Your accumulated your extra pounds from an energy imbalance, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC. Eat too many calories and exercise too little, and your weight goes up. The good news is that if you eat less and exercise more, your weight goes down. MayoClinic.com physicians report that 1 lb. of fat stores 3,500 calories. Lose 50 pounds in four months by burning 175,000 more calories than you eat, or about 1,460 calories a day. Your first step, preparation, is as important as your start.
Prepare
Step 1
Consult your doctor about your weight and exercise goals. Discuss your exercise tolerance in light of other conditions you may have. This step puts safety first.
Step 2
Purchase your exercise gear, clothing, shoes and equipment to suit the exercise plans you and your doctor agreed upon.
Step 3
Stock your pantry with the right food for your diet and discard everything you will not eat. Base your choices on your doctor's advice.
Step 4
Prepare your daily food and exercise log. Make spaces to record total calories eaten per day, exercise calories burned per day, daily weight and memos about problems, successes and failures to fix. Record your weight before beginning your diet.
Step 5
Set a date to begin. Announce it to your doctor and friends to set up a support and accountability team to help you through the diet.
Start
Step 1
On day one. eat only permitted foods in permitted amounts. Consult a grocery and calorie chart, like the United States Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database. Record your total calorie count in your daily food and exercise log.
Step 2
On day one, do your exercises. Consult a "calories burned per exercise chart" like the MayoClinic.com "Calories Burned in 1 Hour" table, and record your total in your daily food and exercise log.
Step 3
Weigh yourself at the end of the day. Record your weight and calculate your progress toward your goal.
Step 4
Record any problems, observations or insights in your daily food and exercise log, which will help you do better every day.
Step 5
Repeat steps 1 through 4 every day from day two through day 120.
Tips and Warnings
- Cleveland Clinic specialists say common weight loss methods are based on an intake of 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day. If you can tolerate high exercise levels, you can burn away much of that. The Cleveland Clinic's very low-calorie diet, VLCD, works if your exercise tolerance is low or you are obese. This uses commercially-prepared, 800-calorie or less formulas to replace all of your day's food. This plan is designed to help you lose 3 to 5 lbs. a week over 16 weeks.
- The VLCD can cause fatigue and has been linked to gallstone formation, more often in women than men. Be sure to remain well-hydrated and discuss the need for vitamin or mineral supplements with your doctor.
Things You'll Need
- Exercise clothing
- Exercise shoes
- Exercise equipment
- Exercise calorie-burning list
- Healthy diet grocery list
- Scale
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