Weight loss can be challenging and slow. Getting results may not be fast, which can be discouraging and make you stop your dieting efforts soon after you start. However, making a dieting plan and starting with small changes in your diet and exercise routine can make a big difference within a month. Check with your doctor before making changes in your exercise or diet plan, particularly if you have a health condition.
Weight-Loss Basics
When you are in energy balance, you are eating as many calories as your body's metabolism is burning. This means you will not gain or lose weight. When you are not in balance but eating more calories than you need, your body will store the extra calories as fat. It takes approximately 3,500 calories for you to gain 1 lb. of fat. This means that if you are overeating 1,000 calories a day, you will gain 2 lbs. every week.
Diet
Reevaluate your diet. Cut back on empty calorie foods and sugary treats, like sodas, juices, sugary cereals and sweets. Other simple changes can help you lose weight: Use fat-free milk instead of 2-percent. You will save 33 calories per cup. That's 990 calories in a month, if you drink 1 cup of milk a day. Drink water with a slice of orange or lime, instead of orange juice. You will save 117 calories per cup. That comes to 3,510 calories, or 1 lb. of fat a month, if you drink 1 cup a day.
Cardio Exercise
Aerobic, or cardio, exercise is a good way to increase your metabolism. The higher your metabolism is, the more energy your body consumes a day. Exercising -- such as walking, jogging, bicycling and household activities like gardening, cleaning and shoveling snow -- all burn calories. A 150-lb. person will burn around 280 calories, when running at moderate pace, or 5 mph, for 30 minutes. This comes to 3,360 calories a month, if you jog three times a week.
Weight Training
Weight training offers benefits in two ways: you burn calories during exercise, and your increased muscle mass will increase your metabolism, which means you will burn more fat, even when at rest. A moderate-intensity weightlifting session will burn about 100 calories in 30 minutes for a 150-lb. person. Circuit training exercise will burn 286 calories in 30 minutes. This comes to 2,288 calories in a month, when done twice a week. However, the actual calorie amount your body will burn is going to be higher. This is because of your increased muscle mass.
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