While you know that losing weight can reduce your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes if you are overweight or obese, creating and sticking to a diet plan is never easy. The University of Maryland Medical Center states that losing 5 percent to 10 percent of your body weight can reduce your risk of serious health problems and points out that if you weigh 200 lbs., losing as little as 10 lbs. can make you much healthier. Making gradual changes to your diet may give you the best chance at losing weight and keeping it off.
Step 1
Ask your physician or use a body mass index, or BMI, calculator to find out what a healthy weight for you would be. If you have a lot of weight to lose, or if you have any underlying health conditions, you should follow the diet plan recommended by your physician.
Step 2
Determine approximately how many calories you should eat to lose weight. The University of Maryland Medical Center suggests multiplying your desired weight in pounds by 10, and using that number as an estimate of the calories that you should consume daily. For example, if your goal is to weigh 135 lbs., you should plan on eating approximately 1,350 calories per day.
Step 3
Look for ways to make changes in your current diet to bring you closer to your calorie goal. HelpGuide suggests making small changes at first to reduce the chance that you will feel frustrated or deprived. Try to substitute fresh raw vegetables for potato chips at lunch, for example, or focus on eating a salad with dinner each night instead of taking a second portion of pasta.
Step 4
Switch to lower fat and lower calorie versions of certain foods. Use skim or low-fat milk in place of whole, saute or bake foods instead of frying them and use olive oil in place of butter where possible. Choose whole grains at least half the time, suggests the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Eat more fish, poultry and other lean meats and avoid fatty cuts of beef or pork.
Step 5
Plan to integrate snacks into your diet plan. Healthy snacks can help you to avoid getting too hungry and binging when you finally do eat, explains MayoClinic.com. Some low-calorie, satisfying snacks to consider are fresh fruit, low-fat yogurt, whole-grain pretzels and air-popped popcorn.
Step 6
Weigh yourself weekly and adjust your diet plan as needed so that you are losing about 1 lb. per week. Check with your doctor if you are not losing weight despite sticking to your diet plan, as in some cases, this may indicate a medical problem.
Tips and Warnings
- Try not to get frustrated while losing weight. It is normal for weight loss to fluctuate. Stick to your diet plan and continue to choose healthy foods for optimal health.
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