How many times have you told yourself that you need to lose weight? I’m not talking about a couple of pounds, either. I’m talking about 20 pounds or more of extra fat you’d like to see disappear. I notice a trend: Most people psyche themselves out before they ever start losing the weight. It’s as if the enormity of their goal simply puts them into shut down mode, and they give up on the idea entirely.Has this ever happened to you? You try a diet or exercise plan for a week or so, and then you get frustrated when your body looks the same. So, you give up. Weight loss isn’t speedy. It takes time to gain weight – many people put on weight for years and then expect to lose it in a few weeks or months. It doesn’t work that way. Instead of pressuring yourself into losing 50 pounds in two months, stick to a realistic, proven way for long term weight loss. Small changes to your lifestyle over time will make the difference.Make it your goal to drop one pound a week. Now, this may not seem like that much, but if you did this consistently for one year it would result in a loss of 50 pounds. All it takes are small changes in your daily lifestyle. To shed one pound a week, you need to burn 3,500 extra calories each week. It really is that simple. Try the following three steps:Record your normal weekly exercise. Look at everything from walking to participating in sports to exercising in the gym. This is your starting point. If you don’t currently exercise, then this step is easy.Record your normal weekly food intake. This may be hard to do honestly, but remember that you are only cheating yourself by not recording everything. Calculate the total number of calories that you eat in an average day. In your quest for dropping inches, you should slowly decrease your normal caloric intake. Remember, you are going for a 3,500-calorie deficit each week; this can be done by a combination of increased calorie exertion (exercise) and a decrease in calories consumed (eating less).Chart the difference. Now that you have a starting point for both calorie exertion and calorie intake, it is time to turn the tables in your favor. Take every opportunity to exert more calories by increasing your physical activity and decreasing your calorie consumption – and make healthier selections. Record your progress in a notebook and refer back to it often. You will be surprised how encouraging it is to see your progress written down on paper.Remember, if you burn 500 calories a day you will drop a pound in a week. Here are some practical ways to lose calories:
| If you usually… | Do this instead… |
| Drink regular soda pop | Drink water or diet soda pop (160 calories lost) |
| Eat a snack from a vending machine | Enjoy an apple (180 calories lost |
| Hit the snooze button in the morning | Jog for 30 minutes before work (150 calories lost) |
| Skip your workout | Develop an invigorating workout plan |
