A Sensible Diet and Exercise Plan for Weight Loss

With so many fad diets on the market, it can be hard to find a sensible diet and exercise plan for weight loss. Actually there are only two main ingredients required for any weight loss plan. They are eat less and exercise more!

You will lose weight by consuming fewer calories, but if you want faster results then combining less calories with exercise is the answer.

The best way to start a sensible diet and exercise plan for weight loss is to keep a food journal. Record what you are presently eating for a day or two. Then analyze these results, sit down and look at how much you are eating during the course of one day. Add up all the calories and you will be surprised.

The first thing you need to do is cut out 500 calories per day. Doing this for one week will result in a weight loss of one pound. If your goal is to lose 2 pounds per week then cut out 1000 calories each day. These first steps can be very straightforward to achieve. By looking through your food journal you will probably notice how many snacks you were eating. Cookies, crackers, cheese and more, all you have to do is cut these out. They might possibly account for more than 1,000 calories each day!

Other easy ways to cut down on your calories are to eliminate any pre-packaged foods that you were previously using. These are notorious for being laden with calories, chemicals and fats. Preparing fresh fruits and vegetables should become a daily habit. If you just don't have the time then using frozen veggies is the next best thing. Cutting down on your portion sizes will reduce the amount of calories you eat. A great trick here is to eat your meals on smaller plates. Your plate is full and you still get the satisfaction of eating a big plateful, just without the extra calories.

Adding exercise to your daily routine doesn't have to be a nightmare. The word exercise provokes pictures of working out hard in the gym or running until you drop. It doesn't have to be that way! If you haven't exercised in a while, you want to start off slowly. Just add a 10 minute walk to your day, even if it is just walking to the end of the street and back. Time yourself, before you know it you will be walking this distance faster. Now, it is time to increase the distance, go around the block or head out to your local park for a gentle walk. Any exercise is going to be beneficial. As your body adjusts, you will find you want to exercise for longer periods of time or just increase the intensity of each workout.

Other simple exercises are swimming, dancing, cycling and stair climbing. Next time you are at the mall make a point of taking the stairs and not the elevator. Any additional exercise is going to eventually show up on the scale.

As you can see, a sensible diet and exercise plan for weight loss is easy to find and to implement. There are additional great resources available which offer everything from nutritional advice to recipe ideas. Make use of these to keep your weight loss journey interesting.