One of the most important things you SHOULD do when starting on a diet or a weight loss procedure regardless of the method, you SHOULD understand the definition, causes and health risks of being overweight.
You also SHOULD know the difference between overweight and obese, as the approach to overcome these states are different. The Body Mass Index determined by you or your doctor will be a great help. A person with a BMI of 25 to 29.99 is considered overweight, whilst a person with a BMI of 30 or greater, or who is at least 30 lbs overweight (depending on height), would be diagnosed as obese, the condition of being considerably overweight.
After the BMI index was determined and you’ve chosen a weight loss procedure, you SHOULD avoid sweetened drinks and diet soda too, as the artificial sweeteners are probably not very good for you as they tend to make you hungry. What you SHOULDN’T miss is water, drink lots of it. Switching from whole to nonfat or low fat milk is also a good idea, or switching to soy milk is even a better when being on a weight loss diet.
When you are following a weight loss procedure, you’re probably having a slight change in your daily diet or you’re following a strict daily menu. Either ways, you SHOULD pay attention on your calorie intake, be sure you’ve got covered all the basic nutrients necessary to your body in order to function properly. Never skip meals, especially not breakfast. Avoid eating when you feel upset or bored. Try to find something else to do instead! You also SHOULDN’T eat while you're doing anything else like watching TV, using the computer or doing your homework.
Nobody claimed that weight loss is an easy procedure, so starting from the fact, that we are human and tend to make mistakes, you SHOULDN’T feel guilty if you broke one of the "rules" and ate one of your favorite peanut butter, chocolate, ice cream or a bag of chips. You SHOULDN’T make these foods forbidden as surely you want them even more, just don’t overreact. The key to long-term success is based on healthy choices most of the time.
And last but not least, you NEVER SHOULD forget about the positive effects of regular exercise ! Whenever you have the chance, instead of riding elevators or escalators, take the stairs! Try a variety of activities from hiking to cycling and rowing until you find the ones you like as the possibilities are almost unlimited.
