One can be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of data concerning weight loss and obesity. It seems that every doctor has a different plan for weight loss help. If we were to try to follow even a small percentage of the advice on how to lose weight, we would be bewildered and lost. So go back to the basics before deciding on any single program of diet or exercise.

The basics for any program's success can be summarized as controlling our input and output. Input of calories from food varies and depends on our menu. Red meat, butter, ice cream, soft drinks give us more calories than fruits, vegetables, fish and water. To reduce the intake of calories, we can take more fish and less of red meat, more fruits in place of ice cream and water instead of soft drinks. Let us garner all the weight loss help we can, including low fat recipes and supplementary nutrition.

The extra weight also puts a strain on our internal organs, including hearts. That is the reason for more overweight people getting heart attacks compared with lean and trim ones. But why should we reduce our calorie intake? It is to avoid adding fat to our already obese bodies. An input of 3500 calories gives us a pound of fat for our body to carry around.

And at this point, we see the rationale behind all of these programs on dieting and how to lose weight. All of them are different paths to the some hoped-for outcome. Any program, however, is only a guide. In the end, you have to make it work; talk to your doctor to ensure that the program that you choose is right for you.

Let's now see the other side of the issue. Controlling, or rather increasing our output of calories. Ideally, we should expend all calories we ingest else, the surplus calories are stored as fat by our body. As we are already overweight, we should expend more calories than we take in, so that fat is converted back as glucose by our body to meet the request.

Just as there are several diet programs to control our intake, there is equal number of exercise programs to increase the outgo of calories. Here again, let us check with our physician before we start on any plan. Ways to make exercise fun are many, including exercise bikes, inversion tables and multi-gyms for homes.

Results will be better if we take up programs for both intake as well as outgo, to increase the chances of our success. Yeah, now we see the best answer to the question of how to lose weight. Come hell or high water, we now only need to stick to them till we achieve what we aimed for. Let us wish each other good luck!