Losing Weight Without Compromising Your Health

Losing weight is simply a matter of understanding a few important concepts. If you do not burn calories because of lack of or inadequate physical activity, you keep them and they are stored as fat. If you eat more than you burn, you gain pounds. If you burn calories and eat, less you shed off the weight.

Unhealthy compromise

It is always tough to maintain the ideal weight and oftentimes it is as difficult as losing weight. The secret to attaining success in both endeavors is to choose activities or programs that do not put your overall health at risk. For instance, a person who is desperately following the stringent requirements of a fad diet does not realize that putting the body and the mind under too much stress causes it to respond such that fat deposits are increased instead of becoming depleted. Studies show that weight loss that also leads to maintenance of the ideal weight for the long term can be achieved by engaging in activities that do not compromise a person's health and well-being.

A balanced meal

Extreme diets may boast of fast results, but starving oneself is a very unhealthy choice. There are healthier ways to lose weight. Nevertheless, eating less and exercising more is just skimming the surface. It is important for a person on a diet to realize that there are certain food items that must not be taken in excess since they end up as fat deposits. These are sugars, starches, fatty dairy foods, and animal fat. However, avoiding foods is only half of the matter. The problem with some diets is that they do not stress enough that no matter how small the portion is it is necessary to partake of a balanced meal on a daily basis. In relation to this, skipping meals is a rather unhealthy habit to develop.

A note on sodium intake

When a person limits salt intake as espoused by some dietary programs, the loss of weight can be attributed to fluid loss and not fat loss. This practice also lowers fluid retention in the human body. However, the fluid balance in the body is the foundation of many metabolic processes. Potassium-sodium balance is greatly compromised when a person becomes dehydrated. If fluid loss is unregulated, there could be health consequences, some of which could be fatal.

Making smart choices

Losing weight need not be an act of desperation. You can engage in a weight loss program without becoming miserable and half-starved all the time. A person who keeps eating healthy can maintain a happy and well-adjusted attitude towards life. The best approach to take for any weight loss program to succeed is to think in the long term. Most diets offer short-term solutions. However, maintaining the right weight does not only require avoiding particular food items and focusing on specific food groups. Lifestyle changes are necessary in order for the process to result in a permanent loss of excess fat deposits. Making healthy choices is choosing to be smart.


If you are trying to shed off those extra pounds, it is important to take steps that will not compromise your health. Learn more about healthy weight loss

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