Too often, weight-loss plans are hatched hastily without doing the necessary planning to ensure success. As a result, many people give up their weight-loss efforts months, weeks or even days after beginning. Make a plan that you can live with, however, and you will be able to lose weight in a healthy manner. It won't always be easy or fast, but it can be healthy and safe, and as you adopt new habits, it will get easier. Increase your level of fitness so you can exercise at an intense level, and you'll see results faster as well.
Step 1
Set a weight-loss goal. Make smaller, concrete goals that will help you to meet your weight-loss goal, as well. For example, if you want to lose 30 lbs., you might set secondary goals such as "walk for one hour each day" and "drink eight glasses of water daily."
Step 2
Write your goals on the top of a calendar. Create a symbol for each smaller goal. Each day that you complete a task that will help you meet your weight-loss goal, place the symbol for that activity on that day. An example of a symbol for a goal is a drop to represent a glass of water.
Step 3
Plan your menu. Write down exactly what you plan to eat and go shopping to buy the ingredients you will need. Aim for a daily calorie intake of 1,200 to 1,500 calories.
Step 4
Prepare some of your meals in advance and freeze them. Reheat them on days when you feel too tired or stressed out to cook. This will help you to avoid fast fixes such as ordering a pizza.
Step 5
Set aside a time to exercise every day. Make a back-up plan for exercise in the case of bad weather. Exercise every day for at least one hour for faster weight loss. Approximately 90 percent of the people on the National Weight Control Registry lost weight and kept it off for more than five years exercising for an hour every day.
Tips and Warnings
- Do exercises that burn a significant amount of calories to lose weight the fastest. Try running, swimming and biking. If you slip up, immediately go back to your healthy weight-loss plan. Reward yourself for accomplishing goals. Treat yourself to a weekend trip or a new outfit when you've successfully exercises for 30 days in a row, for example. Eliminate trigger foods--foods that cause cravings and overeating--as well as foods that contain little nutritional value such as chips, sodas and candy. Add plenty of fruits and vegetables to your weight-loss menu. Not only are they healthy, but the fiber they provide contributes to satiety.
- Avoid fad diets. You can recognize them because they often have an overemphasis on a specific food group and limit your food choices, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. In your quest to lose weight quickly, don't lower your calorie consumption below 1,200, as this can compromise your health and metabolism.
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