Slimming helps you tone up your body and maintain a steady weight. For people who gain weight easily, following any slimming regimen enhances health benefits and reduces the risk of obesity related diseases. Slimming also makes you more presentable and self-confident.

Precautions to be taken while starting a Diet

Slimming is a suitably planned course of dietetic treatment, in conjunction with appropriate exercise. This is the only scientific way of dealing with obesity. The chief consideration in this treatment should be:

o A balanced selection of foods which provide maximum essential nutrients with the least number of calories

o Taking a low-calorie well balanced diet of three basic food groups, namely seeds, nuts and grains, vegetables and fruits, with emphasis on raw fruits, vegetables and fresh juices

o Avoiding high-fat foods, foods high in carbohydrates, beverages such as cold drinks and alcoholic drinks

o Consuming citrus fruits and vegetables, and drink skimmed milk, buttermilk, barley water, fruit juices, green steamed vegetables and raw salads

o Drinking six to eight glasses of water every day but never with meals

o Meals should be taken at fixed hours and snacking on high-fat foods must be regulated

o Salt should be restricted in the diet as excessive intake produces water retention

o Chew your food to a pulp

o Never eat until hungry

Slimming Tips

Successful slimming is more likely to be achieved by making subtle changes in one’s eating habits and lifestyle – changes that one can certainly live with and also come to enjoy. In order to achieve and sustain a perfect or near-perfect shape, one must:

o Eat slowly and you are bound to eat less. In addition, sip water with your meals and take smaller bites.

o Don’t ban any foods from your slimming plan – especially things you like. Enjoy a small portion from time to time.

o Visualize how you’re going to look once you have achieved your slimming goal.

o Never give up on a goal simply because it is going to take time to get there.

o Keep a food diary preferably with a calorie counter so that you can keep a check on your diet.

o Don’t go shopping when you’re hungry because if you buy some eatables, you are most likely to end up eating it.

o Be nice to yourself if you have a bad day. Congratulate yourself on how many good days you’ve had and realise that one bad day isn’t going to spoil it all.

o Get some exercise and make exercise a part of your daily routine – even 20-30 minutes of exercise will pay dividends. Add two weekly sessions of resistance training which will help burn more calories even while asleep.

o Reward yourself with a treat for each pound and stone lost. New clothes make a great incentive when you’re slimming.

Control on Food

The body is in a continual state of hunger, which is intermittently relieved by eating. This perpetual drive to eat is periodically suppressed by inhibitory impulses generated by such things as the presence of food in the gastrointestinal tract, the flow of nutrients into the blood and other factors. Once the "satiety factor" has dissipated the desire to eat returns.

The chemical component of food is one of the factors that determine how it ranks on the satiety index. The more fiber, protein and water a food contains, the longer it will satisfy.

Extremely low-fat, high-carb meals do not keep hunger at bay because they are not based on slowly-digested carbs and probably don’t contain enough protein.

To be able to really succeed and keep a strict control on food, you need to chalk out a diet plan and then stay committed to your goals. In addition, serious control on food can come from:

o Making healthy lifestyle changes

o Helping yourself to very small portions

o Talking about other things so that your concentration from food is shifted

o Saying no often enough because your health depends on it

o Taking a walk after meals. Heavy meals take away the joy from walking.

Proper exercise to lose weight

Proper exercise like running, jogging, cycling, yoga, weight training and swimming does not just burn calories but does much more – it helps increase our metabolic rate so we burn calories faster. In addition, studies show that even a few hours after exercise, we continue to burn calories at a faster rate.

Proper exercise helps prevent the body from moving towards starvation. Exercise actually helps gain muscle mass. Any proper exercise, even on a calorie cut, will generally result in a gain of a few pounds of lean tissue even as body fat is lost. Lean tissue is needed to help metabolize fat. The combination of exercise and moderate calorie reduction is best for minimizing lean tissue loss during weight loss.

Regular exercise has a positive effect on body chemistry. Studies show that people who participate in endurance-exercise for several months develop an increased amount of fat-burning enzymes. In addition, exercise helps the body’s cells to better utilize insulin, thereby reducing the need for more insulin.

Regular physical exercise helps offset the declining metabolic rate normally associated with aging. People who exercise regularly have a greater bone density than those who do not exercise. To be most helpful, regular exercise should be started early in life to help maintain bone density.

Proper exercise performed regularly improves fitness, strengthens the cardiovascular system and muscles, prevents sore muscles, increases body flexibility, improve s heart function and help gain muscle strength.