Losing weight brings up visions of deprivation, celery sticks, monotonous calorie counting and hours at the gym. To lose 20 lbs., you will have to put in some effort, but it does not have to be tedious or complicated. Adopt some easy strategies and employ a little willpower to reach your goal within a few months.
Step 1
Aim for a realistic rate of weight loss. Create a negative calorie balance equivalent to about 500 calories per day to lose one pound of weight per week. Shoot for a slower rate if you find this too aggressive, so you do not drop out of your program because it is too difficult to sustain. To create this negative balance, you must burn more calories than you consume by combining a reduction in food intake and with increased physical activity levels.
Step 2
Eat recommended portion sizes. Stick to three to four ounces of meats, chicken and fish. Allow yourself just a half cup of most grains, two slices of whole wheat bread or one cup of cooked whole wheat pasta. Use common, everyday items as visual references for simple portion-control, recommends the Cleveland Clinic. Think of a serving of fish as being the size of a computer mouse, a piece of fruit to be about the size of a baseball or an ounce of cheese as the size of two dice.
Step 3
Include structured exercise daily. Work your way up to a minimum of an hour of moderate-intensity exercise five days per week. Start easily, with 15 or 20 minutes of a brisk walk, jog or an aerobics class and add 10 percent every week until you reach your desired workout time, recommends the American Council on Exercise. Find a mode you enjoy as you will most likely need to keep up a minimum of 60 minutes most days to maintain your 20-lb. weight loss. Burn even more calories by performing interval training, which involves periods of sprinting 60 to 90 seconds mixed with periods of more moderate activity.
Step 4
Include movement at the office to burn more calories throughout the day. Gesture more, stand instead of sit during meetings and phone calls, get up to stretch or walk around the office for a few minutes every hour and take a walking lunch break. Small movements can add as much as a 350 calorie-burn to your day without much effort, reports the "New York Times" in May 2005. Make this movement add up to just 200 calories per day and lose 20 lbs. in a year.
Step 5
Get off the couch at home to burn calories and diminish the urge to snack. Eliminate labor-saving devices such as snow blowers and riding mowers. Play Frisbee with your kids. Take the dog for a walk. Join a softball league instead of watching TV at night. Any calories you burn contribute to the creation of a negative calorie balance, accelerating your weight loss rate without complex formulas.
Tips and Warnings
- Skipping meals may seem like a simple way to lose weight, but it actually backfires in the long run. You will probably become overly hungry and end up eating too much at the next opportunity. It also signals the body to slow down, hindering calorie-burning activity and metabolism. Eat a minimum of 1,200 calories per day if you are a woman or 1,500 as a man, recommends Medline Plus. Spread these calories out over three meals and two snacks per day to stay fueled.
- Please consult a doctor before beginning an exercise program.
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