How to Lose 30 Pounds Quickly & Safely

Losing 30 pounds is not an easy task. For some people, it may take years and several failed attempts. Yet there are people everywhere who have lost the weight, and there is no reason why you can't do it as well. To safely lose 30 pounds in 30 weeks or less, however, you'll need motivation and determination in addition to a healthy diet and a workout routine.

Things You'll Need

• Scale
• Free Weights or Weight Machines
• Athletic Shoes
• Workout Clothes
• Healthy Foods
• Food/Exercise Diary

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Instructions

Prepare

• 1

  Determine your current weight. Use a scale in your home where you'll have the most privacy. If you don't own one, buy one; you can get one for as little as $10. Weigh yourself first thing in the morning.

• 2

  One weight-loss formula is to take your current weight multiplied by your activity level (on a range from 12 if sedentary to 15 for very active). Then subtract 500 from this for how many calories you must take in to lose a pound a week (subtract 1,000 to lose 2 pounds). Experts such as those at the Mayo Clinic recommend losing no more than 1 to 2 pounds a week for safe, lasting weight loss.

• 3

  Turn a calendar or planner into a food/exercise diary. Pick a "start day;" designate one day each week as "weigh day" and map out how much you want to weigh each week. Each day, plan to write down what you eat, how many calories, what exercises you do and for how long and calories burned.

• 4

  Find or invest in clothing and shoes you can work out in, whether in your home, outside or at a gym. Plan to do cardio activities (walking briskly, running, elliptical machine, swimming, etc.) at least five days a week and strength training at least three days a week.

• 5

  Stock up on fruits and vegetables, whole grain foods like cereals, breads and pastas, and healthy proteins such as skinless chicken breasts and fish. Buy skim milk, plan to snack on foods such as a handful of almonds or an apple with a bit of peanut butter and drink eight glasses of water each day. Plan meals ahead of time.

Do It

• 6

  Begin writing down everything you eat and do on our start day. Keep going! Think how good you'll feel each week as you see the numbers on the scale drop.

• 7

  Reach your daily caloric number through a mix of healthy food choices and calories burned through activity (for instance, if you are trying to take in 1,800 calories a day, you can eat 2,300 calories but burn off 500).

• 8

  Weigh yourself each week at the same time on the same day (your designated weigh day).

• 9

  Build in room for days you'll want to splurge a bit: eat healthily the rest of the day and burn off the extra calories.

• 10

  If you reach a plateau, try a new exercise you haven't done, or try upping your running speed or your level on the elliptical trainer. Soon you will see the weight come off! Losing 1 to 2 pounds a week, you'll drop 30 pounds in just 15 to 30 weeks---no time at all.