If you have a high body mass, this means you could have a high amount of muscle and fat. Muscle is not a problem, but fat is. Being overweight or obese is a risk factor for diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, gall bladder disease, osteoarthritis and other health problems, states the Weight-control Information Network. The way to reduce your body mass is through a retroactive approach that involves your activity levels and diet.
Step 1
Limit your calories to lower your body mass. To lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, the Centers for Disease Control recommends cutting your intake by 500 to 1,000 calories a day. Track what you eat for one day before you make any deductions to find out what your current average is. Utilize a free online resource to help you count and cut calories.
Step 2
Fill your shopping cart with healthy foods. Avoid the center aisles where all the processed, bagged and boxed foods are stocked. Visit the outer areas and snag fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, low-fat dairy products, fish and whole grains. These foods are all high in nutrients and low in saturated fat.
Step 3
Stabilize your appetite by eating more than one or two meals a day. Have a meal as soon as you get up and proceed to eat meals every three hours for the rest of the day. Keep them small and balanced. Low-fat cheese sticks with baby carrots and cucumber slices make a quick, healthy meal.
Step 4
Eliminate the high-calorie dessert coffees from your diet. Give up all the beverages that are high in calories and drink water in their place. Not only is it calorie-free, but it also flushes toxins from the system, reduces hunger when consumed with meals and hydrates the body, which is especially important for exercising.
Step 5
Perform aerobic activity five days a week to reduce fat. Do anything that you like so long as you keep your intensity level at moderate or higher. Jogging, brisk walking, stair climbing, elliptical training, swimming and jumping rope are good aerobic activities. Aim for 45 to 60 minutes, and exercise more than once a day for shorter times if that fits better into your schedule.
Step 6
Add two days of weight training into your regimen to build metabolically active muscle mass. Focus on doing exercises that target all of your major muscles like bench presses, shoulder presses, lat pulldowns, triceps extensions, biceps curls and step-ups.
Tips and Warnings
- When you build muscle, you raise your resting metabolic rate and burn calories more efficiently throughout the day and night.
- If you are obese, talk to your doctor before starting a new diet or exercise program.
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