A Balanced Way to Lose Weight

Quick weight loss plans, diets, and pills all have one thing in common-they rarely work for long. You may see great results at first, but once you stop using these methods, the weight creeps right back again. It's frustrating and depressing-how do you keep the weight off?
The biggest issue with diet plans and pills is that they don't deal with the underlying cause of the weight gain, which is lifestyle. Eating fast or prepackaged food, getting minimal exercise, wallowing in stress, and ignoring the body's need for balance are all part of the inevitable formula for weight gain. If you are really committed to losing weight, you'll have to do the hardest thing of all-change your lifestyle.
Lifestyle Changes that Work
One of the biggest obstacles to weight loss is mental rather than physical. Americans are bombarded daily by propaganda about what the "perfect" body shape and size should be, but very few of the populous actually meet these requirements.
Concentrating on being fit and maintaining a healthy weight is much more important than being thin. Contact your doctor if you're unsure of the perfect weight for your body type.
Once you've decided your fitness goals in terms of weight and shape, the next step is to find methods for accomplishing those goals. The following are some guidelines for reaching your weight loss and fitness goals.
Avoid diets, weight loss plans, and pills-these may have quick results, but they're causing imbalances in your body at the same time, which will make the weight return faster and make it harder to lose weight the next time.
Eat well balanced meals-you weren't introduced to the food pyramid as a child for nothing! Lots of fruits and vegetables, minimal dairy, complex carbohydrates, lean meats, and only sporadic sweets are the way to set the foundation for a healthy body.
Eat smaller portions more frequently-if you can eat five or six small meals a day, this spreads out your caloric intake, allowing your body to use what it needs for energy as the day progresses, instead of getting a surplus of calories in one sitting. A surplus means the body wants to store the excess energy, and that means fat!
Leave at least a couple of hours between your last meal and bedtime-your body slows down when you sleep. Your metabolism lowers and your energy needs are less, so eating a big meal right before bed means that most of the ingested energy will be stored instead of used.