The Most Practical Way to Lose Weight

There is a practical way to lose weight that doesn't involve arcane combinations of foods to set up an ideal balance of foods that burn more than they give, or that promise to 'turn your body into a fat-burning machine'. It is to simply eat a healthy balance of all types of foods in portions that are reasonable for your body, while at the same time raising your activity level to burn more calories than you take in. Below are some practical guidelines to help you adjust your diet and lifestyle to lose weight - and keep it off permanently.

1. Adjust your attitude. You're not going on a diet or an weight loss body program - you're eating what your body needs. To maintain your weight loss, you'll need to maintain your new eating habits for the rest of your life - and that's a far easier prospect if your weight loss plan is one that makes sense and is easy to maintain.
2. Think square when you plan your meals. Like a square has four corners, so should your meals. At every meal, include a protein, a healthy fat, a grain/legume and a fruit/vegetable, think about your goals of weight loss plan.
3. Eat three squares and at least two snacks every day. Your snacks should be in the grain/legume or fruit/vegetable corner.
4. If you're under stress, eat something every two hours. Your body sends out distress signals when you're putting it under stress. Give it healthy fuel to keep it working right.
5. Aim for no more than 60 grams of carbohydrate per day at first weight loss step. Spread the carbohydrates over the course of the day - 15 at each meal and 7 at each snack.
6. Limit dairy products to 3 or less daily. Dairy prducts consist of big part of fat, that will be contraproducive to your weight loss goals.
7. Completely avoid soft drinks - even the diet ones.
8. Drink 6-10 glasses of water each day. Consume much pure water will help you to lose weight.
9. Eliminate 'white foods' from your weight loss plan menu. Do away with white sugar, white flour and white cereal products.
10. Take a nutritional supplement - at least a good multivitamin daily.