With regards to weight loss, most people are aware of the two most important factors: dieting and exercise. Easy enough, right? The tricky part is making these two components work together to create our desired result. Dieting can have its challenges on its own, and the addition of a planned exercise routine can make the goal of weight loss seem so far off as to be impossible. The good news: it’s not. There are several techniques that can help anyone with the honest desire to lose weight to do just that.

Dieting and exercise plans are too often crafted apart from one another, and thus become less effective. The concept is simple; a poorly planned diet and exercise regimen will most often lead to less than substantial weight loss results. It is not difficult to forecast what will likely happen in this kind of situation. Poor results lead to frustration, and frustration leads to giving up. If you have tried to diet and exercise in the past, you may have experienced this disappointing cycle.

To achieve your weight loss goals, you must design your meal choices in coordination with your exercise regimen. This will allow your body to utilize the correct nutrients, to the maximum extent, to make your exercise efforts as effective as possible. Let’s begin with the obvious: cut out unhealthy snacks. This does not mean you can’t snack, but rather that healthy snack choices will help your dieting and exercise regimen become more effective.

Here is good example of the number of minutes a person would have to exercise in order to negate the consumption of given unhealthy snacks: If you were to eat the serving size of one ounce of Pringles, your caloric intake would be 150 calories, 14 grams of carbohydrates, and 10 grams of fat. Taken together, this means that you would have to either: walk for 43 minutes, or run for 18. While potato chips may be tasty, they are not the right choice for an individual striving to lose weight.

Once you have armed yourself with the food value breakdowns of the foods you eat, you can begin to cut out those food choices that do nothing for your body. Again, it’s important to realize that dieting and exercise must be accomplished together in order to be effective.

As the potato chip example shows, our food choices are vitally important to our exercise results. There are other food items worth paying attention to that are high in calories, like Starbucks coffee. The takeaway from these breakdowns: that small indulgence, taken with all of the others, equals weight gain. The last thing a person attempting a diet and exercise regimen wants is to negate their hard work simply because they are not aware of the negative effect of some of their food choices.

So there you have it, successful dieting and exercise is not beyond your reach. If you are serious about losing weight, educate yourself on the nutritional value of the foods you eat. Next, chose a diet plan that is right for you. There are countless resources available for those willing to seriously attempt weight loss.

For those individuals who feel they are too busy to take on the added task of educating themselves on, shopping for, and then preparing healthy meals, consider a meal delivery service. BistroMD is the nation’s number one physician-designed, chef-prepared meal delivery company in the United States. With bistroMD on your team, we will take care of your dieting needs, and give you the information and support you need to exercise and to achieve your goals.

Works Cited: Stuart Platkin, Charles. The Diet Detective's Count Down: 7500 of Your Favorite Food Counts with Their Exercise Equivalents for Walking, Running, Biking, Swimming, Yoga, and Dance. Fireside, 2007. Print.