Perhaps the last time you had a checkup at your doctor's office, he or she recommended that you drop a little weight. A person's ideal weight depends on several factors, including age, gender, your bodyframe size, the amount of exercise you get, and any health conditions or medications that could have an impact on your weight, such as insulin taken by Type One diabetics, or people in recovery from surgery or cancer treatments. There are many scams available that offer quick weight loss results, but in reality there is no quick fix for losing weight and then maintaining your weight at the correct level. It is a matter of balancing diet and exercise in an appropriate way so that you can drop the extra pounds while still maintaining your muscle mass. What constitutes healthy weight loss, and what tools are available to help you achieve your ideal weight?

One aspect of healthy weight loss is that you take the weight off slowly. Although there are some health conditions in which a doctor might recommend rapid weight loss, this is a task to only be completed under a doctor's supervision. If you are not in this category, doctors often recommend losing no more than two pounds at the most per week.

Simple changes in your lifestyle can have an impact over time on your weight. Simply by eating more fruits and vegetables, along with whole grains, and cutting back a bit on portion sizes can help tremendously. Adding physical exercise to your daily schedule also makes a dramatic difference in not only your wellbeing but also your weight. Walking is often recommended because it is easy to do, does not require special equipment, and can be done anywhere.

The Mayo Clinic recommends controlling the portion sizes of foods to help with weight loss. They advise eating more fruits and vegetables and reducing the portion size on high-calorie foods will not only help you feel full but will reduce the number of calories you are eating and help you reach your weight loss goals.

Others find that a small reduction in your daily calories can make for significant weight loss if it is done on a consistent basis over time. Dropping 300 to 500 calories per day alone can result in a weight loss of one to two pounds per week. This is roughly equivalent to three chocolate chip cookies to one average slice of pecan pie.

Many who have been successful at losing weight and keeping it off rely on a calorie calculator and an exercise journal to help them achieve healthy weight loss. An online food diary can help you analyze quickly and easily the food you eat, and help you make healthy choices. An online exercise log can help you plan your workout schedule so that it includes cardio, strength and flexibility training, along with appropriate rest, so that your fitness level will improve, and will also result in healthy weight loss.