How to Lose Weight and Gain Confidence

One in every three American adults is considered obese by medical standards, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. TeensHealth states that body image and self-confidence are closely linked, especially in teenagers and young adults, which could explain why people care so much about how others view them. Regardless of whether you're seeking weight loss, a confidence boost or both, you must first believe in yourself.

Instructions

Lose Weight

• 1

  Reduce your daily calorie intake. The best way to monitor your calorie intake is by establishing a calorie goal and writing down the calorie values of whatever you eat. According to the National institutes of Health, you could lose 20 to 24 lbs. in just three months by consuming 500 fewer calories a day and exercising thirty minutes daily.

• 2

  Perform physical activity. Whether you're going for a jog or just doing active chores around the house like mowing the grass or vacuuming the carpet, thirty minutes of physical activity a day can burn off 300 to 400 calories a day, states ProHealth, a weight-loss management website.

• 3

  Drink at least eight glasses of water each day, the equivalent of 64 oz. According to the "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology," drinking water helps speed up your metabolism, reduces the amount of water weight your body retains and prevents unnecessary cravings.

Gain Confidence

• 4

  Surround yourself around positive people. Spend time with people who are uplifting, encouraging and who accept you, regardless of your action. Such people will help you achieve a level of self-confidence. Attempting to mold yourself into someone whom you're not in order to gain acceptance in a group of colleagues or friends can damage your self-confidence and make you self-aware. Look for people who won't judge your character.

• 5

  Join a professional club and set realistic goals. Having goals that are impossible to reach may cause discouragement and self-doubt. Clubs are a good way of aiming for a common goal and accomplishment as a whole instead of by yourself. Joining clubs that appeal to your talents and skills will allow you to break out of your shell as you bond with others who share the same passion as you.

• 6

  Help others through service projects. Through volunteer and community service projects, you have the potential to build relationships and forge new friendships. According to Joanna Saisan, a HelpGuide.org specialist, servicing others make you feel better about yourself and creates a sense of self-worth and confidence. Start your own service project, join a club that specializes in helping the community, or find an organization online. Non-profit organizations are always looking for volunteers to help in their causes.