Have you ever starved yourself and achieved only 1kg (2.2lbs) to 2kg (4.4lbs) of weight loss and gave up after a while to find yourself balloon? Have you tried to work out but given up in 3 days?

What should you do to get in shape effectively and healthily to achieve a sustainable result?

An intake of 30-35 calories per kg (or 15 calories per pound) everyday is essential for our bodies to maintain the current weight. A Very-low-calorie diet results in a low metabolic rate which causes a slowdown in the fat burning processes, and the fat will be burned slowly. This slowed metabolic rate persists even after you start eating normally, resulting in you gaining weight rapidly and exceeding your original weight before the very-low-calorie diet.

And equally important, very-low-calorie diet is one of the worst assaults on our bodies, since the very-low-calorie diet induces low daily nutrient in-takes, which will lead to other health problems and osteoporosis. Another point to note is the weight loss through a very-low-calorie diet is not all fat, but includes a substantial loss in lean muscle tissue. Lean muscle tissue is necessary to help our bodies metabolize fat, so the more you lose, the slower you metabolize fat.

A very-low-calorie diet is bad for health and is unsustainable. The American Dietetic Association recommends that adults should keep the calorie intake at an average of 22 calories per kg (or 10 calories per pound) daily for healthy weight loss.

You can minimize the loss of lean muscle tissue during a weight loss cycle through a combination of exercise and moderate calorie reduction. By maintaining a higher amount of muscle tissue, you also increase your metabolic rate, helping your body burn off excess fats faster. Some studies have also shown that appetite suppression appears after moderate exercise. With exercise, your metabolism level is kept high while suppressing your appetite.

Moreover, doing exercise will promote healthy blood sugar levels to prevent or control diabetes, promote bone density to protect against osteoporosis, and lower high blood pressure. So exercise not only help you maintain an ideal weight, but also have a positive effect on your health.

Energy is measured in Calories and is obtained from the body stores or the food we eat. And the foods we consume can be grouped into three major categories: protein, fat, and carbohydrate. Protein and carbohydrate both provide 4 calories per gram, and in comparison, fat has a much higher calorie content which is 9 calories per gram. It is therefore advisable to avoid fatty foods since fat gives you the most calories per gram and you will want to avoid taking extra calories during a weight loss regime.

Fat serves as energy stores for the body. The recommended daily fat intake should be less than 30% of total calories due to the high calorie content.

Protein makes up a large part of our body. It is essential to growth and repair of your muscles. Proteins can come from animal sources such as meat, fish, eggs, and milk, legumes such as soybeans, lentil beans and peanuts, and fruits such as peach, coconut and pineapple. As a general guide, the US RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) recommends 0.80 gram per kg (or 0.37 gram per pound) of ideal body weight per day.

Carbohydrates are our main source of energy, thus an optimum diet should consist of at least 55% of total calories coming from carbohydrate .Whole grains, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, beets, rutabaga and salsify and legumes are the best sources of Carbohydrates due to their high starch content.

One way to achieve faster weight loss results is to use weight loss supplements. The most commonly used ingredients in weight loss products include CLA, Guarana, Chitosan and L-carnitine.

CLA has been found to increase lean muscle tissues while decreasing fats. It interferes with a substance in your body called lipoprotein lipase that helps store fat in your body, and it also helps your body use its existing fat for energy. Guarana contains around twice the caffeine found in coffee beans. It goads the nervous system into action, resulting in additional fat burning and improved endurance performance.

Chitosan is a special fiber taken from chitin. It is able to soak up 6 ~10 times its weight in fat and oils and prevent the absorption of and storage of fat by converting into a "gel" to trap the fat, so that the fat becomes un-absorbable by our bodies. L-Carnitine is a natural amino acid found in muscles. And it boosts energy by releasing stored body fat into the bloodstream for use in cellular energy production.

If you have no time to go to the gym frequently, having a home gym will be a good idea. Fitness equipment can be basically grouped into 2 types: aerobic and strength training equipment.

The most popular types of aerobic equipment are treadmill, exercise bike and rowing machine. A treadmill is ideal for a whole body workout since you can walk, jog and run on it. An exercise bike targets the lower body.

Strength training equipment comes as individual pieces such as dumbbells, barbells, workout benches and leg or abdominal equipment, which targets different parts of our bodies. For example, you can use the workout bench to do sit-ups to firm your tummy, or the dumbbells to train your biceps.

The healthiest way to lose weight is neither crash diets nor bursts of exercise, what you should better do is to make slow changes in your diet and exercise. Making a proper plan in your diet and supplements, combined with moderate exercise will help you achieve a sustainable, healthy and ideal figure.

About the Author:

Colin Tan is a fashion model, fitness trainer and sports nutritionist based in Singapore. See more of his articles at http://www.nutritionpark.com/ .

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