Weight Loss & Fitness Plans

Losing weight slowly and steadily increases your odds of keeping it off, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But if you've struggled with losing weight for a long time, the steps toward getting and keeping excess pounds off may seem like an indecipherable puzzle.

Reducing that puzzle to a simple equation turns weight loss into a manageable goal: Burn more calories than you take in, and you'll lose weight. Once you've lost the weight, the healthy habits you built in the process will help you stay fit, too.

Diet and Exercise

You can lose weight by diet alone, but incorporating aerobic exercise into your daily habits burns more calories, faster, than diet alone. That doesn't mean you can eat donuts with impunity if you've jogged for half an hour. But you can take in plenty of fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lean meats to fuel your body for exercise and daily activities.

Strength

An effective weight-loss program will incorporate strength training, too. Increasing your lean muscle mass ups your basal metabolic rate; you burn more calories, even at rest. When your muscles are strong, you're also less likely to get injured and better able to perform everyday activities, from chasing your toddler to lifting heavy boxes at work or carrying groceries upstairs.

Flexibility

The third essential component of an exercise program, flexibility, is often overlooked. But it has some definite benefits. Stretching increases your range of motion, improves your posture, reduces muscle soreness and reduces your risk of injury. Stretch after your warm-up, the first few minutes of gentle activity at the beginning of each workout. Stretch again after the workout is over.

Duration

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that, to maintain health and reduce your risk of chronic disease, you should do 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio exercise, five days a week, or 20 minutes of vigorous cardio exercise, three days a week. They also recommend that you do eight to 10 strength-training exercises, twice weekly.

But if you're exercising to lose weight, your ultimate goal is burning calories, so you need to exercise more---burning more calories---than someone aiming for general fitness. The American College of Sports Medicine warns that you may need to invest 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity, instead of 30-minute sessions, to lose weight or maintain weight loss.

Examples

Being fit and losing weight doesn't require slaving in the gym. If you find an active pursuit that you're passionate about, the pounds will melt off and your fitness will increase, but you won't even notice because you'll be having too much fun. Non-gym activities for weight loss and cardiovascular fitness include dancing, canoeing, hiking, bicycling and inline skating. There truly is something for everyone out there, so keep trying different things until you find an activity, and a group of people, that you gel with.