Fad diets and quick solutions to weight loss are wonderful if you are simply looking to lose weight for a specific event - such as a wedding or birthday - however when it comes to a long term solution to weight control - they are a dismal failure.
The fact is that weight loss takes more than just a simple diet, pill or supplement. Granted, all of these things help to reduce weight in the long term if used consistently; however at some point, you will find that the level of continuous weight loss is just not satisfactory.
Instead of ploughing ahead and trying the same thing over and over with only minimal results, perhaps the best thing to do is to try a balanced approach to your weight loss goals.
By balanced approach, we mean an accumulation of knowledge and action that is able to continually ensure that you lose weight, week after week; well in to the long term. To do this - you need to find a suitable answer to the following questions:
It should be noted that there is a vast difference between exercise and activity. Whilst they do both contribute to the overall rate at which you will lose weight, the ultimate difference is that “activity” is the degree to which your day to day chores, jobs, and activities contribute to your overall exercise levels.
In general, builders, tradesman, and people who live an active life are all fairly fit and healthy, and the chances of them needing to lose additional weight are slim. The reasons for this are obvious. Firstly, you can imagine that if you are active on your job, for between 5 and 9 hours per day - you would burn a lot of calories during this time.
Hence, the need for addition “exercise” to supplement your day to day activity is low. However, for people who are sitting all day behind a desk - their activity level is low, and therefore their exercise requirements to lose weight are higher. Ultimately, it makes perfect sense.