How to Lose Weight Effectively - Weight Loss Tips

For those that are looking to learn how to lose weight effectively, this guide will serve as a starting point. Fat loss is one of those processes I like comparing with gardening. In order to have a beautiful garden you have to prepare the soil, plant the seeds, and water it day after day. A few days of no water is fine, but go a week with no water and your gains may just "die off".

In weight loss, the "watering" is your dedication and commitment to a diet. I'm not going to mention any specific diet to follow. The reason is because whatever diet you follow, even if it is the most obscure and unknown diet, will work as long as you're committed and the diet is cutting calories.

The Diet Doesn't Matter!

So many people get caught up in picking the best and most effective diet out there. They try the most popular diets and when they don't work they try another one. It's as if dieters are looking for the "diet" to save their fat loss.
Truth is, learning how to lose weight effectively is not based on the diet system you follow as much as it's based on your full commitment and dedication to the diet.
You see, to be successful on a diet you must be committed at least a month to it. And you also need to be following exactly what it is telling you. The more exact you follow it, the better results you'll get. So many people start following a diet and quit within a week. They didn't lose any weight so they discount the diet as ineffective. What was really ineffective was their lack of following the diet properly and staying with it for longer than a week.

Time is of the Utmost Value

It doesn't matter if you're following the most advanced diet out there. Time is necessary to learn how to lose weight effectively. The "target" amount of weight you should be shooting for is around two to three pounds of fat per week. This is what you should be aiming for. Anything higher is considered too much weight in a week. Usually this excess weight loss over two pounds is nothing more than water, which can easily gained back by drinking lots of water! The weight loss could also be muscle mass which is something you don't want to lose.

The Necessities of Whatever Diet You Tread With

Although the particular diet you pick isn't of much importance, what is important is that the diet does a few things.

First off, your diet MUST focus on the reduction of calories. This is essential. If you are not eating less than you burn on a daily basis, weight loss will not take place. End of story. No amount of "wishing" or "hoping" will cure this.

Many diet programs don't focus on counting calories. And this is fine as long as you are still eating less than you burn. But how are you to know if you don't count your calories? For diet programs like this I recommend following them for at least two weeks. If you haven't lost around two pounds per week then you are eating too much. The next step would be to start cutting calories (not meals) or begin counting them!

No Starving

Although I said any diet will work, I do advise you to stay away from diets that focus on starvation. On average, you should eat around 500 calories less than your body burns on a daily basis for fat loss. Anything less than this is often quite difficult and less efficient.
The reason is because when you eat too little calories your body goes into "starvation" mode. In this mode, your body begins to store fat and slow down the metabolism. This is a reaction to not enough food and preparation for this lack of food. It's as if your body is preparing you for "winter" and the lack of food by storing extra fat.
This is why eating only one meal a day doesn't usually work at getting rid of fat.

Rick Harris has a website filled with tips and techniques on How to Lose Weight Fast [http://dropweightfastnow.com]. He also runs a free newsletter which shows how to count calories, pick fat burning foods, and much more!

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