Obesity is a common problem that not only affects your outer appearance but can also severely restrict your ability to live a healthy life. Carrying 50 lbs. of excess weight affects your energy levels, can affect your self-esteem and mental health, and also puts you at risk for a range of diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and some forms of cancer. Losing the weight is one of the best ways to reverse these impacts and can be done in as few as five months with the right plan and attitude.
Calorie Deficit
To lose 50 lbs. in five months, you need to create enough of a calorie deficit to lose 2.5 lbs. a week. A calorie deficit occurs when you burn more calories than you take in through the foods you eat, which forces your body to turn to sources like body fat to obtain energy. With 3,500 calories equaling approximately a pound of fat loss, you will need to create a deficit of at least 8,750 calories a week to reach your goal in five months.
Create a Deficit Through Diet
To reach your weight-loss goal in a healthy way, you will need to balance the way you achieve your calorie deficit through a mixture of diet and exercise. For your diet, you can use tools like Livestrong.com's MyPlate, which calculates a daily calorie goal to help you lose weight by taking into account your current weight and height, as well as information such as your goal weight and the activity level you plan to be at during the weight-loss process. The tool will then calculate the amount of calories you need to eat each day to reach your goal and will allow you to track your calories on a daily basis.
Create a Deficit Through Exercise
Along with your diet, you should be exercising at least five days a week, about 30 minutes a day, suggest organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Sports Medicine. Start with moderate exercises like brisk walking, jogging, light hiking, swimming or biking. If you're still having difficulty reaching your 2.5 lb. weekly weight loss goal, you can increase your exercise time to 45 minutes or an hour a day, or you can just increase the intensity level of your exercise.
Find a Balance
Weigh yourself every week on the same day at the same time and wearing the same clothing. If you find that you're not reaching your weekly weight-loss goals you have two options. First, decrease your calorie intake, although you should not lower your diet below 1,200 calories a day without the recommendation and supervision of your doctor. Second, increase your exercise intensity level, but be careful not to overexercise, as injury can occur. Listen to your body, and decrease your intensity level if you feel light-headed, dizzy or sick or experience pain of any kind.
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