How to Lose Weight in Six Solid Steps

Most people try to lose weight and do succeed, only to gain it back again. Losing weight is rarely easy and keeping the weight off can be really challenging. But here are six solid steps that, if followed faithfully, can help you to lose weight and keep it off.

Things You'll Need

• Pen and Notebooks
• Computer
• Internet Access
• Determination

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Instructions

• 1

  Work on your motivation. You'll need help losing weight and the best help comes from within your own mind. You should make specific reasonable weight loss goals, write them down, and post them prominently in your home. A safe rate of weight loss is ½ pound to 2 pounds per week.
  Recording and visualizing the benefits is an important part of your motivation. Images like a slimmer you in a bathing suit, being able to have more energy and be more active, to feel better about yourself, and so on are important things to keep in your mind. These should also be recorded and posted so that you can review them multiple times a day. You are programming yourself for success!

• 2

  Create a food diary and maintain it rigorously. In this food diary you will record every food and drink you consume, the quantities and the calories. You need to document your actual behavior, not wishful thinking. You should write every food and drink down before you start consuming them. The data you compile will show you how much too much of things you are consuming, pointing the way to where behavior change would be most helpful. If you are really serious about mastering how to lose weight you won't skip this step. Many people are absolutely amazed at how much they sometimes eat in the course of a single day.

• 3

  Create a benchmark starting point weigh-in, and progress weigh-ins at the same time every week. Record these results in your weight loss log. It should be highly motivational to see your progress over weeks and months of following this program.

• 4

  Educate yourself on how to lose weight and how to keep it off. Some people find joining fee based programs like Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig are effective at providing support and help losing weight. If you can afford their services, joining would deepen your commitment to the weight loss effort. But outstanding free educational resources are also available through the federal government, especially through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Choose My Plate website and the publication "Dietary Guidelines for Americans." You can find links to them in the References section.

  Learn and record all the health benefits of reaching and keeping at a healthy weight. This learning should take your motivation to a new level. You will use the knowledge you've gained in this step to choose the number of calories you will be consuming each day. With your doctor's approval, this should be about 500 calories below what you are allowed to eat based on your gender, age, weight, height and activity level.

• 5

  Increase your physical activity. Once you have decided what calorie program you will be on, your next step is to increase your activity level to burn 200 to 400 calories per day in aerobic exercise (five or more days a week) and resistance training (two or three days a week). The aerobic exercise burns fat and makes your cardiovascular system stronger while the resistance or weight training adds a bit of muscle to increase your resting metabolism. These physical activities will help cement your weight loss gains as they become habits. It is important that you record all exercise that you do in an exercise log to help you internalize your new physical activity habits.

• 6

  Monitor your progress. Every three or four weeks, or monthly, examine your daily food and exercise logs and your weekly weight log. Adjust your calories if your weight loss is too fast or plateaus. Modify your exercise program as you become more fit. By the end of three months or so you should really notice the difference in yourself and other people should as well. You should be more motivated than ever to make the changes you've made to your diet and physical activity a permanent part of your life.