The Healthy Route to Weight Loss

     It happens to the best of us. A few too many mince pies at Christmas, ice cream on holiday, nibbling through the day. It sneaks up on us, and suddenly catches us unawares. Before we know it, there's that special occasion coming up and we're filled with dread. How are we going to squeeze into the bikini/dress/dinnersuit? Is it the grapefruit diet for us? Even worse. Cabbage soup?
Absolutely not! We just have to take ownership of the problem. The first step will be to address our intake of calorie and fat. The amount of calories we burn each day depends greatly on our lifestyle. An office worker who does not exercise will obviously need a lower calorie intake than a builder who plays squash four times a week. Your recommended intake will also depend on your sex. As a rough guide, the maximum intake of calories for a man is 2,500 - for a woman, 2,000. Women should eat no more than 70g of fat per day, with only 20g being saturated fat. Men should eat no more than 90g of fat, with only 30g saturated fat. These (rough) guidelines set out the recommended intake to MAINTAIN your current weight. If you're looking to lose weight, you'll need to reduce your consumption, eat a balanced diet, and start following an exercise regime. The recommended minimum calorie intake for a woman is 1,200. For a man, 1,800. Recommended fat intake = 40g minimum for ladies, 50g for men. Cut down on saturated fats as much as possible. This is the absolute minimum you can consume without risking, possibly permanent, damage to your body. Most people will struggle with a sudden drop in calories, and soon find their energy plumeting; their concentration on the wane, and in a short time, feeling pretty miserable! We recommend a steady start, for a woman, dropping to 1,500 calories and 40g fat per day, combined with a gradually increasing exercise regime. We don't recommend you suddenly cut out all of the foods you enjoy. If chocolate is your poison, well, why not let yourself have a bar as a treat - just make yourself walk to the shop and buy it, rather than slinging a multipack in your trolley at the supermarket!
As far as exercise is concerned, the fitter you get, the longer you can exercise for. You'll start to see and feel great results and this is just the boost you need to keep the momentum going. There's no point plotting your first session in a decade as an hour flat out on the treadmill. If you do finish, sure, you'll be proud of yourself, but when you're still aching in three days time, are you really going want to get back on? Start off with realistic expectations and build up gradually. Keeping a note of your distances, times, weights and speeds is great for boosting morale. Take a look back in a month's time - you'll be amazed at the progress you've made!

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