With over 67 percent of adults in the United States overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control, weight loss is on the minds of millions of Americans. Many people make resolutions every year to lose weight, and there are almost as many methods for losing weight as there are people trying to lose it.
Exercise
One of the most popular methods to lose weight is through exercising. Exercise leads to weight loss by creating a calorie deficiency. If calories burned by regular daily activity, combined with calories burned from exercise are more than calories eaten during the day on a consistent basis, this will lead to weight loss. For every 3,500 calories burned, 1 lb. of weight is lost. Some people prefer to work out at home, while others opt for the gym. Cardiovascular exercise, which includes activities like jogging, biking, swimming and aerobics, is the most effective way to burn fat, according to the Mayo Clinic. Weight training is another form of exercise that burns some calories but is mainly targeted at building and toning muscle.
Diet
For those who shudder at the thought of stepping on a treadmill on a regular basis, changing eating habits is another method of losing weight. Cutting back on calories is an effective way to create a calorie deficit, if you can figure out approximately how many calories your body burns in a day on its own. A calorie calculator can help you come up with this number. It estimates the number of calories burned in a day by factoring in your weight, age, height and lifestyle factors such as daily physical activity. Cutting back on high-fat and high-calorie foods to the point where your body is not consuming as many calories but getting the proper nutrition will eventually lead to weight loss without regular, strenuous exercise. Understanding the Food and Drug Administration-mandated food label on the foods you eat can help you know what you're putting in your body.
Diet and Exercise
Many people who are trying to lose large amounts of weight quickly combine diet and exercise to create larger calorie deficits. Cutting back on the amount of food you eat and exercising can help you create calorie deficits upward of 3,500 to 7,000 per week, resulting in a weight loss of 1 to 2 lbs. per week. It's best to aim for no more than this amount of weight loss per week on a regular basis, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Weight Loss Surgery
Some obese people choose surgery as a method to lose weight. According to the Mayo Clinic, bariatric surgery is the most popular method of weight-loss surgery, due mainly to its relatively few complications. Weight-loss surgery usually involves some method of limiting the amount of food your digestive system can handle, which causes you eat less. Doctors recommend weight-loss surgery only for people with a body mass index over 40 but may consider patients with a lower BMI combined with complications such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
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