You’ve heard it time and again, but the most effective method of losing weight is a combination of diet and exercise. Even if you’re single, the same rules apply to you. You need to eat fewer calories than you use, or burn more calories than you take in, if you ever hope to shed the excess pounds.
Goals
Setting realistic goals can help almost anyone lose weight. Not only can they help you gauge your progress, but goals also help focus habits, behaviors and activities to achieve success. Let’s say your long-term goal is to lose 35 pounds. It’s best not to measure your success against this number alone, at least not at the start. Instead, set short-term goals, such as losing 1 to 2 pounds a week — often considered a healthy amount of weight to lose in a short period of time.
Not all goals, however, should focus on just outcome. You also want to incorporate process in your strategy, especially if you want to keep the weight off. For example, exercising at least three days a week is a good process goal. Eating fruits or vegetables at each meal is another.
Caloric Intake
Once you’ve established your goals, limiting your caloric intake can set weight loss in motion. It takes a deficit of roughly 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound of fat. If you’re able to cut enough calories from your diet to cause a deficit of 250 calories a day, you can expect to lose 1 pound every two weeks.
Food Selection
Although you can hit a deficit in calories with any food, opting for certain foods over others can sometimes make the process a little easier. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains tend to contain fewer calories than many other foods, largely due to the limited amount of fat they contain. Eating copious amounts of these selections can fill you up for far fewer calories, naturally lowering your caloric intake. Including more lean meats, legumes and low-fat dairy into your diet can also help. Since you’re single, you don’t need to negotiate the tastes of others while selecting foods, so choose only those you enjoy. You’re far more likely to stick with the diet.
Portion Size
If lunching on salad doesn’t quite cut the mustard, limiting the portion sizes of your favorite foods can also go a long way to cut calories from your diet. It stands to reason that eating one hamburger instead of two is going to eliminate a chunk of calories, so try not to fill your plate with as much as you would normally. For single folks, this often means leftovers. But if you like what you’re making, it shouldn’t be a big deal.
Caloric Expenditure
As you work to cut calories from your diet, increasing your level of physical activity can propel your weight loss even further. The more you move, the more calories you burn. If, for example, you exercise enough to create a deficit of 250 calories a day, and then combine this with the 250-calorie deficit you reached with diet, you’re now looking at a weight loss of 1 pound each week.
You’re more likely to stick with a pursuit that’s engaging and fun than one that’s complete drudgery, at least to you. Even though you're single, you needn’t stick with solitary pursuits. Swimming, biking and jogging are all well and good, but signing up for a basketball league or finding friends who enjoy tennis, racquetball or golf can add a little variety to your exercise routine.
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