When focusing on healthy living, weight management is a major consideration. To be successful in dieting, you must commit to reducing calorie intake while focusing on daily exercise. Understanding what to eat, how much to eat and tracking daily intake are some of the keys to shedding extra pounds.
Weight Loss by the Numbers
Knowing a baseline number provides helpful information for establishing a weight-loss goal. The body mass index, or BMI, is a good starting place, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human services. The BMI is calculated using a person's height and weight. Normal weight individuals have a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9. People are considered overweight if their BMI is between 25 and 29.9. A BMI number greater than 30 indicates obesity. A good weight loss goal is to reduce your BMI by two to five increments, or by 10 percent of your body weight.
What to Eat and Portion Control
The next step to weight loss is to understand what to eat and how much to eat. Using the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Guide Pyramid provides daily requirements for each food group. By inputting weight, height and gender, the online interactive system provides information on fruits, vegetables, protein-rich foods, dairy and grains with examples of each food group and daily totals to meet calorie needs.
Tracking for Success
Successful dieters often record their daily food choices. Doing this allows you to gauge how many calories you take in each day and may help reduce the amount you eat at meals and snacks. There are many online programs available. Livestrong's The Daily Plate is an option that provides daily tracking with an up-to-date nutrition database.
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