“I want that perfect body and I want it now!” Sound familiar? Sometimes, or maybe even most of the time, you want something that in reality is pretty drastic. You want a snap of a finger kind of makeover. Your sole focus is on the end result so much that you don’t care about the means to get there.

These safe weight loss guidelines which will be discussed may be a good start when planning things out in order for you to achieve that ideal weight and get to enjoy it at the same time. You don’t want to be thin but sickly right? How can you enjoy your newly found image if that is the situation?

For every action done there is a reaction involved. That’s Physics right? Anyway, this holds true to your method of losing weight. If you practice something that is not good for your body, then yes, you lose weight but will your may see some bad side effects in the end.

Here are some of the safe weight loss guidelines that we’re going to highlight:

Practice Small Frequent Meals – Who says in order to lose weight you have to deprive yourself of food? You just can’t stop eating what your body has been used to. Instead cut the portions of the food you’re going to eat. Also divide each serving within the span of the day. This is very helpful in the digestion process. Allow your body time to absorb the nutrients it needs and eliminate those that are waste.

The ideal amount of times to eat is 5-6 times a day. You want your 3 main meals, and 2-3 smaller healthy snacks during the day. Remember, not eating to lose weight is bad for you!

Move Around – Don’t be a couch potato all day and move that butt of yours. Thinking of kilometers and running or jogging sounds tiring already? Well don’t think of it. Instead of counting numbers, why not plan a general cleaning in the house, offer to do groceries, walk the dogs around the block or even play a game of sport with your kids or friends. Try to associate activities with the things you like. You get to enjoy and at the same time loss that extra pounds.

Most doctors recommend at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. If you spend a few minutes here or there being active, by the end of the day you will be well over 30 minutes of activity.

Talk to your doctor and/or nutritionist – The last safe weight loss guideline to mention, but certainly not the least important. If you have certain conditions that need to keep in mind, always talk to your doctor. You and your doctor may plan out activities that will suit your abilities and not harm you. Your nutritionist may also suggest certain groups of food that best works for you and your condition.

You have to keep in mind that your body is you temple. You want to do what is good for your body as much as possible. Remember, you only get one in your lifetime, so you better take care of it. That’s why it’s always better to follow safe weight loss guidelines instead of doing something drastic that can have permanent side effects.

If you’re not a nutritionist, it can be tough to tell what is healthy for you and what is not. But there are some hard and fast rules you can apply to your life today to generally improve your overall healthy diet.

Cut the soda and juice – Soda is a diet killer. There are about 40 grams of sugar per one 12oz can of soda. You could lose 1-4 lbs a month alone if you cut this out of your diet. Most juices aren’t any healthier. Check the nutrition labels and you’ll see their sugar levels are on par with sodas.

Replace sodas and juices with ice cold water. It might be hard to get used to at first, but eventually you won’t be able to go back to soda and juices knowing how bad they are for you! You’ll actually start to enjoy the taste of food more.

Turn Chips in Pretzels – If you’re a potato chip eater, replace them with pretzels. One serving of chips has 60 calories more than pretzels, and 10 times more fat grams. This can help you lose half a pound this month. That said, pretzels are incredibly high in sodium. If you switched that snack to baby carrots, expect to lose another half-pound and be a whole lot healthier!

Stop Eating Fast Food – It took years and years for laws to come into place that forced fast food restaurants to provide their nutritional information. There’s a reason for that: They don’t want you to know! The average menu at your fast food restaurant is full of fat and carbohydrates and very little nutrition The best solution is to stop all together, but if you absolutely have to have fast food, stick with their healthier options. Always go for a smaller size (value “pricing” is designed to get you to order more!) and cut out the soft drink (replace it with water).

Fixing Breakfast – You must always eat breakfast! Some people tend to think by skipping this very important meal, they are helping their diet. That’s not the case. Eating breakfast allows you to get more nutrition and energy throughout the day, while helping you avoid cravings for bigger meals had you avoided breakfast.

Aim for lower calorie breakfast choices like 1% milk, low fat cottage cheese (with fruit or all-fruit jelly), and healthier cereal (Kashi is an absolutely amazing brand of cereal!)

Skin the Fat – This goes for all the chicken lovers out there – Always have broiled or grilled chicken over the very unhealthy alternative: Fried chicken. Chicken skin is incredibly high in calories and fat – about 200 calories per average serving.