A Healthy Way To Lose Five Pounds

If you eat less, you will lose weight. If you exercise more, you will lose weight. If you eat less and exercise more, you will lose more weight in a shorter period. The basics of weight loss are that simple. And whether you want to lose 5 lbs. or 50 lbs., the healthy method for shedding fat involves making moderate changes in your eating and physical activity habits.

Lifestyle Changes

You can lose 5 lbs. following any diet: low-calorie, low-fat, low carbohydrate or the latest fad diet. However, you will attain -- and maintain -- a healthy weight more successfully if you make lifelong changes to your eating habits. If you follow a moderate diet and exercise program that causes you lose 1 to 2 lbs. a week, you will be more likely to keep off the weight than if you'd followed a crash diet that promised dramatic weight loss.

Diet Math

To lose a pound of fat, you need to create a deficit of 3,500 calories. You could do this in one week by reducing the amount you eat daily by 500 calories. Healthy foods usually contain relatively few calories. You could cut 100 calories from your daily total by snacking on a medium apple instead of a 1 oz. bag of potato chips and another 100 by substituting mustard or balsamic vinegar for mayonnaise on a sandwich. Replace two cans of soda with water for another reduction of 300 calories. You could lose 5 lbs. in 5 weeks with these slight modifications and gain the benefits of less fat and sugar in your diet. Do not follow an extremely low-calorie diet -- about 800 calories -- without medical supervision.

Foods to Eat and Avoid

You will accrue benefits in addition to weight loss if you include more fruits and vegetables in your diet. It's harder to overindulge and easier to lose 5 lbs. if you include more broccoli than chocolate cake in your diet. A cup of broccoli contains 20 calories and high quantities of vitamins C and E, folate and fiber. Broccoli may protect against bladder and ovarian cancer. A slice of chocolate cake contains about 365 calories and 10 g of fat. Other healthy foods that can help you lose weight include legumes, whole grains, low-fat dairy, fish and lean poultry.

Exercise

Exercise can help you lose 5 lbs. by burning calories and boosting your metabolism. The treadmill and elliptical afford strong workouts, but anything that gets you moving will help. Find activities you enjoy, and you'll stick with them. You could take your dog on longer, faster or more frequent walks. You could take up golf, bowling or gardening. You could park your car as far as possible from a mall entrance, play outdoor games with your children or take the stairs instead of an elevator.