Perusing the diet and weight-loss section of any bookstore can make you feel overwhelmed by the choices when it comes to slimming down. The choices can make it seem like weight loss is a complicated action, filled with restrictive diets, massive lifestyle overhauls and vigorous exercise. The actual calculation for weight loss is perfectly simple: burn 500 calories more than you consume per day for one week and you'll drop a pound. When you make a goal for small, easy to manage changes in your life, weight loss becomes less complicated.
Fad Diets
The creators of fad diets want you to think that their weight-loss approaches are easy and effective. Unfortunately, the diets often entail sweeping and unmanageable lifestyle changes, like drastic caloric restriction, cutting out entire food groups or changing the way you exercise. While fad diets have been known to show results, the complicated methods only give results for as long as you employ them. As soon as you stop the impossible-to-maintain habits, you'll gain the weight back.
Small Changes
The easiest way to lose weight is to use small, manageable changes for the better in your life. Rather than attempting to drop 10 lbs. in a week, give yourself plenty of time to reach your weight-loss goals. Medline Plus suggests losing weight at a rate of 1 or 2 lbs. per week. This ensures that you're losing weight in a healthy way, without unhealthy restrictions or fasting, which are short-term solutions. Allow your small changes for the better to compound until you're living a healthier lifestyle that is conducive to weight loss.
Caloric Intake
Since you'll need to create a caloric deficit of 3,500 calories in a week to lose 1 lb., eating less calories will certainly help you reach that goal. The problem occurs when you restrict your calories too far for your body to function. Never eat less than 1,200 calories per day if you're a woman and 1,500 calories per day if you're a man. Instead of skipping meals and eating diet foods, stick with whole foods that are naturally low in calories but nutritionally dense. These will fuel your body while helping you to eat healthier without any unrealistic changes.
Daily Exercise
The only way to create that daily caloric deficit is to ensure that you get at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise on a daily basis. The term exercise may conjure ideas of sweating in a gym, but working out doesn't have to take place in a fitness center. By making easy, simple choices on a daily basis, you can move your body more and burn calories. Take a hike with your family or park farther from the mall. Play soccer with your kids rather than sitting on a park bench or take the stairs when possible. These small changes add up for easy results.
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