To lose 60 lb. fast by dieting, you will want to eat as few calories as you can without depriving your body of the nutrients it needs and risking health problems. The American Obesity Association recommends that people with high body mass index (BMI) scores go on low- or very-low-calorie diets, but only if they are supervised by a health care professional. A BMI score is a body composition test that determines whether a person is at a healthy weight for her height, and if not, it puts that person in categories of underweight, overweight or obese.
How quickly you can lose the 60 lb. will be determined by how many calories you cut from your diet. For example, cutting 500 to 1,000 calories per day will result in 1 to 2 lb. of weight loss per week, getting you to 60 lb. lighter in 7 1/2 to 15 months. Cutting more may get you there faster.
Step 1
Calculate your BMI. To get your score, enter your height and weight into an online BMI calculator, such as the one linked to in the Resources section.
Step 2
Ascertain your daily target calorie goal. Set your goal at 800 to 1,400 calories if your BMI score is a 27 or higher, or if your score is a 25 and you have co-morbid conditions like heart disease, cancer or AIDs. Set a goal of consuming fewer than 800 calories per day if your BMI score is a 30 or higher, or if it is a 27 or higher and you have co-morbid conditions. Set your calorie goal at 1,000 calories a day fewer than what you are currently eating if your BMI score is lower than 27 and you have no co-morbid conditions. A 1,000-calorie-per-day reduction should result in 2 lb. of weight loss per week, according to the American Obesity Association.
Step 3
Plan your meals in advance with your target calorie goal in mind. Review the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's website for examples of low-calorie diets. Try a slice of whole-wheat bread with jelly, 1/2 cup of shredded wheat cereal with a cup of 1 percent milk, and 3/4 cup of orange juice for breakfast. Eat a roast beef sandwich with lean roast beef on whole-wheat bread with an apple for lunch. Eat 2 oz. of salmon, green beans, a baked potato, carrots and a dinner roll for dinner. Have 2 1/2 cups of popcorn for a snack. Drink water, coffee or unsweetened tea.
Step 4
Review your meal plans with your doctor or a health care professional, because meeting your nutrient needs on a low-calorie diet or a very-low-calorie diet, which is below 800 calories per day, is difficult to do. Wenger Hess says in an article called "Common-Sense Strategies for Long-Term Weight Loss" that eating fewer than 1,200 or 1,400 calories, depending on your gender, can lead to nutrient deficiencies, so do not attempt that alone.
Step 5
Go shopping for the foods you need for your meal plan so you have healthy foods in the house. Avoid eating out because this will not be a part of your meal plan.
Tips and Warnings
- Women who do not have high BMI scores but still want to lose weight should not eat below 1,200 calories per day. Men who do not have high BMI scores should not eat less than 1,400 calories per day, according to University of Maryland nutritionist Andrea Wenger Hess.
Things You'll Need
- BMI calculator
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