Losing weight is not easy and most weight loss plans do not make it any easier. They are vague about how you should eat healthier and exercise more. Many of us would like a practical, step-by-step approach, which lays out specific actions one can take each day that will lead to real and long lasting weight loss. I have lost 16 pounds in the past six months using this system, and I intend to lose 25 more doing nothing more than what is in this article.
Instructions
1. Decide you want to lose weight. Great achievements begin with a conscience decision to take action towards a goal. Losing weight is a great achievement because it changes lives, attitudes and health.
2. Set your weight loss goal. How much do you want to lose? How much has your doctor *strongly suggested* you lose? Before setting a weight loss goal, estimate your ideal weight. You can look up your ideal weight using any number of calculators on the web. This is a good place to start. You do not have to choose your ideal weight as your goal, but it does give you an idea of how much weight you could lose. Consult with your doctor before beginning any weight loss program.
3. The magic number: 500. Understand that losing weight is a simple process of consuming fewer calories than your body burns. In other words, it is simple mathematics: 3500 calories equals one pound. If you eat 500 fewer calories per day than you do now, you can lose one pound per week (500 calories x 7 days per week = 3500 fewer calories per week). It's that simple. If you lose one pound per week, you can lose 24 pounds in six months. Not to shabby!
4. Determine how many calories your body needs per day. Your daily caloric needs can be estimated using online calculators.
5. Know your daily maximum. Once you have your estimated daily need, subtract 500 calories to get the maximum amount of calories you can consume in a day, if you want to lose one pound per week. This number is your daily maximum. For example, if your body requires 2,000 calories a day to maintain your existing weight, subtract 500 from 2,000, and your daily maximum is 1,500 calories per day. If you want to lose one pound per week, simply eat no more than 1,500 calories per day.
If you want to lose weight less quickly, you may choose the subtract 250 calories from your daily estimated caloric need. With this lower number, you could lose one pound every two weeks. This is also, not too shabby.
6. Know the calorie count of everything you eat. Everyone knows that fruits and vegetables are healthier than candy and chips. We all know that a Subway sandwich or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is healthier than a Big Mac. Or do we? A six inch Cold Cut Combo has 540 calories. A Big Mac has 540 calories. A PB&J at the Atlanta Bread Company is 600 calories. Hmmm.
Look up the calorie count of everything you eat by using any of several websites, like CalorieKing.
7. Write down everything you eat and add up the amount of calories consumed each day. When you write down everything you eat and the calorie count, you will begin to make lower calorie food choices. Instead of that Snickers bar (280 calories) from the vending machine, you will eat a Chocolate and Peanut Butter Zone Bar (210 calories). Instead of Cheetos (340 calories) you will snack on a bag of grapes (20 grapes - 68 calories). Try eating 20 grapes. You feel quite full.
Note: For me personally, it takes three vending machine size bags of Cheetos to equal the "feeling of fullness" I get from eating 20 grapes.
8. Each day, as you add up the calories you consumed, make sure you stop eating when you reach your new daily maximum. When those two pieces of pizza at lunch blows your entire day because you reach your daily maximum, you will think twice about your future food choices.
9. If you slip and exceed your daily maximum (we all do), don't beat yourself up, and do not try to make it up by consuming fewer than your next day's daily maximum calories. Give yourself a break and resume the system tomorrow. Tell yourself, "Stick to the system; being thinner and healthier feels better than two pieces of pizza or three bags of Cheetos."
10. If you exercise, your daily caloric needs will increase. That means you can eat more. Now that you know the magic number (500), you will know exactly how much more you can eat. All you have to do is continue to subtract 500 from your daily caloric need to get the deficit you need.
11. Get ready to buy new cloths and liver a longer, healthier and more energetic life.
Tags: daily maximum, your daily, your daily maximum, lose pound, want lose, weight loss