Achieve a Healthy Weight

By Nancy J. Miller-Ihli, PhD

How do you achieve and maintain a healthy weight? Make a lifestyle change! Dont waste your time with a diet because diets simply dont work. Diets are an artificial way of eating and when the diet ends, 95% of adults regain the weight they lost within a year so they seldom provide long lasting results.
What does work is to make a lifestyle change. Most people dont really like change very much. I happen to be a fan of change because you seldom see improvement without it. A lifestyle modification which will allow you to achieve and maintain a healthy weight first requires a commitment to change.
Step one is do an evaluation of your current health status and set a realistic goal. If you dont know how much weight youd like to lose or why youd like to lose it, you wont be successful. You need to be specific and you need to write it down. Your goal should be realistic. Losing about 10% of your weight can improve your health dramatically. Since muscle dictates metabolism, body composition is often more meaningful than weight so that is an even better measurement if available.
Step two is to determine what modifications are necessary in your eating plan to achieve your goal. Remember that most low fat diets are high in carbohydrates and low carb diets are often high in fat. A well balanced diet is suggested with approximately 50% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 20% fat calories. Low glycemic impact carbohydrates are the best choice because they do not spike your blood sugar and insulin levels signaling your body to store energy as fat. Low glycemic impact carbs can be found in beans, peas, lentils and whole grains. Low glycemic impact diets are easy to follow, result in significant weight loss, and provide much greater improvements in markers for cardiovascular disease risk than do low fat diets.
Step three is to determine what type of exercise you enjoy and can commit to doing three or more times per week. The goal is to optimize your body composition. Both aerobic exercise and strength training are important. Because muscle dictates metabolism, its important to build muscle and to do that you must exercise regularly.
Step four is to develop strategies to reduce your stress. Exercise can help alleviate stress so a regular exercise program will help a lot. Many people also benefit from dietary supplements which can help boost and even repair their damaged metabolism, helping them to achieve their weight loss goals. As an example, vitamin and mineral supplements provide the foundation for healthy changes and weight loss and are endorsed by the American Medical Association.
You can help ensure your success by working with a weight loss coach or by joining a class of people with similar goals. Learn to read labels, find alternatives to fast food, and most importantly, dont let the scale be your only measure of success. You can make a long-lasting lifestyle change and be healthier than ever!