Focusing on living rather than dieting may contribute to your success when it comes to accomplishing your weight loss goal. Exchanging restrictive diets for plans that include routine exercise and healthy, balanced nutrition can shed pounds and help prevent diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. You can design menus that please your taste buds and choose exercise that makes you smile as you sweat. Picking the right blend requires a little investigation and planning, but the results often make the effort worthwhile.
Step 1
Schedule an appointment with your health care provider. Talk with her about your weight loss plans, how much you would like to lose and the type of exercise you would like to incorporate into your weekly routine. She may want to order some blood or other tests or complete a physical exam to determine your current health status.
Step 2
Eat normally for a week and write it down. Record the amount of food you ate, the time of day and other pertinent data, such as noting you ate a double serving of ice cream after a hectic day at work. This will help you discover how much you eat daily as well as identify your triggers for indulging. Once you begin your healthy eating program, knowing stress at work triggers a sweet tooth, you may decide to stop at the gym several days a week instead of rushing to the nearest ice cream shop after work.
Step 3
Write your goals down and keep them realistic. Physicians continue to recommend a slow, steady loss of one to two pounds a week, according to the Mayo Clinic. They also note that your goals should address the process rather than the outcome. Process goals include decreasing your daily intake by 500 calories or exercising for 30 minutes five days a week. An outcome goal would be losing 50 pounds.
Step 4
Pick a nutrition plan suited to your tastes and schedule. The Harvard School of Public Health recommends a diet rich in vegetables, fresh fruits, whole grains, nuts, fish and lean meat for healthy weight loss. A successful weight loss program also has to accommodate your personality. You may find it easier to stick with a plan that gives you a printout of meals for 30 days or prefer one that just gives you a general direction to take. Whichever you choose, make a list and stock up on what you need to follow the plan.
Step 5
Exercise regularly. Along with the many other health benefits it offers, exercise burns calories. When you take in fewer calories than your body needs by cutting back on food, or burn off calories through exercise, your metabolism burns stored fat and you lose weight. Ask your doctor which exercise is best to start with, begin slowly and make it a goal to increase your exercise time or add other activities as you become fitter.
Step 6
Enlist support, but make sure it is the right kind. Choosing a friend who works out regularly to hold you accountable to your exercise program is likely a better option than asking a spouse who never leaves the couch to remind you to walk five evenings a week. Physicians, dietitians, fitness trainers and other health professionals often make an excellent, objective support system.
Step 7
Count a slip as part of the process. Most people experience an occasional craving too strong to resist. When you focus on lifelong eating and exercise habits, however, an extra serving of noodles one Wednesday afternoon loses some of its significance. Do not let a five-minute indulgence put you back on the couch with a bag of chips. Focus instead on getting back to the overall plan.
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