3 Proven Ways to Lose Weight

The clients I choose to work with are not impressed with "quick fix" weight loss programs....for good reason....they've tried them, and they've realized what 97% of participants realize....that meal replacement, calorie restriction diets don't work in the long run!

So where can you go to find proven, effective weight loss strategies that will help you not only lose weight, but keep it off for good?

I suggest the National Weight Control Registry. The National Weight Control Registry is a database of people who have lost over 30 pounds and have managed to keep that weight of for over 5 years. Now that's what I call success!

So what are these people doing that allows them to reach and maintain their weight loss goals?

Here are 3 things that just about all of them have done:

1) They eat 5-6 small meals a day.
2) They keep a food journal.
3) They exercise regularly.

Let's talk about each one of these proven, effective weight loss strategies and why they work so well.

1) Eating small, frequent meals keeps your metabolism working at its best. If you go a long time without eating food your body goes into a kind of "starvation mode." You start to burn calories more slowly because your body is trying to conserve energy. It doesn't know that you have a refrigerator full of food! It actually thinks that you may have to go days before you get your next meal!

On the other side of the coin....eating a big meal also compromises your metabolism. Have you ever experienced the "food coma" before? When you eat a huge meal....especially a meal loaded with high-glycemic carbohydrates....your blood sugar spikes, you feel tired, and your body says to itself, "Give me a break! You're not going to use all of these calories for energy! I'm going to store them as fat!"

2) Keeping a food journal does something very important...it holds you accountable to yourself. So many times clients have said to me, "I would have eaten a brownie instead of that apple, but I knew I would have to write it down!" It's funny how it works, but it's true! Keeping a food journal is one of the most effective weight loss strategies out there!

3) Its no secret that exercising is an important part of any weight loss program. This has been proven time and time again. If anyone tells you differently, they are either lying to you or trying to sell you something. But why is exercise so important? There are 2 reasons:

First, the more obvious reason; exercise burns calories. Second, exercise builds muscle mass, which burns calories even when you're not exercising!

In my opinion, building muscle is one of the most misunderstood, yet most effective weight loss strategies out there. If you're only focused on the scale, you are forgetting about one of the most important weight loss factors....your muscles, which ironically, weight twice as much as body fat.

So pump some iron, keep a journal, and eat a lot of small, healthy meals. These are proven, effective weight loss strategies that have helped so many people, and they'll help you too!