Are you trying to lose weight pounds? While some people only want to lose 5-10 pounds for a specific purpose, if you have more than 50 lbs. to shed, you need to consider more dramatic weight loss strategies. You are not going to lose weight pounds overnight. Instead, try a balanced approach to losing the weight over time.
Aim to lose weight pounds at a rate of 1-2 lbs. per week. But, don’t dive right in. Instead, spend a week planning your diet.
First of all, weigh yourself. You will also want to keep a journal of everything you eat each day for a week. Include portion sizes. Also note any activity including working out, heavy house or lawn work, and sporting events or active play with children. Don’t do anything out of the ordinary during this week. Specifically, don’t decrease your normal calorie load or alter your normal foods. Also, don’t try to do anything different with your activity levels.
The reason you start with this is that you want to develop a baseline for lose weight pounds. When you see what you are actually doing, you can plan a strategy for change.
Go back through your food journal at the end of the week. Calculate how many calories you ate each day. Calculate how many calories you burned each day. Then weigh yourself at the end of the week. Have you gone up, down or stayed the same?
Now, you can begin the substitutions. If you gained a pound, you will have to burn an extra 3500 calories each week just to stay even. If you want to lose 2 pounds, you will have to burn an extra 7000 calories.
Here are some simple substitutions:
· Eat only two servings of red meat per week. Substitute chicken or fish for all other meat meals.
· Consider substituting legumes (beans) for some protein sources.
· Add salads and vegetables to your meals. You should have one or the other at lunch and both at dinner.
· Add a broth based soup to your dinner. Eaten before the meal, it will help you fill up faster.
· Eat breakfast every day. People who eat breakfast lose more weight and lose weight faster than those who don’t. Great diet breakfasts include oatmeal and yogurt based fruit smoothies.
You should also add exercise to your lose weight pounds program. Don’t think that this requires you to join a fancy gym. Fire the maid and do your housework yourself. A 180 pound woman who cleans the house for an hour will burn 250 calories. And, more vigorous cleaning such as 20 minutes of scrubbing your floors on your hands and knees burns over 100 calories. Even playing with your kids can help you lose weight. 30 minutes of vigorous play can burn off 200 calories.
So, if you are trying to lose weight pounds and you have 50 or more lbs. to go, consider doing a week of baseline monitoring followed by making a food lifestyle change. Also, try to increase the amount of physical activity you get in your life.