How to Lose Weight the Healthy Way Part 1

In my job as a body transformation coach, the number one thing my clients want to do is lose weight.  Most times they’ve tried every diet and nothing has worked.  They lose 10lbs on a low carb diet, and then put it back on. Then they try the grapefruit diet and lose the 10 they just put back on, only to gain it back with another 5lbs to boot. This trend of yo-yo dieting just doesn’t work. It leaves you discouraged, unconfident, ashamed, and still with unwanted weight.

What’s the solution? How do you lose weight the healthy way?

Consistency 

As an athlete, I’ve learned that you can’t switch every few months to a new method of doing something.  It takes time to get into a routine, and for your body to learn new tricks.  When losing weight you need to stick to a predictable routine and regimen. You can’t jump on every weight loss bandwagon that you see on the news or in a magazine. Eat a healthy balanced diet and stick to it for life.

Take Your Time

I remind my clients that it didn’t take them two months to put on the extra 20lbs, so they shouldn’t expect to take it off in 2 months either. In our microwave society we want things to happen yesterday, and we don’t want to work for it either.  Losing weight the healthy way takes time and dedication. It takes you being sold out to the process, and putting in the time. Half a pound to 2lbs a week is a good healthy weight loss rate. I have had people lose 12lbs in 2 weeks, but that’s not the norm.  Even a 1lb loss is a victory. Learn to celebrate it. You aren’t on the Biggest Loser working out 6 hours a day. Take your time, you are in this for the long run, it’s not a sprint, but a life change.

You Must Have A Deficit 

The basic formula for your weight loss success is to have a net calorie deficit. What this simply means is that you need to take in less calories (fuel) than you put out (energy expended).  This is the point where your body will start to use the fat you have stored to keep your body operating.  If you want to learn more about the “Science of Getting Fat”, this article helped me understand the basics.  A general rule is if you burn (or have a deficit) of 500 calories a day for a week you can lose 1 pound in a week.  Do NOT decrease your food intake by more than 500-800 calories a day, as this may cause your metabolism to slow. Instead we want it to gradually get faster. I’ll discuss this in a future post.  You need a deficit of about 3,500 calories per week to lose 1lb.

Here’s an example: Say you normally eat 2,500 calories per day, and want to lose weight. To lose one pound in a week, you would need to eat 3,500 calories less this week. Do this by reducing your caloric intake to 2,000 calories per day for the week. 2,500-2,000 = 500 (deficit) and 500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories. You would lose 1 pound this week.

I had so many tips that I had to divide this into two posts so look out for part two. Until then, have you experienced any of the above? Are you guilty of expecting results yesterday?  What will you do now?

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Annett Davis

Annett Davis is an Olympian in Beach Volleyball. She loves great food and helping people get healthy over at GetFitWithAnnett.com. Her favorite topics are marriage and anything fitness related. Being married to her soul mate, Life Coach and author Byron Davis for 16 wonderful years, Annett loves being a homeschooling mom of 2. She blogs over at FitMomsFitKidsClub.com, and inspires kids to grandmas to get in shape for life in her private accountability groups.

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