When it comes to weight loss, one of the most important things you can do is to watch what you eat. Your weight is simply a delicate balancing act, and excess calories are just one part of the equation. Ultimately, weight loss comes down to burning off more calories than you consume. And you can do this primarily by reducing overall calories consumed through diet and physical activity, combined with making some changes to your food intake.

To burn more calories, your body requires an optimum number of food calories at regular intervals. And intermittent fasting works well to help you achieve that goal. Intermittent fasting is simply a technique that involves eating less food during certain times of the day, usually lunch and dinner, in order to help you drop pounds. The theory behind intermittent fasting is that eating less makes you feel fuller, giving you fewer temptations to snack between meals, both of which lead to additional weight gain. And in many studies done on the subject, intermittent fasting has been shown to be as effective as other weight loss methods like moderate walking or even dieting without exercise.

But when it comes to losing weight, nothing works quite like good nutrition. You need to eat lots of lean protein, lots of fruits and vegetables, and small but frequent snacks throughout the day. Good nutrition can also help you avoid hunger pangs and keep you satisfied longer. It’s all about how your body “responds” to the food you eat. And your body needs some carbohydrates in order to produce energy, so eating more carbohydrates keeps your metabolism going and prevents your body from storing fat.

In addition to good nutrition, a good weight loss program should include some physical activity, such as walking or jogging. And the more physical activity you get into, the more likely it is that you’ll stay motivated enough to stick with it long-term. This is particularly true if you’re motivated by results – if you want to lose a lot of weight, you might be tempted to give up after a few weeks, but if you keep at it by including regular physical activity into your lifestyle, you’re much more likely to stick with it long term. And regular physical activity burns lots of calories, so you end up saving those calories for something else – and it’s usually the next time you eat a big meal.

Some weight loss programs don’t stress eating right at all. Instead, they focus on just eliminating junk food from the diet. While this can do wonders for you, it doesn’t have nearly the same impact as eating properly and engaging in regular physical activity. So in order to maintain weight loss, you need to do both. Even a good weight loss program that eliminates junk food completely won’t do much good if you don’t add good foods to the diet and get some regular physical action.

The point is that moderate to severe weight loss is not about losing weight quickly. In fact, you can actually gain the most health benefits by making it a lifestyle change and creating an environment where your body is constantly challenged with new eating opportunities. So even if you’re giving up chocolate and fries, remember that you can still eat healthy and reap the other health benefits of eating in a new way. The secret is to keep changing and challenge yourself, while sticking with the weight loss plan that you can handle.