Many people know that to lose weight you must burn more calories than you consume. But not everyone knows how many calories they're typically burning and consuming. The number of calories you burn each day is based on your basal metabolic rate, or BMR, in addition to your level of physical activity and the energy expended digesting food you eat. The number of calories you're eating can be determined using a food journal. Once you find out how many calories you're typically burning and consuming, make a goal to eat less and exercise more to lose weight.
Calories
Find out how many calories you need and how many calories you're currently getting. Your basal metabolic rate, or BMR, is a number that represent the calories you burn each day at rest. Don't consume fewer calories than this number because your body requires this amount to function. Use a food journal to determine how many calories you're typically getting. Reduce this number by 500 calories a day to lose a pound a week. Work together with a dietitian or other health care provider to come up with a calorie goal that's right for you.
Nutrition
Choose whole grains, which contain filling fiber, over refined grains. Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Add them to normal recipes to feel full with smaller portion sizes. Monitor portion size carefully. Many restaurants portions are two to four times the government's recommended portion sizes, according to "USA Today." Don't skip meals. Regular meals keep hunger at bay and blood sugar balanced. Allow yourself occasional treats to prevent yourself from feeling deprived. Read food labels and pick foods that are low in calorie and contain essential vitamins and minerals.
Meals
For breakfast, try a healthy omelet made with lots of vegetables and a little olive oil, whole-wheat cereal or a whole-wheat English muffin. For lunch, have a spinach salad pita or soup and a side salad with light dressing. Base dinner around lean meats like chicken, turkey and salmon. Serve vegetables as sides, like corn, green beans and peas. "Good Housekeeping" recommends tossing whole-wheat pasta with light sour cream, light mayonnaise and the juice from 1 lime. Or make a big grilled chicken salad for dinner. The magazine suggests drinking calorie-free beverages like water, flavored seltzer, diet iced tea or diet soda.
Snacks
Snacks help you control hunger and keep from overeating at your next meal. For healthy, low-calorie snacks, Glamour.com recommends trail mix, a yogurt parfait, an apple or pear dipped in natural peanut butter or hummus and seaweed "crackers." Also try snacking on soy nuts, smoothies, oatmeal, soy chips or popcorn. Keep portion sizes small to minimize calories.
Exercise
People that combine diet and exercise lose more weight than those who try either method alone, according to a 1997 study published by W.C. Miller and colleagues in the "International Journal of Obesity." To lose weight or maintain weight loss, you should perform 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity five days a week, according to the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association.
References
- Glamour: What to Eat to Lose Weight: 7 Snacks Under 200 Calories
- Good Housekeeping: The Eat-and-Lose-Weight Meal Plan: Week 1
- International Journal of Obesity; A Meta-Analysis of the Past 25 Years of Weight Loss Research Using Diet, Exercise or Diet Plus Exercise Intervention; W.C. Miller, et al.; 1997.
- American College of Sports Medicine: Physical Activity Guidelines
- USA Today: Survey: Restaurants Dishing Out Extra-Large Portions
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