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Weight loss strategies -

People can lose weight and maintain this loss by taking several achievable steps. These include the following:. Healthful meals and snacks should form the foundation of the human diet.

A simple way to create a meal plan is to make sure that each meal consists of 50 percent fruit and vegetables, 25 percent whole grains, and 25 percent protein.

Total fiber intake should be 25—30 grams g daily. Eliminate trans fats from the diet, and minimize the intake of saturated fats, which has a strong link with the incidence of coronary heart disease.

Instead, people can consume monounsaturated fatty acids MUFA or polyunsaturated fatty acids PUFA , which are types of unsaturated fat. In some cases, removing certain foods from the diet might cause a person to become deficient in some necessary vitamins and minerals.

A nutritionist, dietitian, or another healthcare professional can advise a person how to get enough nutrients while they are following a weight loss program.

Self-monitoring is a critical factor in successfully losing weight. People can use a paper diary, mobile app, or dedicated website to record every item of food that they consume each day. They can also measure their progress by recording their weight on a weekly basis. Those who can track their success in small increments and identify physical changes are much more likely to stick to a weight loss regimen.

People can also keep track of their body mass index BMI using a BMI calculator. Regular exercise is vital for both physical and mental health.

Increasing the frequency of physical activity in a disciplined and purposeful way is often crucial for successful weight loss. One hour of moderate-intensity activity per day, such as brisk walking, is ideal.

If one hour per day is not possible, the Mayo Clinic suggests that a person should aim for a minimum of minutes every week. People who are not usually physically active should slowly increase the amount of exercise that they do and gradually increase its intensity. This approach is the most sustainable way to ensure that regular exercise becomes a part of their lifestyle.

In the same way that recording meals can psychologically help with weight loss, people may also benefit from keeping track of their physical activity. If the thought of a full workout seems intimidating to someone who is new to exercise, they can begin by doing the following activities to increase their exercise levels:.

Individuals who have a low risk of coronary heart disease are unlikely to require medical assessment ahead of starting an exercise regimen. However, prior medical evaluation may be advisable for some people, including those with diabetes.

Anyone who is unsure about safe levels of exercise should speak to a healthcare professional. It is possible to consume hundreds of calories a day by drinking sugar-sweetened soda, tea, juice, or alcohol.

Unless a person is consuming a smoothie to replace a meal, they should aim to stick to water or unsweetened tea and coffee. Adding a splash of fresh lemon or orange to water can provide flavor.

Avoid mistaking dehydration for hunger. An individual can often satisfy feelings of hunger between scheduled meal times with a drink of water. Therefore, people should avoid estimating a serving size or eating food directly from the packet. It is better to use measuring cups and serving size guides.

Guessing leads to overestimating and the likelihood of eating a larger-than-necessary portion. These sizes are not exact, but they can help a person moderate their food intake when the correct tools are not available. Many people benefit from mindful eating, which involves being fully aware of why, how, when, where, and what they eat.

People who practice mindful eating also try to eat more slowly and savor their food, concentrating on the taste. Making a meal last for 20 minutes allows the body to register all of the signals for satiety. Many social and environmental cues might encourage unnecessary eating.

For example, some people are more likely to overeat while watching television. Others have trouble passing a bowl of candy to someone else without taking a piece.

By being aware of what may trigger the desire to snack on empty calories, people can think of ways to adjust their routine to limit these triggers.

Stocking a kitchen with diet-friendly foods and creating structured meal plans will result in more significant weight loss. People looking to lose weight or keep it off should clear their kitchen of processed or junk foods and ensure that they have the ingredients on hand to make simple, healthful meals.

Doing this can prevent quick, unplanned, and careless eating. Planning food choices before getting to social events or restaurants might also make the process easier. Some people may wish to invite friends or family members to join them, while others might prefer to use social media to share their progress.

Weight loss is a gradual process, and a person may feel discouraged if the pounds do not drop off at quite the rate that they had anticipated. Some days will be harder than others when sticking to a weight loss or maintenance program.

A successful weight-loss program requires the individual to persevere and not give up when self-change seems too difficult. Some people might need to reset their goals, potentially by adjusting the total number of calories they are aiming to eat or changing their exercise patterns.

The important thing is to keep a positive outlook and be persistent in working toward overcoming the barriers to successful weight loss.

Successful weight loss does not require people to follow a specific diet plan, such as Slimming World or Atkins. Instead, they should focus on eating fewer calories and moving more to achieve a negative energy balance.

Weight loss is primarily dependent on reducing the total intake of calories, not adjusting the proportions of carbohydrate , fat, and protein in the diet. A reasonable weight loss goal to start seeing health benefits is a 5—10 percent reduction in body weight over a 6-month time frame.

Most people can achieve this goal by reducing their total calorie intake to somewhere in the range of 1,—1, calories per day. A diet of fewer than 1, calories per day will not provide sufficient daily nutrition.

Include some goals around what your body can do, rather than how you look. Diet matters more than exercise for weight loss, but exercise is crucial for keeping off the weight.

Plus, exercise has plenty of other benefits. If you are sedentary and then start moving, you will start burning calories, which will create a calorie deficit.

Don't know where to start? Start walking. Create small, attainable goals like 15 minutes per day and work up to 30 minutes. If you currently walk 2, steps per day, don't try to walk 10, Start with 4, per day and add more every couple of weeks.

Next, add strength training, using either weights or your body weight. Start with one day per week and work up to two to four times per week. Strength training builds muscle, and muscle burns calories even when you're sitting at your desk all day. Cardio exercise, like running, biking or swimming, is great too.

A good balance is daily walking, strength training two to four times per week and cardio or high-intensity interval training HIIT one to three times per week. Progressively increasing your exercise frequency and intensity will help you stick to it. And the best exercise is the one that you'll keep doing.

A calorie deficit is needed for weight loss, but instead of focusing on what to restrict, focus on what to add. The body breaks down protein, carbohydrates and fat from food and absorbs the nutrients. If you're eating more calories than your body needs, the extra will be stored as fat.

However, the body doesn't absorb or store fiber. Fiber passes through the stomach and intestines largely unabsorbed, bulks everything up and then you poop it out. Fiber is found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans and legumes.

By making half your plate vegetables and fruits at most meals, you automatically shift the caloric composition of your meal. For example, 1 cup of pasta or rice is calories, but 1 cup of vegetables is about 30 calories.

So not only can you eat more vegetables for fewer calories, but you also get the added benefit of the fiber as well as vitamins and minerals , which moves through your system slowly, keeping you full longer. Fiber also expands and slows the emptying of the stomach, which sends signals to the brain that you are full.

Gut bacteria feed off fiber and produce short-chain fatty acids, like acetate, which plays a role in regulating body weight, according to a review in Nutrients. Aim for 25 to 35 grams of fiber per day or about 8 to 10 g per meal.

Along with fiber, eat protein at every meal, especially breakfast. A review in Nutrients suggests that when people eat a high-protein breakfast, they have fewer cravings and eat less later in the day.

Protein suppresses the hunger hormone, ghrelin, and is digested slowly, keeping you full longer. When protein is eaten with carbohydrates, it slows the rise of blood sugar, which prevents the spike-and-crash effect that leaves you craving carbs an hour after you eat.

Include protein, fiber and healthy fat at each meal. Protein needs are based on weight, but about 20 g per meal is a good starting point.

According to the USDA, a serving of Greek yogurt packs 16 g of protein, and you can pair it with berries for fiber. Three ounces of cooked chicken , about the size of a deck of cards, has about 26 g of protein.

Beans are a protein-packed vegetarian option. If you feel overwhelmed with how much weight you have to lose, start small. Don't try to tackle everything at once. In order to lose weight and keep it off, you need to embrace a long-term mentality and focus on small habit changes.

Get professional help so you have accountability and can focus on the habits that move the needle most. Track other metrics, along with the scale. Finally, move your body most days, focus on making half your plate vegetables at meals, get out of the all-or-nothing mentality and celebrate your success along the way!

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List of Partners vendors. Special Diets Weight Loss. By Lainey is a weight-loss dietitian who helps people ditch diets, change their habits and create a healthy lifestyle that lasts. Lainey Younkin, M. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines. Reviewed by Dietitian Elizabeth Ward is a registered dietitian and award-winning nutrition communicator and writer.

Reviewed by Dietitian Elizabeth Ward, M. In This Article View All. In This Article. Embrace the Long Game. Rely on a Professional to Help. Understand Set Point Theory. Track Your Food at Least to Start. Rethink the Scale. Track Other Metrics. Get Moving. Focus on Fiber.

Eat Protein at Every Meal. The Bottom Line. Weight-Loss Meal Plans. Can Losing Weight Slow Your Metabolism? Can Walking Really Help You Lose Weight? How Much Protein Do You Need to Eat Every Day? Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Related Articles.

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