MAIN Health Diet & Weight Loss

There are experts who promote a high protein / low carb diet.

Others call for cutting out sweets, fats, or have their adherents spending the day eating pineapple and cottage cheese, and drinking water by the glassful every hour on the hour.

Diet fads come and go, but "eat less and exercise more" seems to be the thread of wisdom that runs through most sensible weight loss plans. However, there's more to it than merely counting calories and brisk walks around the park.

A wakeup call as you begin your diet : whenever you buy prepared food, be shocked as you read the label and find out just how many grams of fat and sugar are actually in that stuff.

Diets that work are the ones we subscribe to - wherein dieters think about their eating habits or simply what they like or what serves as comfort food throughout the day. Only then can a successful diet regimen be formulated.

In other words — exercise, eat less, eat healthier — but ease the separation anxiety by indulging in ice cream, chocolate, or even bacon cheeseburgers every once in a while.

Exercise helps, too, but that doesn't mean you have to enter a marathon.

Discovering the balance between feeling good and eating sensibly means you've found the weight loss program that works for YOU.

A note from a reader : "You might want to also make mention that getting a balance of nutrients is important when dieting to lose weight. It is still very common for people to look for "fat burning food" (even though there is technically no such thing), looking for a quick fix - or a food or food type that they can eat to quickly lose weight.

"It's also important to stress that long term weight loss should involve lifestyle change, not a short term diet and exercise regime. The further away the diet is from their "normal" eating habits, the harder it will be for them to keep the weight off, once they've lost it."

Both good points - thanks Jenny...

More about sensible dieting around the Web:

Start a diet that works for you by browsing our Top Ten Web sites for comparing menus, food regimens and how to's and advice that makes sense for your particular lifestyle, along with tips on popular diet plans, weight-loss recipes, calorie counters, nutrition info and more...

The Diet Channel - Our top pick for comparing the most popular diet plans & weight loss programs including Atkins, Dr. Phil, The Zone, South Beach, Weight Watchers, and Slim Fast plus more info-filled pages on diets by food or food type, plus fad dieting facts and information and related news stories.

BBC Health - Your Weight - Expert advice from the UK with feature stories, diet guides, tips and tools plus interactive features including a BMI calculator, message board, games, calorie counter.

FoodFit.com - One of the richest sources online for healthy, low-fat recipes for the holidays or everyday. Click on the recipe search to choose your food type and meal course, then browse recipes which include nutrition info and grams/percentage of fat.

Weight Watchers - Even if you're not a member yet get inspired at one of the world's best- known weight loss programs presented here with free articles, recipes, a popular message board, and featured success stories.

free-weightloss.com - A great resource for the low carb dieter, offering news and information plus diet tips, online calculators, and comparisons of a variety of low carb plans and related links.

Am I Fat? - Your questions answered with online tools, facts and information on diet fads, patches and pills together with weight tables for men, women and kids, calorie guides, diet-related problems, recipes and lots more.

Free Weight Loss.com - Articles, recipes, body fat calculator, calorie analyzer, fast food facts, and a great resources page to help you keep the weight off.

Nutrition.gov - This site is loaded with info on nutrition - the latest obesity info can be found here, as well. Links are only to other US government info, but there are a lot of them.

Bodybuildingfor you.com - We like this site because it includes all the bodybuilding supplements and diet info without the heavy sales focus. There is solid common sense info about supplements along with plenty of reviews. Exercise, reviews, regimens and diets for body building routines are well covered.

also see in Health -> Obesity | Diabetes | Calorie Counters

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This information is intended as reference and not as medical advice.
All treatment decisions should be made by medical professionals.