Losing weight takes dedication and a restructuring of your lifestyle, and changes need to be made in your exercise habits and diet. Being that you want to maintain a slim body for the rest of your life, take an approach that is not overly demanding or too restrictive, which often is the case with crash diets and high-intensity workout plans. Make slow and steady changes that you can stick with for the rest of your life.
Step 1
Add together all of your daily intake for five days and divide by five to get an average. Deduct 500 to 1,000 to get a daily caloric goal: To lose 1 pound a week, cut your daily intake by 500 calories; to lose 2 pounds, cut it by 1,000. This is because it takes a 3,500-calorie reduction to lose 1 pound.
For example, if you consume 15,000 calories over five days, divide 15,000 by 5 to get an average daily intake of 3,000 calories. Cut that down to 2,500 to lose 1 pound a week and to 2,000 to lose 2 pounds.
Choose a reduction that you can stick with and is not too extreme.
Step 2
Select foods that are as natural as possible. Eliminate refined foods, processed foods, deep-fried foods, sweets and white flour products from your diet. Stick with nutrient-dense foods that are minimally processed, such as fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish, low-fat dairy products, whole grains and beans.
Step 3
Reduce your meal sizes and eat more often. Eat meals every two to three hours throughout the day to keep your appetite under control and energy levels high. Include a portion of complex carbs and protein in every meal to make them balanced. Baked salmon with steamed broccoli and brown rice is a meal example.
Step 4
Reduce your intake of liquid calories. Cut back on soda, sweetened tea, slushies, dessert coffees, beer, wine and mixed drinks. Continually drinking these beverages will slow your weight loss. Drink water instead. It has no calories and hydrates the body.
Step 5
Choose healthy options when dining out. Avoid foods that are cooked in butter, covered with cheese or prepared with creamy sauces. Stick with baked, broiled and steamed entrees and side dishes and take half of your meal home if it is large.
Step 6
Perform cardiovascular exercise to burn calories and lose weight. The American College of Medicine recommends 30 minutes of cardio for health benefits and 60 to 90 minutes of cardio to lose weight. Start out at the higher end of these guidelines until you get down to where you want to be. Follow the lower guideline for the rest of your life once you get to your goal weight. Work out four to five days a week in both cases. If you start gaining weight again at some point, increase your exercise duration. Running, fast-paced walking, biking, inline skating, stair climbing, step aerobics and swimming are all effective types of cardio.
Step 7
Lift weights to increase your muscle mass. By building muscle through lifting weights, you will burn more calories every day, according to the University of Michigan Health Center. Do exercises that target all of your major muscle groups, like chest presses, shoulder presses, back rows, triceps extensions, biceps curls, lunges and crunches. Work out two to three times a week, do 10 to 12 reps and three or four sets. Continue to work out for the rest of your life after you have reached your goal weight.
Tips and Warnings
- To prevent yourself from feeling deprived, have a treat once a week. This can be a dessert, a whole meal or some type of junk food that you crave. Just make sure to get right back on the wagon afterward. This will always give you something to look forward to.
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