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Losing weight: how to do it right?

Alexey Kryvenko, medical expert
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025

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Effective weight loss is what all women on the planet dream of. Every woman has had moments in her life when losing weight was considered something necessary. Nowadays, only the lazy do not offer another new way to lose extra pounds, but the number of overweight people suggests that such methods do not guarantee results. Weight loss can be achieved with the help of a variety of methods available today: various diets, miracle pills, decoctions of rare herbs, belts and shorts for weight loss. All these means promise almost instant results, but it goes without saying that without painstaking work on yourself, this is impossible.

If you are interested in losing weight without harming your health and without the risk of gaining the kilos back, then you need to approach the issue seriously. You will not be able to lose weight without making efforts, you will not be able to lose ten kilograms in three days, to achieve a visible result, and, even more so, to reliably consolidate it, you will need to spend quite a lot of time.

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Proper weight loss: basic rules

Effective weight loss - slow weight loss

Healthy weight loss has one single rule - the weight should go away slowly, without using strict methods. Never give in to advertising reviews of miracle pills that supposedly can help you lose weight without changing your diet. Avoid strict diets that promise that you will lose kilograms in a matter of days. 3-5 kilograms per month is a normal result and if you do not rush, it will soon satisfy you. "Extreme" diets, which are more like long-term starvation, of course, can lead to a result in the form of quickly lost weight, but after a few days, when you return to your usual diet, the weight will return twice as much, and instead of the lost 5 kilograms, you will gain 5 on top.

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The most important thing is self-discipline

Based on the first rule, it is easy to derive the second, which concerns self-discipline. If you are focused on the result and losing weight is your main goal at the moment, then you should set yourself up in advance that the process will be long and laborious. Choose a favorable time for yourself, perhaps it is convenient for you to start on Monday or on the first of the month, tune in to a positive mood and make a firm decision not to succumb to temptations and not to deviate from the main goal. Remember that if you have chronic diseases, losing weight should be discussed with your doctor.

How to eat to lose weight effectively?

Effective weight loss depends on many factors and first of all, you will have to completely change your lifestyle, products and diet. Be prepared to give up processed foods, fast food, and sweet carbonated drinks: these products do not contain any useful substances, and preservatives prevent the removal of toxins from the body. If you are aiming to lose weight, you need to drink a lot of liquids, and not so much tea, coffee or juice, but distilled chilled water. Start your day with a glass of water with lemon, this will help start your metabolism, and then weight loss will not take long to come. Try to exclude sweets, flour and bakery products, sugar, fatty and fried foods from your diet. Instead, include fresh vegetables throughout the day and fruits in the first half of the day in your daily diet. Switch to fractional meals: eat at least five to six times a day, try to get rid of the feeling of hunger with snacks every two hours. In the afternoon, try to eat protein-rich, low-fat foods, dairy products, stewed or fresh vegetables. Weight loss will be effective if you limit alcohol consumption, except perhaps a glass of dry wine several times a week. Several times a month, you can arrange for the body to have fasting thematic days: apple, kefir, watermelon. Remember, these recommendations are not a short-term diet, but a new lifestyle that you will have to adhere to forever.

Weight loss and sports

Weight loss depends not only on diet, but also on physical activity. After you have created a healthy diet for yourself, consisting of nutritious and not too caloric food, you should think about intensive training. You can start with walking and short aerobic training several times a week. After the body gets used to physical activity, try to devote at least 15-20 minutes to light warm-up exercises every morning, several times a week to work out in the gym, alternating strength and cardio training.

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