weight loss made easy: Lose Weight Fast: How to Do It Safely

Sick of crash diets and fad diets? Follow

these healthy tips:

Working on weight loss? Then you probably want

results -- fast.

Let me save you some time: skip the fad diets.

Their results don't last. And you have healthier

options you can start on -- today!

You can safely lose 3 or more pounds a week at

home with a healthy diet and lots of exercise,

says weight loss counselor Katherine Tallmadge,

RD.

How to Lose Weight Fast

If you burn 500 more calories than you eat every

day for a week, you should lose about 1-2

pounds.

If you want to lose weight faster, you'll need to

eat less and exercise more.

For instance, if you take in 1,050 to 1,200

calories a day, and exercise for one hour per day,

you could lose 3-5 pounds in the first week, or

more if you weigh more than 250 pounds. It's

very important not to cut calories any further --

that's dangerous.

Limiting salt and starches may also mean losing

more weight at first -- but that's mostly 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," says Michael Dansinger, MD, of NBC's

The Biggest Loser show.

Diets for Fast Weight Loss

Dansinger recommends eating a diet that

minimizes starches, added sugars, and animal fat

from meat and dairy foods. For rapid weight loss,

he recommends focusing on fruits, veggies, egg

whites, soy products, skinless poultry breasts,

fish, shellfish, nonfat dairy foods, and 95% lean

meat.

Here are more tips from Dawn Jackson Blatner,

RD, author of The Flexitarian Diet :

Eat vegetables to help you feel full.

Drink plenty of water.

Get tempting foods out of your home.

Stay busy -- you don't want to eat just because

you're bored.

Eat only from a plate, while seated at a table. No

grazing in front of the 'fridge.

Don't skip meals.

Keeping a food journal -- writing down everything

you eat -- can also help you stay on track.

"Even if you write it down on a napkin and end

up throwing it away, the act of writing it down is

about being accountable to yourself and is a very

effective tool for weight loss," says Bonnie Taub

Dix, MA, RD, author of Read It Before You Eat It .

Besides jotting down what you ate, and when,

you might also want to note how you were feeling

right before you ate it. Were you angry, sad, or

bored? We often focus so much on foods and

calories, but our emotions are a huge part of our

eating habits.

If you see a persistent pattern in your emotional

eating, please consider talking to a counselor

about it. They can be a big help in finding other

ways to handle your feelings.

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN