Losing weight means eating fewer calories than you burn daily. You do not have to diligently count calories and spend hours at the gym to achieve results. Combine simple exercise and dietary strategies to equal a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day to result in about a pound of weight loss per week.
Step 1
Cut back on discretionary calories. Pass on foods with minimal nutritional value and high calories like alcohol, soda, sweets and refined grains. Cut just one can of soda mid-morning, a roll at lunch and a mid-afternoon cookie to save more than 300 calories a day.
Step 2
Plan easy meals for the entire week. Go for a serving of whole grain cereal or oatmeal for breakfast and add low-fat milk, berries and a tablespoon of nuts. For lunch and dinner, enjoy a half cup of whole grains, two cups of green vegetables or a salad and a three- to four-ounce serving of baked, broiled or grilled chicken, flank steak or fish. Give yourself three or four 100- to 150-calorie snack options to choose from daily. Enjoy an ounce of nuts, a piece of fruit, an ounce of low-fat cheese and crackers or celery and a tablespoon of natural peanut butter, for example. These three meals with two snacks range in calorie from 1,200 to 1,500 calories per day, which for most people represents a healthy, but reduced calorie-diet as per the National Institutes of Health.
Step 3
Fit in five, hour-long sweat sessions a week. Raise your heart rate to an aerobic zone and break a sweat during these cardiovascular sessions. Find alternatives to the gym to vary your workouts and combat boredom--use a walk to catch up with a friend or join a dance class. An hour-long walk at a moderate 3.5 mph pace burns about 250 calories for a 150-lb. person.
Step 4
Strength train two, non-consecutive days per week. Perform one set of 10 repetitions of a total body routine that includes eight exercises targeting all the major muscle groups, which is adequate for strength building for most people according to MayoClinic.com. Build muscle to help tighten up your physique and rev your metabolism. Use these exercises to create a complete body workout: cable lat pull-downs, push-ups, barbell squats, walking lunges, barbell biceps curls, triceps dips, abdominal crunches and dumbbell shoulder presses.
Tips and Warnings
- Do not skip meals as this may make you eat more later due to uncontrollable hunger. If you do not have access to strength-training equipment, perform bodyweight exercises like push-ups, wall squats and crunches at home.
Things You'll Need
- Lean protein
- Low-fat dairy
- Fresh produce
- Unsaturated fats
- Free weights
- Cable machine
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