If the amount of calories that you consume goes over your maintenance level, then you will put on more weight. If the amount of calories that you consume goes under your maintenance level, then you will lose weight.

In theory it sounds a simple and straightforward method towards losing weight. However things are never as simple as they appear. Weight loss can be a bit more complex, if it wasn’t then nobody would be overweight.

The first thing that you have to know is that not all calories are created equal. A gram of protein and a gram of carbohydrates each contain 4 calories. A gram of fat on the other hand contains 9 calories. When you check on food labels as to the amount of fat that is contained, always remember the amount of calories which are coming from fat.

Another thing to keep in mind is that certain types of calories are more prone to be stored as fat than others. Especially calories that are consumed from foods that contain high levels of sugar. So it’s not just a question of how many calories you eat, but what types of calories you eat.

While it’s true that cutting back on calories will help you lose a certain amount of weight. What you need to consider is the quality of weight that you are losing and not just the quantity. Weight, just like calories comes in different forms. If you lost a limb in an accident, you will have lost some weight. However this would not be the type of weight you would be happy losing.

Much of the weight that people lose when they cut back drastically on calories comes from muscle. Muscle loss is something that you will want to avoid at all costs.

Let’s face it; you haven’t become overweight by carrying too much muscle on your body. It is the amount of fat that your body is carrying that has led to you becoming overweight. So it makes sense to focus on losing the fat and holding onto any muscle that you can.

Everyone has the same amount of muscles on their bodies. The only difference is the size of the muscles. The bigger the muscle the more calories your body will burn to keep that muscle. Don’t think for one minute that you will begin to look like some bodybuilder, because you won’t. Not unless you train your muscles for many years. However if you are trying to lose weight, you will reach your goal quicker if you do some form of resistance training (weight training).

Fat can be very stubborn to shift and nobody is more aware of that than you. The key to losing fat and holding onto muscle, apart from a healthy diet, is to have a good exercise programme. A good mix of cardiovascular and resistance training is the perfect cocktail. Cardiovascular training will help you burn fat and resistance training will help you to keep your muscle weight.

You may be under the impression that resistance training will consist of grunting and groaning with heavy weights in gym full of steroid injecting hulks. This is not the reality of the situation. All you need to do is to focus on what is going to be challenging for you. Don’t be concerned about how much weight you use; as long as it’s working your muscles and you are feeling it, then you are doing it right.

If you only do cardiovascular exercise you will lose some weight. However because you are losing muscle as well, it can leave your body looking loose and flabby. Using a weight training routine will result in your body becoming firmer and more toned, not to mention the benefits f becoming stronger.

As for your diet, it will not just be a question of what you eat but when you eat. This is a hugely important issue that is at times overlooked.

Your body is designed in such a way that it is only capable of using a certain amount of food at any given time. How much your body can use depends on the life you lead. If you are very active your body will be able to assimilate more food. If however you are not active your body will only use a certain amount of food and store the rest as fat.

The mistake many people make when they are trying to lose weight is that they often cut back on the amount of meals that they eat. Most people will often cut down to 1 or 2 meals a day and sometimes one of those meals will contain more calories than their bodies will be able to use. On top of this, leaving long gaps between meals slows down your metabolism resulting in fewer calories being burned.

Most people trying to lose weight unknowingly do everything that will prevent them from losing weight on a permanent basis. Because they will not get the results that they want by eating fewer meals less frequently, they give up trying to lose weight under the impression that they are not capable of doing so.

The secret is to eat small amounts of food more often. If your body is fed small amounts of food every 3 or 4 hours, your body will be able to use this food more effectively. Plus because you are getting a food intake on a regular basis, your metabolism will speed up knowing it is getting calories regularly and that it can afford to burn calories as it will be getting some more in a few hours.

Eating in this way not only speeds up your metabolism, it also allows your body to use the food that you eat in a way that it is happy with. Because you are eating smaller amounts there are no extra calories to be stored as fat.

Traditionally our last meal of the day also tends to be our biggest one. This can also be problematic when it comes to losing weight. Eating a large meal in the evening is counterproductive to weight loss, simply because you will be less active in the evening and will not burn off as many calories. So a fair amount of the food that you eat can be stored as fat.

If your biggest meal of the day was eaten in the morning or at lunch time, much of the calories would be used up through your daily activities. It can be difficult to change the eating habits of a lifetime, but if you are serious about losing weight then it has to be something that you must consider.

It is a fact that some people are more prone to putting on weight than others. Your genetics and body shape will play a role in how easy it is for you to gain or lose weight. Although this can be a setback you must remember that it is still only one part of the equation. There are many other things that will affect whether you lose weight, so do not focus just on the genetics that you have been given.

If you find it easy to put on weight you may have to work a little harder than some other people to keep it off. Don’t think that your genetics will be a huge obstacle in losing weight. If you want to do it bad enough then you will succeed in doing so. Besides think of how much prouder you will be when you do succeed, as you would have done it without certain advantages.

Some of the things you will need to think about are:

Watching what you eat Watching how much you eat Exercise on a regular basis Become more active in other areas of your life Be more determined Be more persistent Remember why you are doing it

Thousands of people lose weight successfully, if you really want to you can become one of them!

Losing Weight Safely: Crash Diets

Most people think that losing weight means eliminating the calories alone can shed off their excess weight. What people don’t realize is that this is a dangerous mentality to losing weight because when they decrease their calorie intake below the required levels, the body begins to digest the fats. Sounds great but it doesn’t work that way. Burning fat requires a lot of energy. Since there is not enough energy in the body to facilitate the metabolism to burn fat, losing weight will progress at a very slow pace and result in fatigue, illness and a weak immune system.

Low-calorie diet is also compensated for by burning muscle. People on this type of diet who revert back to their old eating habits end up gaining back their weight loss, if not all the weight fat they lost. And since fats have more volume per mass than muscle, they end up with the same weight as before but more bulky. In losing weight, you should keep in mind that you should lose excess body fats only.

However, you can try out eating small meals at more frequent intervals. The body will not think that it is being starved and will not store food as fat. Losing Weight Safely: Eat Properly

You may have considered junking the crash diet option but he should also not forget to watch what he is eating. A variety in diet must always be considered so that you may be able to get the necessary nutrients from your diet. It is also healthier to eat foods that are roasted, steamed or broiled rather than fried. It is also important to include a lot of fiber in the diet. Frequent re-hydration is also necessary while losing weight safely.

Losing Weight Safely: Pump up lean Muscle Mass

Muscles burn calories when they work; they even do so at rest. Unlike fats, muscles burn calories all-day round. With this fact, you can start weight loss by increasing muscle mass. The more muscles, the less fat will be left. This is attainable starting with working out with resistance exercises.

Losing Weight Safely: Engaging in Aerobics

Aerobics are good for the heart by increasing cardiovascular endurance. Aerobics also help in developing lean muscle mass while simultaneously decreasing excess body fat. Aside from these, aerobics make the metabolic process more efficient and its rate high, even after a long while.

Losing Weight Safely: Extra “Push”

Some people believe that smoking and caffeine can actually help in losing weight. This can perhaps be true; however, they do the body more harm than good because of their side-effects. For that extra “push”, you can try out taking food supplements. After all, 95% of these products out in the market actually do some good.

Losing Weight Safely: On Taking Diet Pills

While diet pills affect the amount of weight loss as well as how long you can keep that weight off. However, you must be concerned of the side-effects of these diet pills. Furthermore, diet pills are only of benefit to losing weight as long as you are taking them. Once you have terminated the use of diet pills, the weight loss usually returns.

Losing weight safely does not have to entail sacrifice and suffering. It actually means opening up to a new outlook in a lifestyle that benefits a full and healthy life. Losing weight might entail a little adjustment in your beginning efforts, but as the old saying goes, “no pain; no gain.”

There is two ways you can approach and lose weight with a weight loss program. Firstly you can find a program that will help you lose weight, or you can develop your own.

Lose weight by developing your own weight loss plan

To lose weight with your own weight loss plan you will need to do the following

1. Work out your Body Mass Index (BMI). There are many tools out there. Alfitness.com.au has a free diet profile and BMI calculator and diet profile that will help with this.

2. Figure out how much weight you want to lose and the time frame you want to lose weight in. Lose weight at around .5kg per week to lose weight in a healthy manner.

3. Develop an eating plan that takes into account how many calories that your body needs. Then create an exercise plan to burn five hundred calories more than you are consuming. This rule of thumb will help you lose weight at around .5kg per week.

When creating your diet plan you can still eat the foods that you enjoy and still lose weight. Many people think that to lose weight on a diet that they need only to eat “diet foods”. Not true. Just make sure that you get your portion control correct. This is a major point of failure for people who are trying to lose weight.

Finding a Weight Loss Program to lose weight

You can lose weight long term by following a structured weight loss sytem. There are many out there that will get you good results. The best ones to help you lose weight are

Weight Watchers

Australian Lifestyle & Fitness

Jenny Craig

These systems are all very strong and you will lose weight if you follow these programs. To lose weight and keep it off you need to make sure that you keep a long term view in mind otherwise you will become a yo-yo dieter!