Diets That Work

Weight loss is a tricky subject, mostly because patience is not something that a lot of us possess, including me. When we want something, we want it now. This is the case with our weight loss or fat loss goals as well. Losing weight, and a lot of it for that matter is very possible, but if you are on the search for diets that work, then at the end of the day you are surely going to fail.

First we are going to discuss a few diets that are around these days, what you need to look out for, and what to avoid like the plague. Then, we will discuss some very important nutrition rules, how you should be exercising, and as an added bonus…I will give you the holy grail of weight loss, just be aware that you may be a little disappointed.

Crash Diets And Fad Diets Are Bad News

Patience is a virtue. It applies to many parts of your life, and if you are looking to lose weight quickly, you are in for a nasty surprise. Weight loss can be reasonably rapid, but reasonably is the key word here. The fact is that there are no crash diets that work, and there are no fad diets that work.

Crash Diets

A crash diet is exactly as the name suggests. You basically drastically reduce your calorie intake and stop eating even close to enough food. Yep, you definitely will lose weight, in the short term, but you should be prepared for it to return with a vengeance. When you dramatically reduce your calorie intake, you are also dramatically reducing your metabolism, which is the rate that your body burns calories. This is the reason that people that tend to put all the weight back on and more. Once you have stopped your crash diet, you won’t be able to properly process the increase in calories, and you will quickly store them as fat.

Fad Diets

I don’t know about you but eating grapefruits all day and swallowing vinegar are not my idea of a healthy lunch. The fact is that there are a lot of fad diets out there, that basically are what we discussed above, crash diets. Making you drastically reduce your calories, achieving weight loss short term, but not changing your lifestyle, and more than likely resulting in excess fat gain later on. A few fad diets that you may have heard of, and you should definitely avoid: Grapefruit diet, Apple Cider Vinegar diet, Cabbage Soup diet, Acai Berry diet, Negative Calorie Diet…. Ah the list goes on. At the end of the day, you need to make healthy choices, basing your whole diet upon one thing, which is what most far diets are, will not result in healthy or long term weight loss. It takes a rounded approach, and sure, there is a small possibility that grapefruits possess some weight loss benefits, however, eating then in excess certainly won’t help you achieve your goals.

So, if you are looking for quick diets that work, then you need to rethink your approach a little. You can lose weight quickly, but you need to use your brain, and you will ensure that you keep it off forever.

The Holy Grail Of Weight Loss

So Lauren, what is it exactly that I need to do in order to lose fat fast? Well, firstly it depends on what exactly you define fast as, because it sure as hell is going to be different from my definition. The Holy Grail, the one thing you need to possess in order to achieve your goal of the ultimate physique, is…. common sense. Of course, throw in patience, discipline, and an ability to look towards a long-term goal and you have a sure fire solution.

Losing weight is as simple as it is complicated. Your nutrition is of utmost importance, but if you ignore the exercise part of it, then you will not get the results you want either. It takes a rounded approach, but it is very possible, and once you get the hang of a healthier lifestyle and start making better choices, you will find your body changing very quickly, and the weight will be falling off you.

Nutrition: Get It Right

Looking for diets that work isn’t going to help you long term. Taking a smart, rounded and sensible approach to weight loss will result in you reaching your goals, whatever they are. Nutrition is an essential part of the puzzle, probably the most important. Without good nutrition, any other work you are doing will be almost useless. Bad nutrition is without a doubt the biggest culprit of obesity, but thankfully, the easiest one to fix. Follow these nutrition rules and you are well on your way to a healthier and leaner you.

7 Nutrition Rules

1. Cut Out The Crap

To put it simply, cut out everything that you know is shit in your diet. You know you don’t need lollies, this kind of simple carbohydrate can be weight loss death. You know you don’t need fried fatty foods, loaded with saturated fats and with enough calories for the day. It’s the simple stuff you need to do first, and it does not get any simpler than this. Simple carbs, such as lollies, candy, sugar treats, soft drinks and fried fatty take away foods need to leave your diet in a hurry.

2. Eat Breakfast

Breakfast kick starts your day, gets your metabolism going, and gives you energy to do the activities you need. Yes, you need a deficit in calories in order to lose weight, no, you do not want to get that deficit by skipping breakfast. It will only make it worse. Check this post out to find out what to eat for breakfast, and why you so desperately need it.

3. Eat More Protein

Protein is a necessity, and unfortunately a lot of us are not getting enough. Check out this article on protein, it tells you how much you need and why you need it. If you are looking for protein diets that work, then you are on a slightly better track, however, it is better not to think of it as a diet, and just look at an increase in protein consumption. You will likely feel fuller for longer, and you won’t want to eat as much between meals, not to mention many other benefits such as muscle growth, recovery, and even a slight increase in metabolism.

4. Eat Vegetables With Each Meal

Vegetables are great because they fill up your stomach without adding too many calories in there. You also get a whole lot of great nutrients from them. Fill up your plate with veggies at most meals.

5. Drink More Water

Water constitutes around 60-70% of your body, you need it, and you probably need to drink more. Water is essential in the fat burning process, and in keeping your energy up during the day. Keep a water bottle with you at all times, not just during exercise.

6. Eat Carbs After Training And In The Morning

A lot of people out there are carb intolerant. Which means if you eat too many carbs, you probably will get fat. There is no need to be scared of carbs, and you certainly don’t need to avoid them completely. Just be smarter. Like I mentioned before, cut out the obviously bad carbs. Eat some carbs in the morning; whole grain bread or oats are great, as you are more tolerant then. Eat them after you workout. You need them to replace your energy and to help your protein uptake. Don’t cut carbs completely, just be a little smarter.  Check out this post to learn more about carbs.

7. Eat More Often

Try to eat 5-6 times a day. Smaller and more frequent meals will mean you keep your metabolism up, your blood sugar stable, and you won’t be starving and want to overindulge. It is an easy trick that is imperative to appetite control and weight loss.

There are a lot more things you can do to improve your nutrition, but if you start with these, you will ensure that you are on your way to long-term fat loss and achieving your goal.

Don’t Ignore Exercise

It is true that you can exercise all you want, and not get the gains you want because of bad nutrition, but the same goes the other way too. Exercise is essential to weight loss, and a healthy lifestyle.

Strength Training For Weight Loss

Weight training is a really important part of the weight loss process. If you are changing your lifestyle, eating better, following the essential nutrition rules and starting to exercise, then you need to be including some weight training into it as well. Strength training is not just for big guys who want even bigger muscle. The fact is that it is a very good way to burn calories, as it is high intensity work. Building extra muscle will also work to increase your metabolism, which will aid weight loss. Just doing cardio work will help you burn the fat, but not shape up your body the way you want. You only need to work 3 times per week for about 45 minutes to get good results. Don’t ignore this type of exercise in your plans, as it is high important. Doing compound exercises is much more effective as it burns more calories and works more muscles at once. A compound exercise is one that works more joints than one at once, such as bench press or the squat. If you are a body builder, you will have a different philosophy, however if weight loss is your goal, stick to compound exercises and you will see results.

Cardio For Weight Loss

I won’t talk too much about the kind of cardio you need to lose weight as it is discussed in depth in this post about cardiovascular training. Basically, If you are very out of shape, and new to exercise, start with low intensity work for a decent amount of time. At least 30-45 minutes. Walking, jogging slowly, or using something like the elliptical trainer in the gym is great for initial fat loss, and combined with strength training is very effective. If you are a bit more advanced and are looking for that extra hit, try some high intensity interval work. Which is basically working hard for a period of time, and resting a bit, over and over. Some examples would be tough intervals on a bike, work hard for 2 mins and rest for one. Another example is doing repeat sprints at the local park. These are harder, but you can do it in less time, you will likely burn a lot more calories from it, but you need to assess you goals and where you are.

As you can see, in your search of quick diets that work, you will only come to find that common sense, a little bit of discipline and a healthy lifestyle is what you actually need to achieve you goal. Be smart, and you will keep the weight off for life.