by: Roy Barker

If you are looking for a way to lose fifteen pounds in two weeks, a
high protein diet, a low carb diet, a fruit diet, a no fat diet, a
blood type diet, a juice fast, a diet named after a place in Miami,
a grapefruit diet, a cactus diet, a coffee and cigarette diet, a
diet that includes sweets, a diet based on your body type, a diet
based on an ancient religion or a diet based on your hair color,
then this article is NOT for you.

Fad and crash diets, such as the ones described above are not only
unhealthy but they also cause rebound weight gain. Also most diets,
even though diet gurus write them, cause an initial weight loss but
the ultimate result is that you gain all of the weight back the
minute you go off the plan. If you don't gain it back within a
couple of diets, you are likely to gain it all back plus a bit more
within a year.

Crash diets dehydrate you, low calorie diets put your body into
starvation mode so you plateau where you can't lose one more pound
and high protein diets stress your kidneys and clog your arteries.

So how does one lose weight?

There is only one answer to this question.

You need to expend more calories than you are taking in. Restricting
certain foods, eating so-called fat burning foods, or dehydrating
yourself with special pills or teas does not do it. It is simple
math. The only way is to eat a little less and exercise a little
more. Here is the equation below:

Eating Less + Exercising More = Weight Loss.

This is not a magical formula, it is just logic. It is also not the
fastest way to lose weight. As I have mentioned before, this is not
an article about how to lose ten pounds in three days or 80 pounds
in a month. It is about safe, healthy, smart weight loss.

In order to lose weight safely and without putting yourself at risk
for such health hazards as dehydration, kidney failure,
malnutrition, exhaustion, nervous dysfunction, tooth loss, dull
hair, wrinkles, cellulite, sudden heart failure or stroke and lose
the weight so that it stays off, you should lose no more than
approximately one pounds every couple of days.

Although that might not sound like a large amount of weight to lose
it actually is! If you lose 3 pounds a week that means you can
achieve a weight loss of twelve pounds a month! If you only have
twenty pounds to lose then your weight loss is not only quite rapid,
but you have the extra guarantee that it will stay off because you
have followed a sensible exercise plan that did not involve
starving, exhausting or depriving yourself. If you are willing to
drop your impatience and desire for immediate gratification and
stick to an exercise plan and healthy eating habits, then a
Mediterranean Diet is for you. Remember being slim is only good if
you are able to enjoy it!

Do You Need to Lose Weight?

Fascination with Fat

If you want to lose weight, you first need to assess whether you
need to actually lose weight or are simply a fashion victim.
Unfortunately this society is fascinated with fat - who has it and
who doesn't. As we are persuaded by so many images in the media that
persuade us to believe that you can never be too thin, many of us
are bad judges of our actual body weight.

If you are under the age of eighteen and reading this book, the
first thing you need to do is consult with your parents about your
plans to lose weight. Have them make an appointment with a physician
so that he can indicate to you whether or not you are a candidate
for weight loss.

If you are an adult, it is possible that you may not be overweight
and are just trying to be, as Bridget Jones put it in Bridget Jones
Diary "a stick insect with eyelashes." It is also very possible that
you know you need to lose weight but have no idea where to start.

If you are obese and you know it, then you have to check with a
physician first to see how your health is before you embark on any
exercise program or plan. The same is also true if you have any kind
of medical condition but especially a thyroid condition or heart
condition. Some physicians may not recommend a weight loss program
for those who are over 40 as due to genetics and hormonal changes
some people naturally just round out or gain weight in a way that
simply cannot be changed. If your doctor tells you your spreading
hips are due to menopause or genetics, believe him! It is not clever
to fool with Mother Nature.

About the author:
Publisher & Author: Roy Barker. More detail and recommended guides
can be found at www.diet-weightloss-resource.com/where you'll see
easy weight loss assistance is at hand.