Losing 20 pounds is a matter of applied physics and elementary math, says Oregon-based fitness coach Ben Cohn. If your body burns 3,500 more calories than it takes in, you lose a pound. If you do that 20 times, you lose 20 pounds. How fast you do it depends on how aggressive you want to be. However, health counselor Maya Paul warns that losing weight too fast is neither healthy nor sustainable. People who lose weight too aggressively are at high risk for putting the weight right back on once they leave their weight loss regimen. For best results, Paul recommends losing weight no faster than two pounds per week.
Preparation
Step 1
Record your current eating habits in a journal for at least four days. The longer you record, the more accurate your results will be.
Step 2
Access one of the many free online calorie resources available online. Use the information there to calculate how many calories each thing you ate represents. Add up your total calorie consumption for each day in your journal.
Step 3
Add up your daily calorie counts into a total calorie count. Divide that total by the number of days you journaled. This will give you your average daily calorie intake.
Step 4
Plan a diet that reduces your daily calorie intake by 500 calories. At 3,500 calories per pound of fat, this should represent one pound of weight loss each week.
Weight Loss Plan
Step 1
Reduce your daily calorie consumption by first cutting out refined grains, sugary snacks and fast food. Health author Walter Willett, in his book "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy," writes that those foods represent a lot of calories compared with the nutrition they provide.
Step 2
Drink a glass of water with each meal. Cohn advises that this will help you control your portions while you eat. Cohn also recommends a glass of water as your first response to any feelings of hunger throughout the day.
Step 3
Take a multivitamin daily. Willett recommends the multivitamin to help fill any nutritional gaps left by your restricted diet plan.
Step 4
Get a cardiovascular workout each day, aiming to burn approximately 500 calories per session. Use free online resources to plan your workouts. At 3,500 per week, this will burn another pound each week.
Step 5
Weigh yourself once per week, recording your progress in the journal. If you're losing less than two pounds per week, either reduce your calorie intake further or get more aggressive with your workouts. If you're losing more than two pounds per week, ease off on one or both of your weight loss strategies.
Things You'll Need
- Scale
- Internet access
- Journal
References
- Ben Cohn; Fitness Coach; Hillsboro, Oregon
- "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy"; Dr. Walter Willett et al; 2006
- HelpGuide: Healthy Weight Loss and Dieting
- "You: The Owner's Manual"; Dr. Mehmet Oz; 2006
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