Effective weight management is more than just seeing a lower number on your bathroom scale. The ultimate goals of any weight loss program is to improve your health and appearance and are related to more than just how much you weigh. Factors such as body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, the circumference of your waist, and your ratio of muscle to fat all play a major role in an overall weight management program. Long term effective weight management isn’t likely to occur as a result of a fad diet or miracle pill. The primary means for effective weight management is, and always has been, a combination of proper diet and regular exercise.
Dietary Aids
There have been many recent advances in nutritional science that have resulted in a variety of dietary aids that can be very beneficial as part of your overall weight management strategy, such as appetite suppressants and nutritional supplements. However, such aids cannot work without being combined with proper nutrition and a regular exercise regimen.
Low Carbohydrate Diets
While weight loss can occur as a result of a fad diet, it isn’t likely to be long term. For example, with the recently popular low carb diet, there are few long term benefits. Even though people who follow a low carb diet do often experience fairly quick initial weight loss, there are health risks associated with strictly restricting carbohydrate consumption.
The human body needs carbohydrates in order to produce the energy it needs to function. If the body doesn’t have a sufficient supply of carbohydrates, it will start trying to convert other sources to energy in order to survive. One of the negative consequences of following a low carb diet is a reduction in the amount of glucose in the muscles and the liver that can lead to muscle fatigue and a loss of muscle tone. The unhealthy consequences of the rapid weight loss that may occur as a result of decreased carbohydrate consumption clearly indicate that this type of fad diet is not beneficial to overall long-term weight management.
Managing Weight in the Long Term
Instead of reading up on the latest diet craze in your attempt to lose weight, you really need to focus on healthy and effective long-term weight management. This involves a long-term commitment to implementing lifestyle changes in terms of how and what you eat, as well as regular exercise.
An effective weight management program requires learning about proper nutrition and making smart choices when it comes to eating. Proper weight management requires replacing bad dietary habits with good ones. For example, getting in the habit of having fruit for dessert instead of ice cream, or habitually substituting whole grain bread for white bread, are positive steps you can take toward effective weight management.
Effective long-term weight management involves more than just developing better eating habits. Implementing and sticking with a regular exercise program is another important part of successful long-term weight management. You don’t have to become a body builder or kick boxer in order to manage your weight, but some sort of regular work out routine that is appropriate for your age and health is a necessary component of weight management.
When eating correctly and exercising regularly become routine parts of your life, weight management will become much easier. Doing the right thing in terms of diet and exercise will become second nature, and your health and appearance will improve.