How to lose weight without crash dieting

Have you ever gone on a crash diet to lose weight? Did you lose all the weight and gain it back? Did you fast on liquids all day for a week? Eat cookies for every meal? Only ate protein and no carbs? Only ate vegetables or only ate fruits? How about the Cabbage soup diet? Or the Cayenne Pepper and Lemon Juice diet? Diet protein bars in the morning with a shake for lunch?

I know a lot of people who have tried many of these diets without much success. Initially they lost the weight and put it on again pretty quickly after they stopped the diet. It is not a healthy way to lose weight because it puts your body under all kinds of stress and actually causes your body to hold on to fat because it does not know when it will get food again.

There is no magic to losing weight. It is just about adopting a sensible exercise and meal program for yourself. Some of the diets that teach portion control while using healthy a combination of carbs, proteins, and vegetables at most meals are good ways to learn how to eat and how much to eat at every meal.

To start:

1.) Clean out your pantry of all foods that tempt you and cause you to overeat when it is in the house.
2.) Set a goal of how much you want to lose and why.
3.) Stock your fridge with lots of healthy fruits and vegetables for snacks and meals.
4.) Start eating at home and cooking your meals more often. It is less fattening than eating fast food or out at restaurants.
5.) Get a support system. Ask your family to give you pep talks when you need it or take walks with you to get moving.
6.) Start exercising daily for at least 30 minutes a day. Take a walk, take the stairs and just start moving.
7.) Make sure to eat small meals throughout the day to keep your energy up. Also, this helps you to stay full throughout the day so you don't reach for the junk food.
8.) Plan your meals so you don't run into a last minute eating situation that can cause you to eat unhealthy because you have no time to cook.

Start slowly. Be good to yourself. If you have a bad day of no exercise or bad eating, brush it off and make sure your next meal is a healthy one and that you get exercise the next day. Losing weight should be at a consistent healthy pace. This will get you the best long term results.