Pound a week

[tracy1976]

Okay. I want to lose a pound a week. How much do I have to change my diet and activity level to make this possible. Is it really as hard as I'm imagining or is it easier than I think?

[tobetinytina]

It's probably not as hard as you think. First, start by just recording what you're eating and roughly how many calories that is per day for one week. Once you know that, you'll get a better idea of what you're putting in your body and how many calories you're getting on average. Once you figure that out, you can likely make easy adjustments to your diet to limit your calories as you need. Adding at least a daily 30 minute walk in there and keeping empty calories limited as much as possible (e.g. alcohol beverage, sugar beverages, etc.), you should see the weight coming off. The hardest part is staying committed and making the choices you know you should be making.

[Paplo]

It's probably not as hard as you think. First, start by just recording what you're eating and roughly how many calories that is per day for one week. Once you know that, you'll get a better idea of what you're putting in your body and how many calories you're getting on average. Once you figure that out, you can likely make easy adjustments to your diet to limit your calories as you need. Adding at least a daily 30 minute walk in there and keeping empty calories limited as much as possible (e.g. alcohol beverage, sugar beverages, etc.), you should see the weight coming off. The hardest part is staying committed and making the choices you know you should be making.

I agree, you first need to track what you're currently doing before you can figure out what changes need to be made. As tobetinytina has said, the hardest part is staying committed to a new routine. Other than that, typically making a few dietary changes or simply lowering the amount you eat and exercising is all that is needed for gradual healthy weight loss. Drinking more water and getting proper sleep can also help you.

[Penny]

I agree, you first need to track what you're currently doing before you can figure out what changes need to be made. As tobetinytina has said, the hardest part is staying committed to a new routine. Other than that, typically making a few dietary changes or simply lowering the amount you eat and exercising is all that is needed for gradual healthy weight loss. Drinking more water and getting proper sleep can also help you.

Exactly, you don't know what changes you need to make until you actually know what you're doing. Just lowering the amount you eat and exercising a bit might not be enough because it may turn out you need to change the types of food you're eating rather than the quantity and you might find that some exercises are better than others. Doing a bit of homework first is likely to pay off. :D

[jenny25]

If you have a lot to lose you shouldn't have to do much to see some loss of pounds. Honestly, when I cut out a massive chunk of added sugar to my diet, I noticed a difference pretty quickly. It's hard at first to make certain changes, but once you get over sugar cravings, for example, it's actually not so bad and you'll find you don't really crave it like you used to. :)

[tracy1976]

It's probably not as hard as you think. First, start by just recording what you're eating and roughly how many calories that is per day for one week. Once you know that, you'll get a better idea of what you're putting in your body and how many calories you're getting on average. Once you figure that out, you can likely make easy adjustments to your diet to limit your calories as you need. Adding at least a daily 30 minute walk in there and keeping empty calories limited as much as possible (e.g. alcohol beverage, sugar beverages, etc.), you should see the weight coming off. The hardest part is staying committed and making the choices you know you should be making.

Thanks. I never thought about tracking what I was doing first. You're right though, if I don't know how many calories I'm getting to start, I'll have no idea how to make the right changes. I know I'll need to eat fewer calories and burn more to lose weight, but I needed the jumping off point. Thanks!