Healthy weight loss is the way to go if you want results- fast! The first thing you have to remember in your weight busting journey is to skip the fad diets. Pounds lost from fad diets don’t stay off for long. Choose to lose weight the healthier way and you’ll be satisfied with the fitness results. According to health and fitness counselor Katherine Tallmadge, RD, “Sticking to a healthy diet and doing lots of exercise can make you lose 3 or more pounds a week, and it is safe weight loss”.

For a week of exercising wherein you burn 500 calories more than what you eat, you’ll be able to lose 1 to 2 pounds. The equation is simple. If you want fast weight loss, you have to eat less and exercise more. For example, if you take in 1,050 to 1,200 calories a day from the foods that you eat and exercise for 1 hour every day, you can lose 3 to 5 pounds or more during the first week if you weigh 250 lbs or more. You have to keep your safety in mind. Cutting out more calories above this range could be dangerous.

Eat Less Salty Foods and Starches

Fast weight loss also results from eating less salty foods and starches. It’s weight lost from fluids, not fat. “When you reduce sodium and cut starches, you reduce fluids and fluid retention, which can result in up to 5 pounds of fluid loss when you get started,” commented Dr. Michael Dansinger, host of the NBC show “The Biggest Loser”.

Here are more tips for fast weight loss as suggested by Dansinger:

Limit eating added sugars, starches and animal fat from dairy foods and meat. Consuming more fruits and veggies, soy products, egg whites, fish, skinless poultry breasts, shellfish, 95% lean meat and non-fat dairy foods results to rapid weight loss.

Author Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, whose work includes “The Flexitarian Diet” gave the following tips:

• Eat plenty of vegetables so that you’ll feel full
• Drink copious amounts of water
• Store healthy foods at home, keep the junk foods away
• Keep yourself busy, avoid eating just because you’re bored.
• Don’t graze in front of the fridge. Eat your meal in a plate and while seated at the table.
• Eat regularly, no meal-skipping.

Keep A Food Journal

Keep a journal for the foods that you eat. Note down all the foods that you’ve eaten in your journal. It’ll help you stay on track in your weight loss plan. You don’t have to write it down in a notebook or a piece of paper. Even if you jot down all that you’ve munched on a napkin and throw it away, the act of writing it down signifies your accountability for yourself. It is an effective tool for healthy weight loss.

Although results may not be as drastic as you think, it still makes sense to lose weight healthily. At 2-3 pounds weight loss a week, you could lose 30 pounds in 3 months, plus it will make you feel good because your body isn’t deprived of essential nutrients. Following these fun and easy ways for healthy weight loss, you’ll have the body of your dreams in no time.