10 pounds

[anne]

If I want to lose 10 pounds in a month, how much will I have to alter in my diet and how much will I have to exercise if I'm about 150 pounds, 5ft 6in and 40? Oh, I'm also a woman lol. Will this be hard to achieve? I've never really had weight issues before but I feel I would be happier if I was 10 pounds lighter thx.

[tara]

Yes, it will be hard to achieve, especially if you've never had to alter your diet or exercise before. Unless you're prepared to really drop lots of calories from your daily diet, you might want to aim for 5 pounds to start and then another 5 the next months, so it's 10 pounds in two months instead of 10 in one. I get that you want to lose a lot of weight as quickly as possible, but you might find it easier to adjust if you take it slow. You're also more likely to stick to the new lifestyle changes you make if they're aren't too extreme.

[tracy1976]

I have to agree that it would be easier to lose 10 pounds over the course of two months instead of trying to do it all in one. Remember, you'll need to lose more calories than you eat to lose a pound of fat. Since you've never really had a weight issue before, you might find this to be more difficult than you think. I recommend finding out how many calories you need to consume in a day to lose the weight you want and then tracking what you eat every day to make sure you stay within this target. Add exercise (cardio and strength training) into the mix and you should start losing weight. :)

[char]

Hey, Anne. I think a calorie-tracking app will become your new best friend. Find out how many calories you need to cut back in a day to lose 10 pounds (I also recommend doing this over 2 months instead of 1 so it's easier - you'll honestly be shocked at how hard it is to restrict calories when you've never done it before!) and then track what you eat so you can stay within your calorie limit. Beyond that, get into an exercise routine. Do at least 30 minutes of cardio at least 3 times a week and 20 -30 minutes of strength training 3 times a week.

[anne]

Hey, Anne. I think a calorie-tracking app will become your new best friend. Find out how many calories you need to cut back in a day to lose 10 pounds (I also recommend doing this over 2 months instead of 1 so it's easier - you'll honestly be shocked at how hard it is to restrict calories when you've never done it before!) and then track what you eat so you can stay within your calorie limit. Beyond that, get into an exercise routine. Do at least 30 minutes of cardio at least 3 times a week and 20 -30 minutes of strength training 3 times a week.

Thank you for all your advice and especially your advice char I do intend to take it to heart and will start tracking what I eat. Is there any easy way to track calories? I'm assuming there are apps or programs online that can make this easier than reading boxes and doing online searches for individual items and tracking that way, right? Anything free and easy to use that takes as little time as possible. I really want to make the the most of this, and I know that if it's easy and kind of convenient I'm far more likely to stick to it.

[freddyboy]

Check out Share Fit, Spark People and Apps like MyFitnessPal.

[tara]

Check out Share Fit, Spark People and Apps like MyFitnessPal.

Do you find that any of these actually work? I didn't really like MyFitnessPal, haven't tried those others though. Are they free?

[anne]

Do you find that any of these actually work? I didn't really like MyFitnessPal, haven't tried those others though. Are they free?

I just started Spark People and I really like it. A friend of mine has recently tried Share Fit and he likes that one, too. I'd say either are worth trying because it's free to join.