Lose Weight Safely

How to Lose Weight Safely

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Adopt a healthier lifestyle and and you will often lose weight as a bonus. Learn strategies to help you look and feel better!

Steps

1. Calculate your daily energy output kJ. Looks complicated but isn't.
   
   • Women [655.1 + (9.56 x weight kilograms)+ (1.85 x height centimeter) - (4.68 x age years)] x 4.2
     
   • Men [66.47 + (13.75 x weight kilograms)+ (5 x height centimeter) - (6.76x age years)] x 4.2
     
   • Multiply the kJ amount by the following factor depending on your lifestyle: 1.2 = sedentary, 1.375 = lightly active (1-3 days a week exercise), 1.55 = moderately active 3 -5 days exercise or sport, 1.725 = very active hard exercise 6-7 days/week, 1.9 = extremely active hard daily exercise or sport or physical job.
     
   
   
2. Keep a food journal for a week or two. Write down all that you eat. Include snacks, cups of coffee, etc. - it all adds up. You may be surprised how much you are consuming in between meals.
   
3. Use the journal to help understand when it is you might eat foods that are high in kJ and find ways to cut them out and replace those items with healthier choices. For example, if you crave sugar in the afternoon replace sugary snacks with fresh fruit.
   
4. Work out what energy you are actually expending daily and find ways to increase your level of activity. You don't necessarily need to join a gym. Simple changes can add up. Try parking as far away from the shops as you can and walk in. Climb the stairs, rather than riding the elevator. Dance while you vacuum. Play actively with the kids instead of just watching TV.
   
5. Focus on attaining good health, rather than feeling deprived or "on a diet". Losing weight is frequently the result of living a healthier lifestyle
   
6. Try to stick to three meals a day. Breakfast - eg. high fibre cereal with low fat milk, lunch eg. wholemeal sandwich with lean filling OR a salad with no fat dressing, dinner eg. Protein (meat, fish or poultry - all lean cuts and skinless with lots of vegetables or salad and minimal amount (not necessarily no) carbohydrates. Healthy snacks are OK especially if they help you from getting so hungry that you eat foods you shouldn't.
   

Tips

• A possible diet: a bowl of Special K cereal for breakfast, a jelly sandwich with trans-fat free bread and an apple for lunch, salmon and green-beans for dinner. Snacks can include carrots, celery or a banana.
  
• Find snacks that you love that are healthy, such as fresh fruit, raw vegetables, low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese, and be sure to stock them in your pantry. Limit yourself to two snacks each day. If you crave more than two snacks, chomp on a piece of gum for a few hours.
  
• Don't shop when you are hungry. Have a healthy snack and a glass of water before heading to the grocery store.
  
• Increase your daily fibre intake. Pick whole meal bread, and whole grains (bulgar wheat, quinoa).
  
• Try a daily walk. It is a great exercise for weight loss. You can go at your own pace. If you walk with a friend it is mentally uplifting to chat and support each other.
  
• Add strength training to your exercise plan to build lean muscle. While aerobic exercise (like walking) helps burn calories, anaerobic (or strength-building) exercise can help boost your metabolism.
  
• Add one or two extra vegetables to your evening meal that you would usually not eat. Try new recipes with unfamiliar ingredients to keep your eating plan interesting and fun.
  
• Use non stick cookware or barbeque to limit oils and fats.
  
• Go crazy with herbs and strong flavours to make your meals very tasty and satisfying - potentially you'll eat less.
  
• Use a smaller plate.
  
• Clear up left overs before sitting down to avoid second helpings
  
• Drink lots of water 2 litres/day (approx. 64 oz). Drink a glass of water about 20 mins before dinner to help you feel full.
  
• Put your knife and fork down instead of loading it up while you chew. Eating more slowly allows your body to be in time with your brain so that by the time you "feel" full you haven't already over eaten.
  
• Avoid/limit alcohol (3-4 standard drinks/week)- it reduces you ability to lose fat as well as making it harder to resist temptation.
  
• Measure your loss by how your clothes feel on you and only weigh yourself once every couple of weeks. Take your measurements once a month to judge your weight loss in inches as well as pounds.
  
• Find a friend who wants to feel better too and use each other for support.
  
• Listen to slow music while you eat. It's been proven to help you eat slower, which helps you lose weight.
  
• Avoid processed foods. Anything that comes in a package is usually full of fats, sugars and salts. Know what you're eating in advance.
  

Warnings

• You should see a health professional before undertaking any diet or exercise plans.
  
• There is NO safe way to lose weight fast. You should aim for lifestyle changes that support better eating and add some exercise that is suited to you personally, as prescribed by your doctor. Gradual weight loss is better and also tends to be longer lasting in most people.
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Lose Weight
  
• How to Lose Weight Fast
  
• How to Lose 5 Pounds in 5 Weeks
  
• How to Choose the Best Diet
  
• How to Calculate Your Body Mass Index (BMI)
  
• How to Stick to Your Diet During the Holidays
  
• How to Evaluate Your Eating Habits
  
• How to Lose Weight With Vitamins
  
• How to Lose Weight Like a Model
  
• How to Lose Weight With Juicing
  
• How to Cope With Anorexia
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Lose Weight Safely. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.