If you're thinking of losing weight by ordering foods as part of a fad diet or taking diet pills, consider current research. In a review of 31 studies of people who go on commercial diets, Traci Mann, UCLA psychologist, found that more than 80 percent of people who were followed for at least two years gain back more weight than they had lost. Further, Dr. Wayne Andersen, author of "Habits of Health," warns that diet pills can cause mental clouding and have dangerous side effects. The best way to lose weight, reports Mann, is eating in moderation and doing regular exercise.
Step 1
Calculate a calorie goal. Irene Rubaum-Keller, a weight-loss specialist, recommends this formula for estimating a calorie goal: If you're a healthy woman who gets little exercise, multiply your desired weight by 10; and if you're a healthy male with a sedentary lifestyle, multiply your goal weight by 12.
For example, for a target weight of 230 lbs. if you're a 250-lb. female, aim for eating 2,300 calories a day at the start of your diet. If you're a healthy male that weighs 250 lbs., start at 2,760 calories. It can take about two and a half months for a 250-lb. male or female to reach this target weight.
Step 2
Keep track of all the calories you consume. Start a food diary, recording everything you eat and drink. Include your portion sizes and calorie information. Packaged foods have calorie information on the nutrition panel usually located on the back of the package. You can find calorie information for fresh fruit, vegetables and meat at a website such as the USDA's National Nutrient Database.
Step 3
Exercise between three and five days a week. The American College of Sports Medicine indicates in its 2007, updated physical activity guidelines that healthy individuals under the age of 65 should do either a moderately intensive, 30-minute cardio workout five days a week or an intense, 20-minute cardio workout three days a week.
A cardio workout, according to the ACSM, should mix up a variety of activities, such as jumping rope, riding a stationary bike and using an elliptical machine.
Tips and Warnings
- Your basal metabolic rate, the number of calories you need each day just to maintain your current weight, can be calculated at a website like Discovery Health's BMR tool.
- Be sure to talk to your doctor whenever you start a new exercise and diet routine. When calculating your calorie goal, Rubaum-Keller warns that if you drop your goal weight too drastically, you're at risk for failing and slowing your metabolism. If you lift weights, you will probably gain weight before you lose it. Lifting weights builds muscle, which is heavier than fat.
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