Many fad and commercial diets promise weight loss if you follow their program. These diet plans, however, often ask you to make unsustainable changes to your eating style. Others do not fit into a lifestyle that includes a busy schedule, children, inevitable meals out and social occasions. Weight loss should occur gradually, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at a rate of about one or two pounds per week. Employ realistic strategies to help you achieve a healthy weight and make it stick.
Reduce Portions
Losing weight requires you to eat fewer calories than you burn. Many people do not have the time and patience to weigh, measure and record every bite consumed. An easy and realistic way to reduce calories is to simply eat smaller amounts of foods you already enjoy. Try serving yourself 10 to 20 percent less at meals. At restaurants, skip the appetizer and leave a third of your meal on the plate. Buy smaller packages so you do not mindlessly finish off a jumbo pack of chips or cereal in one sitting. Eat only half of a slice of birthday cake at the office party. These changes can help you reduce calories, without becoming consumed with numbers and having to drastically alter your eating habits.
Cut Back on Sugar
The American Heart Association reports that, on average, Americans consume about 22 teaspoons of added sugar daily. This is equivalent to about 350 non-nutritive calories. Added sugars are those not naturally found in foods, but that are added by the manufacturer during processing. Of course baked goods and sugary drinks contain excessive amounts of added sugar, but it also sneaks into flavored yogurts, ketchup, canned soups, bottled salad dressings, bread and even frozen dinners. If you can trim just 16 teaspoons per day, you will save 250 calories per day and lose half a pound of weight per week. Cut out sugared soda, read your food labels and select products with no added sugar, make your own salad dressings and skip sweets as often as possible.
Exercise
Physical activity helps you burn additional calories, and thus assists with weight loss--provided you do not eat more as a result. Ninety-four percent of the members of the National Weight Control Registry--a group of over 5,000 people who have successfully maintained an average weight loss of 66 pounds--report using increased physical activity as part of their weight loss strategy. The most frequently used mode of exercise was walking. Ninety percent of these successful maintainers continue to exercise even after they reached a healthy weight. If you think adding in exercise is not realistic in your busy lifestyle, reduce your expectations. Exercise does not have to be performed in the gym. Taking an extra 10 minute walk after breakfast, lunch and dinner can help elevate your heart rate and burn calories. Do jumping jacks during commercials while you watch your favorite show. Run up and down the stairs as you put away laundry. You may have to be creative, but you can find ways to fit in more physical activity.
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