Balanced Dietarian

If shedding pounds is on the top of your to-do list for 2009, you're far from alone.

Millions of Americans put themselves on diets of all shapes and sizes each year, yet according to the National Weight Control Registry, 90-95 percent of dieters re-gain the weight they lost, or more, within five years.

So, what works? And what won't kill us in the process?

According to the National Weight Control Registry, those individuals who maintained weight loss more than five years had three things in common:

• Engaged in ongoing exercise to get the body moving daily
• Were conscious of fat calories
• Became less fast food-dependent and prepared their own meals
• Formulated a Balanced Diet Plan

What's the Secret to Dieting?

Suprisingly, there is no secret, only a 3 step common sense approach that works in connection with balanced diet plan.

1. Nutrition - Having a balanced diet consists of eating foods from the basic food groups that give you enough calories to fuel your body for the day.  And it isn't just as simple as eating some apples and broccoli everyday.  You need to get a variety of different fruits and vegetables throughout the week to give your body the different nutrients that it requires.  This means that your body requires protein and carbohydrates each and every day. 
2. Exercise - Like anything in life, you must work hard to get the results you want. This means committing yourself to an consistent regiment of exercise. However, it should be noted that the key to success in this area is balance.
3. Sleep - As in most activities of life, rest is devalued and factored in as important in the overall scheme of healthy living, but this is very wrong. As most recent studies have shown, your body needs at least 8 hours of sleep to properly breakdown sugars and starches within your system. In retrospect, sleeping too much can lead to having a higher (BMI) or body mass index.
4. Research - Please review the free resources on this website as these have been designed for the serious dietarian.