Weight Loss Basics For The Best Weight Loss Diet

Even the best weight loss diet plans make shedding pounds sound so simple. However, as you know from experience it is not that easy. One reason people fail at weight loss is that they don’t truly understand the amount of effort that's required to lose substantial amounts of weight. First, for weight loss to occur, you must produce a deficit of approximately 3,500 calories just to lose one pound. Expending 3,500 more calories than you consume is a difficult task. You must work really hard to make it happen by reducing calorie intake (food and caloric drinks) and expending more calories primarily through increased physical activity.

Now the hard part begins. To effectively lose weight it is helpful to know the number of calories in common foods you eat and the amount of calories you expend through exercise. Let’s look at an example. Let’s say you go to a fast food restaurant and order the following:

Quarter Pounder w/cheese, large french fries, large Coca-Cola Classic and an apple pie. This meal alone adds up to 1,480 calories that’s over half of your needs for one day! You can see very quickly how calorie intake can get out of hand. Now we need to turn our attention to exercise. The general rule of thumb is that you burn approximately 100 calories for every mile walked. Therefore, to cancel out our high calorie meal requires walking about 15 miles! As you can see from this example you don't burn many calories from exercise so eating sensibly is extremely important for weight loss.

Weight Loss is Up to You

When attempting to lose weight understand that it is truly up to you. No one can do it for you. Will it be easy? No way! In our fast paced, technology driven society we are moving less. Combine this with our toxic food environment and it’s easy to see why half of our population is overweight. This is why losing weight will probably be the most difficult thing you have ever done. You can do it but you must try very, very hard.



There are plenty of obstacles to successful weight loss so get ready to navigate around them. Think about how rewarding it will be when you succeed. And when you do succeed you should give yourself the credit. Too often when individuals lose weight they give credit to everyone but themselves. It is easy to be hard on yourself when you aren’t doing well so congratulate yourself when you succeed. It is only fair!

Success is About More Than the Scale

As you set out on your weight loss journey be careful not to get too caught up on the movement of the scale. Scales can be used to indicate your general progress over the course of weeks and months, but shouldn't be your only indicator of success. Realize that day to day fluctuations in weight are normal.



There are a lot of factors that affect weight with the most notable being fluid loss or retention. You shouldn't get to excited or disappointed by changes in your daily weight. For example, don't let your morning weight determine how you will feel for the rest of the day. Also, you shouldn't let a lack of weight loss over a short time period frustrate you or cause you to think about giving up. It is in these moments you need to look at the big picture. Are you making the small steps needed to improve your health?


If you focus on the positive behavior changes you are making the weight loss will follow but you have to be patient. If you have more energy, sleep better at night, are eating better and getting in more physical activity then you have cause to celebrate. Don't let the scales control your life and serve your only barometer of success.