Lose weight for a healthier life

Proper diet and exercise can aid in weight loss, as well as keep you healthy. The first step to weight loss is setting a realistic goal. By using a BMI chart and consulting with your health-care provider, you can determine what is a healthy weight for you. Studies show that you can improve your health with just a small amount of weight loss.

To reach your goal safely, plan to lose weight gradually. A weight loss of one-half to 2 pounds a week is usually safe. This can be achieved by decreasing the calories eaten or increasing the calories used by 250 to 1,000 calories per day, depending on current calorie intake. (Some people with serious health problems due to obesity may lose weight more rapidly under a doctor's supervision.) If you plan to lose more than 15 to 20 pounds, have any health problems, or take medication on a regular basis, a doctor should evaluate you before you begin a weight-loss program.

Avoid fad diets

It's never a good idea to trade meals for shakes or to give up a food group in the hope that you'll lose weight — we all need a variety of foods to stay healthy. Stay away from fad diets because you're still growing and need to make sure you get proper nutrients. Avoid diet pills (even the over-the-counter or herbal variety). They can be dangerous to your health; besides, there's no evidence that they help keep weight off over the long term.

Alcohol Consumption

For people who have more than two drinks a day, alcohol consumption has a drastic effect on the intake of calories. It's been estimated, for instance, that someone who drinks six beers a day takes in an extra 900 calories. Because drinking alcohol also leads to increased food consumption, not all of those extra calories come directly from alcohol-but many do. An alcoholic drink has 7 calories per gram-very close to fat's 9 calories per gram. That's almost twice as many calories as you get from a gram of protein or a gram of carbohydrate.

Increase Physical Activity

Most health experts recommend a combination of a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity for weight loss. Most adults should get at least 30 minutes and children should get 60 minutes of moderate physical activity on most, and preferably all, days of the week. But fewer than 1 in 3 U.S. adults gets the recommended amount of physical activity.

Dehydration

Sometimes we run a deficit all day without even knowing it. Dehydration occurs when you don't take in enough water to replace all that's lost through perspiration, respiration and urination. Dehydration reduces blood volume, creating thicker, more concentrated blood, which may stress the heart and is less capable of providing muscles with oxygen and nutrients. Also, thicker blood doesn't eliminate accumulated wastes as well.

Even a tiny shortage of water disrupts your biochemistry. Dehydrate a muscle by only 3 percent, and you lose 10 percent of contractile strength and 8 percent of speed. Water balance is the single most important variable in lifelong good health and top performance.

Getting used to life with less water is like getting accustomed to constant stress or tension. It can undermine your energy and weaken your health.

It is easier to lose weight rather than gaining the lost weight. Losing weight also has good benefits on diabetes, hypertension, and on your psyhology. Changing your eating habits is the key to lose weight. Here are some clues:

• Do not eat food when reading books or newspapers.
• Do not eat when watching TV.
• Don't go to grocery shopping when you're hungry.
• Make a list for grocery shopping. Don't buy food beyond your list.
• Don't skip meals.
• Eat food only when you're hungry.
• Don't feel bad when you can't keep your diet promise. Remember you'll another chance.
• Keep an eye on the calories of your meals.
• Do exercise
• Keep away from fast-food style meals.
• Do not eat with friends who has good appetite.