Fitness, Leisure and Sports | Health Articles

No one likes the thought of starting a diet - it's the word DIE with a T on the end ... it just can't be fun. It's SO much easier (and more fun) to put the weight on than to knock it off.

Losing weight too quickly is not good for the body, so you need to lose a little weight regularly in order to obtain your ideal weight. However, losing just a few pounds a week is often too depressing for most people, so they quickly dump the diet. Persistence is the key to any success when you are dieting.

If you want to quickly lose some weight without damaging your body you need to reduce your calorie intake significantly and maintain this for a time.

You need to bear in mind that your body uses whatever energy source is most readily available. So if you are eating a high sugar diet, then that is what is used first. This is why it is important to significantly reduce the sugar in your diet, it forces your body to burn your fat instead. Any sugar that isn't burnt during a day will be stored as fat by your body for later use.

These tips will help you to lose weight quickly and maintain your idea weight.

• Drink plenty – drinking plenty of water will help to speed up your metabolism, which makes it easier to burn off fat and lose weight. It also flushes the body of harmful toxins and keeps your skin healthy and your body hydrated. You should drink about 2 litres (4-5 pints) per day ideally.

• Eat a healthy breakfast – never skip breakfast, the old saying "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" is true. Eat a breakfast that is packed with protein because this will get you off to a great start and give your metabolism a boost.

• Follow an exercise plan – devise an exercise plan for at least 20 minutes every day and stick to it religiously. Exercises which burn off the most fat are aerobic ones such as walking, jogging, swimming and riding a bicycle.

• AVOID snacks – never be tempted to nibble on unhealthy, high sugar snacks during the day. If you must snack then stick with fruit or raw vegetables. Remember to keep a bowl of fruit nearby and pre-cut vegetables such as carrot and celery into nibble size pieces and put them in the refrigerator in zip lock bags so there handy. Carry them around with you so whenever you are hungry you can have a healthy snack instead of facing temptation.

The main challenge anyone who loses weight has to deal with is maintaining their ideal weight. Make change to your lifestyle rather than diet, and you will keep your ideal weight. Remember to watch the amount of calories that you eat in relation to those that you are burning off and to keep active and stick with some form of daily exercise.