Fad diets or programs that promise quick results are not the best approach to weight loss. These diets tend to forget about nutrition in favor of severe restrictions and low calorie counts to lose the weight. Before a surgery, doctors encourage obese patients to lose weight to lessen risks associated with the procedure. Be sure that you discuss your weight loss efforts with your doctor to ensure that you are losing weight safely before your surgery.
Safe Rate
The safest rate of weight loss before your surgery is one to two pounds a week. Losing more than this amount can cause vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Diets that promise faster results may help you to lose a lot of weight very quickly, but most people are not able to sustain the weight loss once the diet has stopped. Diets that are extremely low in calories, such as the eating plan after a gastric bypass surgery, must be monitored by a physician.
Work with your doctor to find a reasonable amount of weight that you can expect to lose before your surgery. Any weight loss before undergoing a surgical procedure will help increase your safety during the operation.
Learning Portion Control
Some dieters are amazed at the difference between a healthy portion size and the size that should be consumed. Restaurants often serve portions that are two to three times larger than a healthy serving size. Get a small kitchen scale so that you can measure your portion sizes until you are able to do it by eye. Three ounces of lean protein is probably much smaller than the portion you usually eat.
Include more vegetables in your diet to help you feel full between meals. Serving sizes for these foods is much bigger than fatty and high calorie foods.
Exercise
Many fad diets that promise fast weight loss do not consider the benefits of exercise. These diets rely on extremely low calorie counts to lose the weight. You can lose weight much faster if you make sure to exercise every day. Thirty minutes of some aerobic activity such as walking or swimming at least five days a week will help burn off calories. The extra calories that you will burn with exercise can add up to an additional pound of weight loss every week.
