Losing weight takes effort. You have to do the work because there is no magic way to drop pounds and get healthier. However, that doesn't mean it has to be painful or incredibly difficult. Meet with your doctor to discuss how much weight you need to lose and how quickly you should lose it, and then work on making small but significant changes to your lifestyle to meet those goals. Start exercising more and eating less, and as you begin to feel better and see the pounds drop, losing weight may not seem like such an effort.
Step 1
Determine your ideal body weight. In general, men should weigh 106 lbs. for their first five feet of height and add on an additional 6 lbs. for every inch thereafter. Women should weigh 100 lbs. for their first five feet and add 5 lbs. for each additional inch. Add 10 percent to this weight if you have a large frame or subtract 10 percent if your frame is small, and consult a health care provider for a more personalized goal weight.
Step 2
Calculate how many calories you need to eat. You will need to burn off 3,500 calories to lose 1 lb. of fat, and the best way to do this is to combine diet with regular exercise. Multiply your goal weight by 10 to 18, depending on how active you are, to determine your daily caloric needs, and then design your meals and workouts accordingly to allow for a loss of 1 to 2 lbs. per week.
Step 3
Divide your daily calories into six small meals and snacks, which will keep your metabolism up, maintain your energy levels and help prevent you from feeling deprived. Do not skip meals, and try to get the majority of your calories from nutritious whole foods like lean meat, fruits, vegetables, dairy and whole grain breads, pastas and cereals. Meet with a nutritionist if you need help designing a diet plan.
Step 4
Work out for an hour at a moderate to vigorous pace on most days of the week. You might need more or less than this, but this amount is the latest recommendation to promote weight loss and prevent the pounds from coming back, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Choose an activity you enjoy like dancing, playing tennis, hiking or going for a jog at the beach, and increase the intensity of your workouts as you gain stamina.
Step 5
Do two or three strength-training sessions a week in addition to your cardio workouts. The more muscle you have, the better your metabolism will be, because your body works harder to maintain muscle tissue than it does fat. Work all of your major muscles in each session, and start lifting heavier weights once your strength increases.
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