Top 5 Common Sense Weight Loss Tips

Like many things in life, fat loss and weight loss comes down to you applying common sense to solid eating/exercise habits (based on proven science):



Here are 5 Common Sense Tips to help you Burn Fat and Lose Weight:

See also:  10 Top Fat Burning, Weight Loss and Lean Body Tips 

1. If you severely limit candy, donuts, cookies, sugary drinks, calorie-packed desserts and other sugary products (while continuing to exercise), you will burn belly fat and lose weight.

2. Walk as much as possible (i.e., stay active during the day), exercise 4-5 days a week, stay with your meal plan at least 90% of the time and you will burn fat and lose weight.  You will transform your body long-term.  There are no shortcuts or magic products that will change your body.

3. If you don't replace bad foods (like sugary foods) with good foods like fresh fruits/veggies, you will probably continue to eat massive amounts of bad foods. Try the replacement method--it works.

4. If you don't REALLY COMMIT to improve your quality of life with exercise, healthy nutrition, active lifestyle, etc., you probably won't change your bad lifestyle habits for very long.

5. If you continue to try every new fad diet or starvation diet that hits the market (to get quick weight loss), you will continue to see your weight yo-yo and your health worsen. Make the commitment to fat loss with regular strength training and interval cardio exercise. In time, this will burn fat, give you a lean body and good health!

Here are some other common habits of those who just want quick weight loss using various starvation diets or methods:

a) You are too concerned with pounds on the weigh scale. Those who have succeeded at transforming their bodies from fat to lean have health and fitness practices that they do on most days. It becomes a sustainable lifestyle.

b) Starvation diets rule again and again. The less food you eat, the more weight you’ll lose, right? Sorry, but it just doesn’t work this way in the long-run. If your idea of the perfect diet plan for weight loss is popping crackers and diuretics, you’re headed for disaster.

Starvation slows the fat-burning process. Your body relies on the nutrients in whole, natural foods for fuel. When you starve yourself, it senses the downward shift in your caloric intake and kicks into starvation mode. When this happens, your metabolism will slow down and your body will hold on to stored fat in order to conserve energy.

Muscle mass needs more energy to function than fat. Basically, the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you’ll burn. If you continue to starve yourself, your body will feed on your muscle tissue and make it even harder for you to lose weight.  Obviously, if you starve yourself long enough, you’ll have no choice but to lose weight.

But the weight loss won’t be healthy, and it will show in your appearance. You’ll become emaciated and your body will start to look like an old bag of bones.  The weight lost from starvation diets almost always comes back. Starvation slows your metabolism down. And it can take months for it to return to normal. As soon as you start eating again, you’ll likely gain all of the weight you lost back, and more. In the end, you’ll wind up bigger than you were before you started starving.

c) Chronic starvation dieters end up with damaged health. If you are eating 700 calories a day, that is not enough food to even support your basal metabolic rate.  When you go without food, you don’t get any of the essential nutrients needed for good health. This can result in fatigue, kidney failure, heart failure, gallstones, ulcers, hair loss, muscle weakness and osteoporosis.

This is just a short list of the physical problems a starvation diet can cause. We haven’t even touched on the mental stuff.  It’s not uncommon for extremely calorie-restrictive dieters to struggle with depression, anger, indifference, memory loss, poor concentration, hallucinations and mood swings. Starvation can also increase your chances of suffering with eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia.  In essence, your health will be a mess if you try to lose weight by starving.

The worst part about it is that some of the health issues that arise from starvation diets can cause irreversible damage to your body and require long-term hospitalization or lifelong medical care.  If you plan to turn starvation dieting into a lifestyle, you’ll end up in a body bag way before your time. No amount of skinny is worth your life. Don’t let the desperation to lose weight push you to go on a starvation diet.

d) You experience weight loss and weight regain many times.  According to a Medicinenet.com article, "Weight Cycling...Facts About "Yo-Yo" Dieting,  

"Weight cycling is the repeated loss and regain of body weight. When weight cycling is the result of dieting, it is often called "yo-yo" dieting. A weight cycle can range from small weight losses and gains (5-10 lbs. per cycle) to large changes in weight (50 lbs. or more per cycle)."

"Some research links weight cycling with certain health risks. To avoid potential risks, most experts recommend that obese adults adopt healthy eating and regular physical activity habits to achieve and maintain a healthier weight for life. Non-obese adults should try to maintain their weight through healthy eating and regular physical activity."

 "Some studies suggest that weight cycling may increase the risk for certain health problems. These include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and gallbladder disease."

e) Starvation dieters are not concerned with burning body fat. You MUST change your body's composition. You must increase muscle mass to become a “fat-burning machine.” This keeps the weight off your body for good. You don't need to be a body builder but you need to replace the fat (to an acceptable body fat percentage) on your body with muscle mass. This will give you the lean, healthy body you need.

You must do more than cardio exercise to change your body's composition. "Cardio only" will not lean out your body. Too much cardio will waste away your muscle mass.

Make a commitment to full-body strength training. Among other things, it builds muscle mass, speeds up your metabolism (the body has to work harder to maintain muscle) and helps improve your bone density. And, you’ll look great.

Stop starving yourself, start eating right and start building your body the right way. Its worth the effort.

If you need a jumpstart to help you "get it going" again, see below:

Be sure and download your Free Bodyweight 500 Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!  There are 3 levels:  beginner, intermediate and advanced.  Start at the level you can handle.

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
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About Mark

Hi, I'm Mark Dilworth, Nutritionist, Dietary Strategies Specialist, Nutrition for Metabolic Health Specialist and Lifestyle Weight Management Specialist. Since 2006, I have helped thousands of clients and readers make lifestyle habit changes which includes body transformation and ideal body weight.