The clever and stupid ways to lose weight.

Losing weight is one thing people crave and will go to many lengths to achieve. This article outlines the good and the bad ways to do this.

Cutting calories and stopping eating.

The classic thought process is that if you stop eating you will lose weight. In reality successful weight loss is best achieved when the body knows that food is easily available. This is because you possess a powerful famine response survival mechanism. This would have served to keep you alive thousands of years ago when we were hunter gathers.

The body’s famine response works by increasing the amount of fat storing enzymes and increasing your hunger during times of food shortage. It does this so any food you do eat is stored as fat until your next meal and the increased hunger makes it more likely you would go out and catch some food.

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Today, in the west we are not in a famine. However, eating irregularly tricks the body into sensing a famine and employing its survival response. This makes you better at storing fat and increases your appetite. At this point losing weight is very difficult as food becomes more tempting.

This is perhaps the most unhealthy way to lose weight as starving yourself thin depletes the body of vital nutrients. To react to this your body will lower its metabolic rate and stop performing non essential health function in an attempt to survive. This means that even if you lose weight it doesn't mean you are getting healthier.

Taking a slimming pill or similar product.

There is no one product that can achieve weight loss. To lose weight effectively it is about increasing the health of the body. A slimming pill just acts like a drug temporarily raising metabolic rate but at the expense of your health. It is not as effective as a good exercise session and it also brings the side effect of disrupting your body chemistry. If these worked then why wouldn't they be given out by every doctor?

Following a diet.

Most diets are flawed. For a review of every type of eating possible from cutting out junk food to the Atkins diet read the article Diets explained. Almost every diet will fail the majority of people and hence it is a little hit and miss whether it will work.

Spending 1-2 hours a day exercising

Another common method is to play the numbers game once more and flog yourself on the exercise machines for one or two hours plus. In theory this should work, in reality it doesn't and also takes up the majority of your day. A good exercise session covers all four areas of exercise and is performed with the right intensity and variation.

The clever way to lose weight - Build your health

The only way to effectively lose weight long term is through an holistic approach focused solely on increasing the health of your body. To do this you need to consume the right foods for your body chemistry, this is determined by your metabolic type. Add into this effective exercise. Finally ensure environmental factors are not blocking your way nor any emotional factors.

When you do this you will achieve healthy weight loss, be abe to maintain it long term without worry and fixation on every meal you eat. This approach is how I have designed my courses with great success.