Eat, drink and be merry – always sounds good. But do not do the crime if you cannot do the time, they say. The trouble is, any weight gained will need to be lost, and dieting is never an easy matter. Obesity is certainly back in the headlines. For decades, millions have been fighting the flab. Revolutionary “butt and boob” diets are published with bewildering regularity. Countless fitness clubs and slimming clinics have opened.

Yet, throughout the world, obesity rates are on the rise. Half the continent of overweight – and one in seven Europeans are full-blown obese. Over in the Stares, folks are even bigger. And in Asia, the residents are set to catch up within the next decade.

So much for the downside. But in fact, the underlying is upbeat. By following a few simple rules, successful slimming is more than possible. Here is a simple guide to shedding the pounds.

• Set a start date. Psyche yourself for the big day.

• Set goals, which must be both practical and achievable. If you weighed 200 pounds at 16, you are unlikely to become any slimmer at 60. In addition to an ultimate target weight, set weekly goals. The most you can safely lose in a week is around one kilogram. Lose any more and you are overdoing it.

• Check your weight everyday. Make sure there is never a day on the increase. Aim to be less than or at least the same as, the day before.

• Munching matters. Your joules/calories out must be more than your joules/calories in. Otherwise you simply will not lose weight. No getting around that logic. People often say “I hardly eat a thing, but I still never lose weight.” Usually they are tripping up because they are eating the wrong sorts of calories. One small cake and you can forget the day’s dieting. Here are a few essential dietary adjustments.

1. Reduce fat. This is absolutely vital. Average western diets contain 60 percent or more fat. This rate needs to be slashed remorselessly: fat contents should not go beyond 15 percent. Always eat grilled or steamed food, never fired. Avoid fatty dairy products especially butter and cheese. Grilled fish, low in fat, is much better than fatty red meat. Fries, cakes and biscuits must be outlawed. Beware of salad dressings and sauces – which are often pure fat – and always go for the “low-fat” labels in the supermarket.
2. Reduce sugar. If you drink sodas, eat sweets and chocolates you can kiss thoughts of dieting goodbye. Sugar is a mega-calorie substance that goes straight to the waistline.

• What to nibble instead. Fill the resultant hole in your diet with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. You can eat more or less as much as you like because they are low in calories. And because they are packed with vitamins, they should also give a boost to your general health.

• Exercise has an important role. Exercise is a useful aid to any diet plan. Ideally, you should aim for three or four exercise sessions per week. The principle is to start slowly, build up gradually and do something that you enjoy doing, such as aerobics, jogging or whatever activity that involves motion. Otherwise, you risk losing interest. Only when each training level has been mastered should you move on to the next. Muscles that have spent 20 years in front of the television take time to adjust. The more calories you manage to burn off, the better.

Remember, a diet is for life. Many people slog away at a diet for six months only to relax and put the whole lot back. Your lifestyle needs to be permanently changed for the better. The longer you stay in the “health groove,” the easier things become.

Filed under: Fitness by Don