Most overweight people should lose weight gradually. For safe and healthy weight loss, try not to exceed a rate of two pounds per week. Sometimes, people with serious health problems associated with obesity may have legitimate reasons for losing weight rapidly. If so, a physician's supervision is required.

What you weigh is the result of several factors:

• how much and what kinds of food you eat

• whether your lifestyle includes regular physical activity

• whether you use food to respond to stress and other situations in your life

• your physiologic and genetic make-up

• your age and health status.

Evidence suggests that more than 80 percent of the individuals who lose weight will gradually regain it. Patients who continue to use weight maintenance programs have a greater chance of keeping weight off. Maintenance includes continued contact with the health care practitioner for education, support, and medical monitoring.

Effective weight control involves multiple techniques and strategies including dietary therapy, physical activity, behavior therapy, pharmacotherapy, and surgery as well as combinations of these strategies. Some strategies such as modifying dietary intake and physical activity can also impact on obesity-related comorbidities or risk factors.

In the majority of overweight and obese people, adjustment of the diet is required to reduce caloric intake. Dietary therapy includes instructing patients in the modification of their diets to achieve a decrease in caloric intake. A diet that is individually planned to help create a deficit of 500 to 1,000 kcal/day should be an integral part of any program aimed at achieving a weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds per week. A key element of the current recommendation is the use of a moderate reduction in caloric intake, which is designed to achieve a slow, but progressive, weight loss. Ideally, caloric intake should be reduced only to the level that is required to maintain weight at a desired level. If this level of caloric intake is achieved, excess weight will gradually decrease. In practice, somewhat greater caloric deficits are used in the period of active weight loss, but diets with a very low-calorie content are to be avoided. Finally, the composition of the diet should be modified to minimize other cardiovascular risk factors.

Increased physical activity is not only important for weight loss and weight loss maintenance but also impacts on other comorbidities and risk factors such as high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol levels. Physical activity should be an integral part of weight loss therapy and weight maintenance. Initially, moderate levels of physical activity for 30 to 45 minutes, 3 to 5 days per week, should be encouraged.

Weight loss supplements can work well with a good bodybuilding nutrition program because it improves the metabolism in the body.

Nutrition Myths and Tips to Help Aid in Fast Weight Loss

#1 Myth: Load up on protein to gain more muscles.

Totally baseless. There is no scientific study that proved the association of extra protein to muscle gain. To much protein intake can result in dehydration, kidney, liver problems, as protein needs a lot of fluid to remove waste products.

#2 Myth: When an athlete is thirsty, it means his body needs fluids.

The body might need fluids even if one is not thirsty. Drink plenty of water to keep the body flushed of toxins to stay fit.

#3 Myth: Sugar should not be a part of a good nutrition for athletes before a competition. Sugar, which is a kind of carbohydrate, can actually fuel an athlete's energy, therefore improving his performance. Eliminating sugar in the nutrition for athletes may not let them perform at their best. This can hinder weight loss at the same time.

#4 Myth: Athletes who exercise for more than an hour are the only ones who need the sports drinks. Totally untrue. Dehydration due to water loss can easily be prevented with the sports drinks.

#5 Myth: A good way to lose weight is through exercise.

If you consider your water loss as your weight loss, this may be true. But the water lost during exercise and other physical activities is to be replaced. Water loss is certainly not the same as fat loss. Proper nutrition for athletes and people who want to loss weight should be based on a health practitioner's advice and not on mere hearsay or popular beliefs.