Losing 20 lbs. can sound like an insurmountable feat for some people. But given enough time and effort, you can often make the necessary changes to your lifestyle to not only reach your weight-loss goals, but also keep the weight off. The easiest way to do this, of course, is with diet and exercise. By modifying your eating habits and increasing your level of physical activity, you can better balance calories in with calories out.
Goal
Before trying to lose any amount of weight, set a realistic goal for yourself. The National Institutes of Health recommends a gradual weight loss of 1 to 2 lbs. a week. This may not seem like a lot, especially with 20 lbs. to lose. But since a pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories, you need to generate a deficit of 500 to 1,000 calories a day to reach this goal. There's only so many calories you can cut from your diet and hours in the day to exercise, so a good goal for 20 lbs. is right around 10 weeks.
Diet
Half of your battle to losing those 20 lbs. revolves around your diet. You need to eat fewer calories than you burn to promote weight loss. Because you're looking to lose 20 lbs. in 10 weeks, start off by cutting calories from your diet to generate a deficit of 500 calories a day. Reducing the portion sizes of your favorite foods can help, but you may also want to substitute some high-calorie foods with healthier options, like fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains. These choices help satiate your hunger with far fewer calories, making it much easier to reach a caloric shortfall each day.
Exercise
Along with dietary changes, try to increase your level of physical activity. Exercise is an easy way of burning those calories you can't cut from your diet. According to the National Institutes of Health, women shouldn't reduce their caloric intake to fewer than 1,200 calories a day, while men shouldn't cut it to fewer than 1,500. Any caloric intake below these two levels should only be followed under the supervision of a doctor or dietitian. Instead, find an athletic pursuit you enjoy to generate an additional deficit of 500 calories per day. Swimming, cycling and running are three forms of exercise that often encourage the highest amount of calories burned. Cross-country skiing, handball, racquetball, rock climbing and high-impact aerobics are also beneficial.
Commercial Programs
If doing it on your own isn't for you, many commercial weight-loss programs are available to help you lose the 20 lbs. Most of these programs provide you with ideas and products to control the size of your portions and make better choices in foods, thereby limiting your caloric intake to promote weight loss. Many commercial systems also have a maintenance period that's used to incorporate other foods back into your diet once you lose the weight. Talk to a doctor or dietitian to determine if a weight-loss program is right for you.
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