss can be difficult but with a little healthy eating, balanced nutrition and regular exercise to help control weight, it should not be that difficult to achieve. We all yoyo from diet plan to diet plan but if you stick to a consistent nutrition plan and exercise you should be able to see the kilos come off. Besides from actual weight loss, dieting can improve your self-esteem and make you feel better. Over the long term it can lead to a healthier lifestyle and make you change the way you feel about food and actually paying attention to what you eat and why.

Eating fewer calories is the principle idea behind losing weight. It doesn't mean eating less; it just means your body must burn more calories than you are putting in your mouth. You can therefore continue to eat the foods you enjoy whilst working towards your weight goal. You should create lower-calorie versions of your favorite food. This can be done with low fat versions of the same product or substituting some of the foods for fruits and vegetables. Water and fiber in these fruits and vegetables will make you feel "full" without adding too many calories, as they are low in fat not to mention full of vitamins and minerals.

It is important to eat small and often and not overload your plate with mega portions. Your body does not need it. If you use measuring cups, then you can learn portion sizes and what is recommended and what is needed. To keep your metabolism up, split your regular three meals a day into smaller five meals a day.

Exercise will help you burn fat and increase muscle mass. Any type of cardio or sports can help you achieve this. Apart from being a good activity for you, it will be excellent for the heart. Planning your food ahead of time can work wonders with your new regime. It decreases the need for binging and will moderate when you are truly feeling hungry and when you just want to snack because of something such as boredom or stress or loneliness.

Some popular diets nowadays are used for both just losing a few kilos and getting into better shape. The Zone Diet uses a carbohydrates, fat and proteins equal ratio that promotes weight loss by keeping insulin in "the zone". It is aimed to keep your metabolism up and decrease your hunger whilst increasing your energy. It revolves itself around lean proteins with vegetables, fruits and healthy fats.

The Pritkin Diet says that to reduce weight, decreasing your intake of calorie dense foods is the way to go. It focuses on eating fruits, vegetables, pasta, oatmeal, salads, low fat poultry, soups, seafood and a limited amount of processed foods.

The "Eat More, Weight Less" Diet claims that if you east fat free versions of the foods you generally eat, you can still feel full but not gain any extra weight and therefore help weight loss. The foods include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, egg whites, some non-far dairy like cottage cheese and yogurt and beans.

The "Atkins" Diet limits carbohydrates stating that they increase unhealthy weigh gain and therefore eliminates most carbohydrates from the body to help make the body burn fat. It claims that you take in almost half of your total calories from fat and protein and only between 5-15% of fat from carbohydrates. Foods such as meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, artificial sweeteners, non-starchy vegetables, nuts, oil, cream, butter, and cheese are all allowed.

The "South Beach" Diet is centered around the fact that you can only eat good carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables, whole grain and good fats that are unsaturated. It tries to limit highly processed foods as these are quickly processed by the body as well as saturated fats and sugars, which are more likely to cause hunger cravings.