Understanding the 2 Main Phases of Weight Loss and the Maintenance Phase

What are the different phases of weight loss meal plans? Are there really phases of weight loss and how do they differ from one diet to the next? There really is not a one size fits all approach to losing weight. Each person has their own unique body type, metabolism rate, age, activity level and more. It is no wonder that so many programs fail because no one was addressed individually.

So how do you tailor your program to meet each individual's needs? The first phase of your weight loss plan should be an emphasis on lifestyle changes. This will include a new attitude toward food, exercise and water intake. It will also mean that you are recognizing that exercise is not the end all be all of healthy living and that healthy living is about incorporating exercise into your lifestyle.

The next few phases of your weight loss plan should include lifestyle changes. This might mean eating smaller meals more often, walking more and increasing the intensity or duration of your exercise routine. As you start to see changes in your body, you will want to make sure you eat smaller meals more often to maintain your new eating habits. Be sure to keep track of calories burned, weight lost and time spent on exercise to keep track of progress.

Now that you have some direction and a solid foundation on which to work your program you can begin to consider the specific diets and/or weight loss pills that you wish to add to your arsenal. The most important aspect of any weight loss plan is diet. You need to be sure to stay away from foods that contain empty calories that cannot be broken down and are of little or no nutritional value. Empty calories include candy, soda, fast food and other food items that are often advertised as being diet food.

Once you understand what a diet is not you will be able to begin to evaluate the different types of diet and weight loss supplements available to help you achieve your goal. The two basic types of dieting are: General and Exercise. General dietary management is used to assist you in losing or maintaining body weight per week. This includes eating small meals throughout the day and making sure to snack on certain healthy foods such as nuts, eggs and yogurt. General dietary management requires you to plan meals in advance and monitor your weight gain or loss on a weekly basis.

Exercise is a better alternative for those who are looking to lose and/or maintain body weight. Exercises that are designed for weight loss are great because they are low impact and usually provide the fastest results. Some exercises that are specifically designed to help you lose inches include squats, push ups and deadlifts. As you continue to exercise you will notice that you lose fewer calories and you may also notice that you feel better overall. If you choose an exercise program that is too challenging, you will not only likely fail to lose weight but you could end up with many health problems. You need to start out slow and increase your pace as you progress in your exercise program.

The last two stages of the Jenny Craig weight loss journey are maintenance and enhancement. These are the times when you are making sure you have enough food and are getting the most benefit from the food you do eat. Maintenance is very important because you want to make sure you are getting the nutrients and calories your body needs to stay healthy and function at its maximum capacity.

You can also expect to experience some amount of Non-scale victories throughout the weight loss process. Non-scale victories are temporary spikes in body weight. These are due to extreme dieting or the stress of being enrolled in a weight loss program. This could cause you to feel like you are not following a proper plan because you are constantly losing body weight in these small amounts.