Whether it’s 5 pounds or 150 pounds, losing weight takes determination and a change in lifestyle. We all know that eating too much will make you gain weight, but what about eating too little? The common mistake most people make when trying to lose weight is deprivation. Starving your body by eating too little food will NOT result in sustained weight loss. At first, your body will respond to this method and you will lose weight. Here’s the problem, the weight you lose will be extremely difficult to maintain and you won’t look as good as someone who lost the same amount of weight the right way, because you’ll lose muscle and water, not fat. So what is the “right way” to lose weight and keep it off?

The “right way” is a long-term lifestyle change that includes a healthy, balanced diet and increased body movement. To lose weight and keep it off, you need to set realistic goals that you can build into your life long-term. Your plan should be specifically tailored to suit you. How do you do this?

Step One: Review your daily eating habits, write down what you eat on an average day. Check this out and circle all the things that are high in fat and sugar: gourmet coffee, fast food, cookies, bagels, donuts, chips, soda, pizza, etc. These are the foods you must work to eliminate.

Once you have evaluated your current eating habits, you will begin to see what changes need to be made.

Step Two: Don’t Drink Your Calories! This is one of the easiest ways to start seeing weight loss results. A 16 oz bottle of Coke has 200 calories, all of these are empty calories. If you drink more than one bottle a day, your body is consuming 400 or more calories from fluids alone. If you replaced that with ice water with lemon, you’ll already be cutting your caloric intake by 400 calories, without changing the amount of food you eat.

Step Three: Plan Ahead

Plan 2-3 different easy menus for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner that can be made in bulk at the beginning of the week or quickly the night before. Ex: pot of chili, whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce, turkey burgers, oatmeal, granola cereal, fruit, yogurt, turkey bacon, sandwich on whole wheat bread. These are just a few great ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks that can be prepped ahead of time or made quickly at night or in the morning.

I don’t believe in eating bland, to lose weight. If you love foods like hamburgers, pizza, cookies, and bagels, look for healthy alternatives to these foods. There are quick and easy muffin recipes using oatmeal and barley flour (these flours can be found in the organic section of most grocery stores) that are low in calories and sugar. Make a juicy turkey burger instead of a hamburger, and make a homemade pizza with veggies and turkey pepperoni instead of ordering the greasy chain pizzas. Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with one or two healthy snacks throughout the day. Drink plenty of water and pay attention to portions (meat and pasta portions should be the size of your clenched fist).

Step 4: Increase your movement. If you already exercise and are stuck, change it. If you jog, implement sprint intervals to speed up your calorie burn. You can add sprint intervals to any cardio exercise, the elliptical, stationary bike, etc. To do this work at a moderate pace for 2 minutes and then build up to a very intense level for one minute, do it every 2 minutes for your entire cardio session.

If you don’t exercise, start incorporating more activity into your life. You can walk during your lunch hour, take a bike ride on the weekends, or go to the mall and walk at a slightly faster pace than normal while you shop. While watching TV stretch, during commercial breaks do jumping jacks, squats or sit-ups. No matter what you do, just increase your physical movement daily.

If you follow these four steps, you’ll be well on your way to a slimmer, healthier you! If you feel overwhelmed, start with one step and slowly work your way through all the steps. The key is to change the way you think about losing weight. Permanent weight loss is not about deprivation, but about healthy lifestyle changes.

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