It is easy to give advice on losing weight but tough to follow especially if you have become so used to your sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits. However, experts believe that little motivation is what is required to make even the most difficult tasks easy. Besides, it is all about making a start. The first step towards any goal is tough, once you take that step, things follow. To achieve weight loss, you first need to think why you gained weight in the first place. Experts believe that the majority of people are overweight because they take in a lot more calories than their body is able to burn. Excess calories are deposited in your body making you gain weight. So the best way to go about weight loss is to cut down on your calories and increase the number of calories your body burns by increasing physical activity. Given below are some simple tips that help you lose weight and stay energetic.

Diet tips will not only help you lose weight but also retain your weight loss:

• Don’t eat large heavy meals. Instead, go for 4 or 5 small meals every 3 or 4 hours and maintain a healthy diet

• Include lots of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet

• Stay away from fried and junk foods. Though there is always a temptation to go for the tasty and easily available junk food, it is important to avoid such foods if you wish to lose weight

• It is also important to watch your portion sizes. Eating in excess is one of the major causes of obesity. Experts suggest that one should not eat to satiety.

• Don’t follow diet plans blindly. See that your diet includes sufficient amounts of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Too much or reckless dieting can affect your health adversely. Instead of making you slim and fit, it can make you ill

• Include fat burning foods in your diet. These foods take more calories to digest than the amount of calories contained in them. Fruits rich in vitamin C, watermelons, berries, apples etc can help you lose weight

Importance of exercise in weight loss

A good exercise program is must for an effective weight loss plan. Research has shown that exercise helps you burn up energy. Some of that energy may be stored in your body as fat reserves. Research has also proven that exercise not only causes an increase in metabolism during a workout, but it also helps to keep your metabolism high for sometime even after your exercise session is over. This means, your body burns more calories well after you have finished your workout session.

To keep your motivation levels high for exercise, take up a sport that you enjoy. Go for swimming, jogging, cycling, aerobics, gym work outs, walking or any other exercise that you enjoy. If you find your interest waning switch to some other sport to keep your enthusiasm levels high. Also consider, taking up exercise along with a friend. This will make your exercise session more enjoyable and also help sustain your interest levels.