weight

there are a few friends of mine on campus that feel as though they need to lose a large amount of weight. however, they are going about doing so in all the wrong ways. 

exercising twice a day, every day when they never used to work out. cutting all foods that aren't salad and fruit. making sure that they don't eat anything "unhealthy". i have stressed to them that there are healthier ways to go about losing and maintaining a healthy weight. unfortunately, cutting carbs and calories cold turkey doesn't work. and exercising so often when you never used to work out at all, is NOT the way to go about losing weight. 

you need to start slow and build up to where you would like to be. you need to start out slow, not jump right in to running four miles. your body is not used to that kind of work. also, you can slowly monitor your calories and such slowly and steadily. work your way up to where you would like to be. it's a process. 

personally, i believe you can eat anything you want... in moderation. you can still have dessert, just smaller amounts. you can still eat a hamburger, just slow down while you're eating so your stomach has time to realize that it's full. if you are eating something that uses utensils, put them down between bites. it gives your stomach time to realize that it is full, causing you to eat less. don't eat seconds at meals and don't over eat. know when to stop. just because it looks tasty and you like it, doesn't mean you need three platefuls. 

honestly, i'm tired of people complaining because they aren't losing weight when they just jump into a diet. you're starving your body. it will over compensate for the lack of food and store more fat because it doesn't know when you will be eating a full meal again. so, moral of the story, you see more results and are healthier if you work yourself up to where you want to be. eating healthy and exercising are key ways to see results, but there are certain ways you need to go about doing so to maintain a healthy weight.