Weight loss doesn't have to be difficult or complicated. It's not always a walk in the park, but when taken apart and looked at individually, the steps required to shed 30 pounds are definitely manageable for most people. The best approach is to make small changes, and when you've mastered them, add more small changes until you've built yourself a healthier lifestyle. This plan works better in the long term than fad diets and proclamations that you're changing everything about your life.
Step 1
Determine how many calories it takes to stay at your current weight. Use the basal metabolic rate, or BMR, calculator from Scientific Psychic and note the value in the "Control BMR times Activity Factor" line. Use this as your starting value.
Step 2
Subtract 100 to 200 calories from the BMR and aim to eat this many calories per day. Two hundred calories less than your BMR equals a calorie deficit of 1,400 per week. It takes a 3,500 calorie deficit to lose one pound. Combine calorie restriction with exercise for faster results.
Step 3
Perform slightly difficult aerobic exercise at least 30 minutes a day for five days a week to strengthen muscle, improve respiration and circulation and burn additional calories. For example, if a 185 pound person runs for 30 minutes, he'll burn an average of 355 calories, according to Harvard Medical School, for a total of 1,775 calories per week. Add this to your 1,400 calorie deficit from step 2 and you've got a 3,175 calorie deficit for the week.
Step 4
Finish out your 3,500 calorie deficit by adding two to three weight lifting sessions per week. A 185 pound person can burn 133 calories per half hour of weight lifting for a total deficit of 399 calories in three sessions. Not only does weight training burn calories, but it increases muscle, which increases your metabolism and helps you burn calories faster.
Step 5
Make good choices about the calories you take in. Choose whole grains, lean meats, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables and fat-free dairy. Eat a small meal or snack every two to four hours to stay satisfied and to maintain stable blood sugar. Limit saturated fat, sodium and sugar intake. Get at least 64 oz. of fluid per day, preferably from water.
Step 6
Follow this schedule to lose your weight at a rate of one pound per week for 30 weeks. To speed up your weight loss, increase your exercise and decrease your calories to create a larger weekly deficit.
Tips and Warnings
- Work with a doctor, nutritionist or fitness professional to design a more exact diet and exercise plan tailored to your body. Never significantly reduce calories without supervision from your doctor.
- Talk to your doctor before you begin cutting calories and adding exercise to your lifestyle to make sure you're healthy.
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