Fewer Calories = Less Weight

There are a variety of weight loss therapies ranging from nutrition therapy (low-calorie diets and increasing physical activity) to behavior therapy, drugs, and surgery. But for the long run, eating fewer calories than you burn is the key. Recently, at the direction of National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) completed a study on popular diets and found the diets that reduce calories result in weight loss. If you don't exercise, eating approximately 1,400 to 1,500 calories a day is recommended, no matter which foods you eat.

The easiest way to control calories is to cut back on how much fat you eat. Most people who succeed at weight loss and keep it off eat a diet with 20 to 30 percent of their calories from fat. This is significantly less fat than is in the average American diet, which is more than 36 percent calories from fat.

Unfortunately, it's not enough to follow a diet for 8 days, 8 weeks, or 8 months. Your new eating habits should the basis of your everyday food choices for the rest of your life. Healthy meal plans are high in vegetables, fruits, and other carbohydrates such as whole grains and low-fat dairy products. This is a moderate-fat, low-calorie way of eating that stops weight gain, leads to weight loss, and keeps it off. It is fast, convenient, and inexpensive.

When you set down to eat, don't "jump into the plate" as I've seen some people do. Contemplate your meal. Look at the colors, the textures and smell the aroma coming from the food. Ask yourself, or more correctly, your stomach, "Will this food be good for my body?" Wait a few moments, and begin eating. Slowly, taste each bite and imagination it providing nourishment through your body. Feel the food satisfy your nutritional needs. Your body will know whats good for it and you if you practice this short meditation, will start to correct your eating habits yourself.