You may have heard that to lose weight you should eat less. Skipping the whipped cream on your morning Starbucks coffee drink probably will not result in much weight loss. If you drastically curtail your eating habits, you may put your body in "famine" mode and you will not lose an ounce. The answer is to figure out exactly how many calories your body needs on a daily basis to stay at your current weight, taking into account how much exercise you get, your age and body composition. This number can be estimated easily; from there, you can trim away calories to trim away body fat.
Step 1
Use a calorie calculator, such as the one at the Calorie Needs Calculator website, to determine your daily caloric needs (see links in Resources). Enter your weight, height, age, exercise level and gender. Be as accurate as possible. Do not overestimate your physical activity level to reflect what you plan to do soon or what you tell your doctor you are doing. Be honest or the calculator will overestimate your calories and you will sabotage yourself. Press "Enter" for your daily maintenance number of calories that will be how many you need to eat to stay at your current weight.
Step 2
Subtract 500 to 1,000 calories per day from your daily maintenance for 1 to 2 lbs. weight loss as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Obesity Association.
Step 3
Keep a food diary so you are sure not to eat above your targeted calorie goal. Add everything, including everything you drink and even snacks like a handful of mints or chocolates. Read the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's "How to Understand and Use Nutrition Labels" guide to help you figure out the calories you have consumed from the serving information on the labels.
Step 4
Buy a calorie counting book to help you determine the number of calories in food that doesn't have labels, or use an online calorie counter program.
Step 5
Plan out your meals in advance so you do not overeat. Use an online Menu Planner if you need help or inspiration (see link in Resources). Enter in your "Number of Daily Planned Calories" and select a meal. You can plan out breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack. The National Academy of Sports Medicine says that eating four to six times a day is ideal for weight loss and feeling full throughout the day.
Things You'll Need
- Journal
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