Hundreds of fad diets, weight-loss programs, and outright scams promise quick and easy weight loss. But the best way to lose weight and keep it off is to make lasting lifestyle changes. Long-term weight loss takes time and effort. So be sure that you're ready to eat healthy foods and become more active. Talk with your healthcare professional if you need help taking charge of stress.
The Truth About Weight Loss
Carrying excess weight isn’t ideal for your health. Obesity is connected to a host of health conditions that can severely affect your well-being. Losing weight and achieving a healthy body mass index (BMI) can be a noble goal for people who are at risk for these conditions and others.
For weight loss to be successful, you need to develop healthy habits that you can live with and be happy with for the long term. Losing weight and keeping it off is a commitment. It will take time. You’ll have bumps in the road. But if the overall trend is downward, that’s when you know you’re having success. That’s why we have to think about how to lose weight as a lifestyle.
In a nutshell, healthy, successful weight loss looks like this:
- Set reasonable goals.
- Expend more calories than you take in.
- Eat nutritious foods that give your body all the nutrients it needs, with less of the stuff it doesn’t.
- Get your heart pumping with aerobic exercise.
- Maintain or build muscle to help your body burn calories at rest.
- Explore the ways emotions affect your eating and physical activity.
- Get enough sleep to allow your body to function at its best.
- Expect that you’ll need to make adjustments.
Setting Realistic and Sustainable Goals
No one else can make you lose weight. You need to make diet and physical activity changes to help yourself. Make a list of reasons why weight loss is important to you. The list can help you stay inspired and focused. Maybe you want to boost your health or get in shape for a vacation. Think of your goals on days when you don't feel like eating healthy foods or moving more. Find other ways to stay on track too.
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Aim to lose 1 to 2 pounds (0.5 to 1 kilogram) a week over the long term. Losing 5% of your current weight may be a good goal to start with. If you weigh 180 pounds (82 kilograms), that's 9 pounds (4 kilograms). Even this amount of weight loss can lower your risk of some long-term health conditions.
Set a realistic weight goal and timeline to achieve it. Ask yourself what weight has felt comfortable for you before. Then ask yourself if you can achieve that target without feeling overly deprived.
It can help to set two types of goals. The first type is called an action goal. You can list a healthy action that you'll use to lose weight. For instance, "Walk every day for 30 minutes" is an action goal. The second type is called an outcome goal. You can list a healthy outcome that you aim to have. "Lose 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms)" is an example of an outcome goal. An outcome goal is what you want to achieve. But it doesn't tell you how to get there. An action goal does.
Although losing weight can be exciting and encouraging, Dr. Creel suggests staying focused on actions more than outcomes. Setting reasonable and manageable lifestyle goals means paying attention to what we have the most control over - our behaviors. Concentrate on the areas that will impact your health and weight the most. It can depend on your starting weight and your lifestyle, but these modest changes often lead to one to two pounds of weight loss per week. Weight loss is likely to taper off over time, but if you pay attention to the non-scale victories - like better sleep, more energy and improved fitness - you’re less likely to get discouraged.
Understanding How Weight Loss Works: Calories In vs. Calories Out
To lose weight, you need to lower the total calories you take in from food and drinks. You can lose weight without exercise, but it's harder to do. Exercise has many other benefits. It can lift your mood, lower blood pressure and help you sleep better. Exercise helps you keep off the weight that you lose too. How many calories you burn depends on how often, how long and how hard you exercise.
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Weight loss is, at its core, a matter of burning more calories than you take in. We’re all unique beings, and our bodies have different needs. But at the end of the day, the most basic concept of losing weight is that you need to achieve a calorie deficit.
Our bodies use calories from the foods we eat to power our systems, giving us energy to do everything from running a marathon to digesting our food and pumping our hearts. When you take in excess calories, your body stores them as fat. But when you eat fewer calories than you use, your body starts to take energy from your stores. That’s a calorie deficit. That’s when you start to lose weight.
Take in way too few calories, and you’re at risk for undernutrition and a host of health concerns. Losing weight is a balancing act. A Goldilocks scenario of taking in and putting out not too much and not too little, but juuuuuust right. And it’s different for everyone.
Calculating Your Calorie Needs
We each have different calorie needs. So, what may suffice as a filling diet for one person may be too much, or not enough, for someone else. The right number of calories for you can depend on a host of factors, including:
- Your current weight.
- Your goal weight.
- Your height.
- Your age.
- Your muscle mass.
- How physically active you are.
When we know how many calories you’re burning, we might suggest getting about 500 calories a day fewer than that. That will typically yield about a pound of weight loss per week. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) MyPlate Plan or the NIH body weight planner can suggest how many calories would be appropriate for you to maintain your weight or lose weight.
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Some smartwatches and wearable fitness trackers can also tell you how many calories you burn, both through exercise and your regular biological processes. That can give you a good starting point to know what you need to maintain or lose weight. Subtract about 500 calories a day from that number to give you an estimate of how many calories per day you should take in.
When you know how many calories to aim for, it can help to keep a food journal, either on paper or in an app. That can help you keep track of when you’re eating and when. And it will give you a good idea of the health benefits of the foods you’re eating.
Building a Manageable and Sustainable Diet
One way that you can take in fewer calories is to eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. These are known as plant-based foods. They're low in calories and high in fiber. Fiber helps you feel full. Eat at least four servings of vegetables and three servings of fruits a day. Have whole grains, such as brown rice, barley, and whole-wheat bread and pasta. Use healthy fats, such as olive oil, vegetable oils, avocados, nuts, nut butters and nut oils. Limit foods and drinks that have added sugar. These include desserts, jellies and sodas. Focus on eating fresh foods. They have more nutrition than processed foods. Processed foods often come in a box or a can.
It's a good idea to be mindful while you eat. Focus on each bite of food. This helps you enjoy the taste. It also makes you more aware of when you feel full. Try to not to watch TV or stare at your phone during meals.
The backbone of a healthy diet for weight loss is to eat more natural foods and fewer processed foods. That’s the basic tenet of the Mediterranean diet - largely considered to be the healthiest eating pattern around. It stresses eating whole grains, vegetables, fruits, lean protein, and some dairy products. Find a meal pattern that includes healthy foods that you enjoy eating. Both the Mediterranean diet and DASH meal plan include whole grains, vegetables, fruits, lean protein, and some dairy products.
Hitting the right number of calories isn’t enough. The quality of those calories is also important. Think of it like this: A can of soda has about 150 calories. An apple has about 95 calories. A difference of just 55 calories. But the calories in an apple come with nutrients that you don’t find in soda. Like fiber and antioxidants. What’s more, the apple will fill your belly and satisfy your hunger in a way that soda can’t.
You can have a soda and a refill (300 calories) and still eat a full meal. But if you were to drink water and have three apples (285 calories) with your meal, you’re going to consume way fewer calories overall because those apples will be much more filling. In short, natural and less-processed foods fill your body with what it needs - without the stuff it doesn’t.
Managing portions of all foods allows you to include foods you enjoy in moderation.
Making Smart Food Swaps
Although people can lose weight with lower-fat or lower-carb eating, Dr. Creel says that the types of carbs and fat are most important. Healthy fats tend to come from plants, nuts and seeds rather than animals. And healthier carbohydrates are less processed.
In broad strokes, try these swaps to get started with cleaning up your diet:
- Less: Beef; More: Chicken, turkey, fish and nuts
- Less: Butter; More: Olive oil
- Less: Cakes, cookies and candy; More: Fruits and vegetables
- Less: Soda, lemonade, juice, sweetened tea and alcohol; More: Water
- Less: White bread and pasta; More: Whole-wheat bread and pasta
- Less: White rice; More: Brown rice
Remember, weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint. Depriving yourself of your favorite foods and labeling them as “off limits” is a recipe for discouragement, backsliding and guilt. Rather than vowing never to eat another slice of cake or have a soda, work them in sparingly. And remind yourself that an occasional treat is OK. It’s not a reflection of your willpower or your worth as a person.
The Importance of Physical Activity
One of the best ways to lose body fat is through steady aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking. Work up to at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise most days of the week. Also aim to do strength training exercises at least twice a week. Any extra movement helps you burn calories. So think about ways to move more during the day.
Exercise is an important factor in burning those extra calories. The American Heart Association recommends getting at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio exercise each week. That’s the kind of exercise that gets your heart pumping and makes you breathe faster than usual.
Although people lose weight in a variety of ways, those who keep it off tend to exercise regularly. I’ll typically advise people who are looking to lose weight to ratchet up their workouts to something more like 250 to 300 minutes per week - or an hour-long workout four to five days per week. But there are no hard-and-fast rules that are right for everyone. If you have a very active lifestyle, like a physically taxing job, you probably can get by with less. If you have a desk job, you may need more.
Set a goal of at least 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week. Aerobic exercises increase your breathing and heart rate, such as a brisk walk, bike ride or swimming. Add in strength exercises two or more days per week. Strength training can increase your metabolism which helps you burn more calories.
Now, chances are you’re not going to go from limited amounts of exercise to hitting the gym for an hour five days a week immediately. Your body isn’t ready for that. And your life isn’t set up to accommodate that major of a shift. So, ease into it. This is about making a lifestyle change - not trying something for a bit and burning out. So, start slowly and build up. Find activities that you enjoy and that fit into your life on a regular basis.
Try these aerobic workouts to get your heart pumping:
- Walking, hiking and slow running.
- Swimming.
- Cycling.
- Cardio machines, like treadmills, ellipticals and steppers.
Try talking when you’re exercising. If you need to pause your conversation here and there to catch your breath, that’s moderate-intensity exercise. You’re right on track. If you can carry on a conversation easily, it’s time to push a little harder. If you’re gasping for air, ease up.
Building and Maintaining Muscle Mass
Muscle is imperative for losing weight. That’s because muscle works to burn more calories, even when you’re not doing much of anything. So, when you build muscle, you’re making your body composition work in your favor. Muscle is metabolically active. Your muscle burns through calories much faster, even if you’re just sitting on the couch. The more muscle mass you have, the quicker you burn calories.
What’s more, when you work to lose weight, what you really want to lose is fat, not muscle. There are two important elements to maintaining muscle mass as you lose weight:
- ) Eat plenty of lean protein. Healthy sources of protein help to build and repair muscle. So, protein is a critical component of healthy weight-loss eating. How much protein you need depends on a variety of factors. But most people will be well served to make protein count for around 25% to 30% of the calories they eat each day. On a 1,600-calorie diet, that would equal 100 to 120 grams of protein per day.
- ) Engage in strength-training exercise. That can be activities like yoga, Pilates, barbells, free weights or calisthenics, all of which help to tone and strengthen muscle. Aim for at least 20 minutes of strength-training exercise twice per week.
Strength training doesn’t usually burn as many calories as cardiovascular exercise. But the benefits of maintaining muscle are of utmost importance. And if cardio exercise is hard for you, strength training is sometimes an easier gateway into physical activity.
Addressing Emotional Well-being
Emotional eating is real. It’s a natural coping mechanism for some people to turn to food when they’re feeling stressed, bored, frustrated or any number of emotions.
Here’s why: Strong emotions, like stress, release the hormone cortisol. And cortisol can heighten our cravings for sugar, fat and salt. It’s a biological response that’s trying to protect you by fueling your body to prepare to fight off tigers or other threats to your life.
But for most of the stresses we feel in our modern lives, downing a pint of ice cream isn’t going to solve the problem. We may know that intellectually … but your body reacts the same way regardless.
What can you do when you feel that pang to reach for food - not for hunger, but strictly for comfort? Step away from the fridge and try some quick relaxation strategies:
- Take a walk.
- Do some breathing exercises.
- Try some meditation.
Food journaling can also help you understand patterns in your emotional state and how they relate to eating. I like to encourage people to keep track not just of what they’re eating, but also how they’re feeling at mealtimes or when they reach for that snack. That can help you to see patterns and gauge whether you’re eating because you’re hungry or if you’re turning to food for comfort.
The Role of Sleep
While they may not seem related, sleep and weight loss go hand in hand. If we aren't getting good rest, your hunger hormones (ghrelin and leptin) can get out of whack. You actually feel hungrier when you’re not well-rested. Aim to get enough sleep (between seven and nine hours a night for most adults). And keep to a regular sleep schedule.
Overcoming Setbacks and Maintaining Consistency
It's not enough to eat healthy foods and exercise for just a few weeks or months. To keep off extra weight, you should make these healthy changes a way of life. Think about negative habits or other challenges that have kept you from losing weight in the past. You'll likely have some setbacks on your weight-loss journey. But don't give up after a setback. Simply start fresh the next day. Remember that you're planning to change your life. It won't happen all at once. Stick to your healthy lifestyle.
Often, you can see results from your weight loss efforts quickly. Then, it stalls. And you wonder if your scale is working. You might even question whether it’s worth it to keep it up. That’s all part of the process.
It’s easy to get discouraged if the number on the scale doesn’t reflect your hard work. And sometimes, it won’t. Weight doesn’t always reflect the effort you put in. It can be tempting to lose hope. To throw in the towel and head to the nearest drive-thru. Resist the temptation. Chances are you’re doing great.
There are a few reasons you’re not seeing the results you expect. For starters, weighing yourself between daily and weekly can affect your weight.
Common Diet Mistakes to Avoid
- Relying on Crash Diets: When you eat so few calories, you train your metabolism to slow down. Once the diet is over, you have a body that burns calories more slowly, and you usually regain the weight.
- Skipping Breakfast: Breakfasts that are high in protein and fiber can curb hunger throughout the day. In fact, studies show people who eat breakfast every morning are more likely to maintain a healthy weight.
- Losing Track of Your Snacks: All of this mindless munching adds up and could sabotage an otherwise well-planned diet.
- Not Snacking at All: Thoughtful snacking may do just the opposite. People who eat several small meals and snacks a day are more likely to control hunger and lose weight.
- Loading Up on Low-Fat: Just remember that low-fat isn't the same as low-calorie, and it's not a license to take second and third helpings.
- Sipping Too Many Calories: This is a big mistake when you consider that some fancy coffees and alcoholic beverages have more than 500 calories. Even the calories in fruit juice and soda can add up quickly.
- Drinking Too Little Water: If you let yourself get dehydrated, your metabolism drags, and that means slower weight loss.
- Ditching Dairy: Stick to nonfat or low-fat dairy options.
- Going Drive-Thru Too Often: People who ate fast food more than twice a week gained 10 more pounds than those who had it less than once a week.
- Setting Unrealistic Goals: A realistic goal is vital to successful dieting.
Practical Tips for Changing Eating Habits
Changing your eating habits is hard. You may be struggling with one of the following common barriers.
- Just like anything else you want to achieve, you have to plan for healthy eating. You can also use time-saving tricks like buying pre-cut produce, using a slow-cooker or doubling recipes to ensure you have leftovers to freeze. Try to keep a list of quick, healthy meals and snacks so you don't get stumped when you are shopping and cooking.
- Don’t try to make too many changes at once. Small changes over time can add up to a big impact, and it is much more doable. By mastering small changes, you will gain confidence and little improvements will slowly become part of your lifestyle. Once you’ve incorporated a new habit, start on another one.
- Once you've decided to change your eating habits, you may feel that there is no room for mistakes. At some point, you will backslide and encounter setbacks. Remember that you are aiming for progress, not perfection. Try to view setbacks as a bump in the road and keep going.
- The enormous number of fad diets, as well as all the sources of nutrition information can make healthy eating decisions difficult and confusing. A registered dietitian can help cut through the misinformation and provide you with well-researched nutrition guidance that is customized for you and your lifestyle.
- When you start a healthy lifestyle, it can mean giving up foods you like. But eating healthier doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to all your favorites. All foods can fit.