Losing one or two pounds a week through regular exercise and healthy eating supports long-term weight management. You'll lose more pounds overall and keep them off longer.
While short-term crash dieting can take off pounds quickly, burning more calories than consumed is the only proven way to lose weight over the long term and maintain a healthy weight safely and successfully, according to Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.
Start
Since one pound has 3,500 calories, you'll have to reduce your food intake by 500 calories a day in order to lose one pound a week. You'll have to eat 1,000 fewer calories a day to lose two pounds a week.
After your weight-loss goal is reached, food intake can be increased to a level that allows permanent weight management, provided you keep exercising, Medline says.
Launch your plan for losing one or two pounds a week with a commitment to exercise and eating nutritionally balanced meals. Begin by exercising, and then add a food plan. Set small goals at first. Forgive yourself and start again if you get off track.
A nutritionist or fitness coach can help you stay focused and motivated. Check in with your health practitioner or physician before you start, especially if you are pregnant or have a medical condition.
Exercise and diet played key roles in significant weight loss reported by two groups of men and women participating in a 1997 National Weight Control Registry study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Researchers' findings are reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, "A Descriptive Study of Individuals Successful at Long-Term Maintenance of Substantial Weight Loss," ML Klem, RR Wing, MT McGuire, HM Seagle and JO Hill, Vol 66, Pages 239-246, 1997, copyright by the American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.
Participants lost weight following an established program or with their own regimen. Besides weight loss, they reported having more energy, better moods, more self confidence, more freedom of movement, and improved overall health. They also told researchers that taking the weight off was easier than keeping it off.
Support your commitment with a program of exercises geared to your physical size and age, and a food plan that includes guidance on portion control. For best results, your overall program should address the emotional aspects of change, focus and motivation.
Commit to your goals by letting go of self-defeating thoughts, beliefs and assumptions. Cultivating awareness helps you focus exercise and avoid overeating.
Goals
Achievable goals are specific and measurable. Whether you want to shed excess pounds by the next big holiday, cut daily food intake, or keep exercising, goals are less daunting if you break them down into smaller milestones.
Meet your goals by staying in the present moment and being aware of what you're doing when you're doing it, whether it's one leg lift or one bite at a time.
Exercise
Regular and frequent exercise burns excess body fat, raises metabolism, builds new muscle tissue, reduces stress, improves blood flow, and encourages health and well-being.
Build endurance, stay motivated, and reduce risk of injury by choosing low-key, low-impact exercise when you start, according to "The Wellness Guide To Lifelong Fitness," by Timothy P. White, Ph.D., and the editors of the University of California at Berkeley Wellness Letter.
Walking is safe and convenient. Aerobic exercise strengthens the heart, and lungs. A mile walked or run burns about 100 calories. Use care with exercise that impacts the joints, cautions online fitness trainer Jorge Cruise, author of "8 Minutes in the Morning."
Cruise's book outlines a step-by-step weight-loss regimen of low impact strength-building exercises using dumbbells, a mat and a chair. The book offers a simplified food plan of choices, with chapters covering emotions, commitment, and motivation.
Strengthening core or abdominal muscles is important to avoid stress on your lower back. Mild exercise like tai chai or chi gong are core strengtheners.
People in wheelchairs who want to shed pounds can benefit from aerobic exercises. The University of Iowa Health Care Center for Disabilities and Development suggests pulley and resistance training, rowing, seated aerobics, weight lifting, and competitive sports like wheelchair basketball, volleyball or racing.
Eating
Chewing small bites slowly improves digestion while cultivating conscious eating. This helps you stay grounded, focused and motivated.
Considerations
Make sure weight loss is safe for you by checking with your health practitioner or doctor.
Stop doing any exercise that causes a sharp pain anywhere in your body.
Clear inertia, anxiety and unwanted thoughts through mental chanting, prayer an affirmation, reciting a poem, or telling your inner child about "The Little Engine That Could." The story repeats the phrase, "I think I can." Change it to "I know I can," suggests motivational expert Douglas M. Yeaman, author of "The Power of Commitment."
