How to lose weight safely

How to lose weight and keep it off with the right diet and mindset

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Many eating plans that promise to help you lose weight are costly and unsustainable, not backed by scientific evidence, and may actually hurt your health more than help it.

Losing weight is not a one-size-fits-all approach. How you go about it will largely depend on your current habits, how much weight you want to lose, and your long-term goals.

However, eating right is paramount. It doesn’t matter how much you exercise each day, if you’re not making conscious decisions about what you’re putting in your body, losing weight will be no picnic.

For this weight-loss guide we’ve combined advice from nutritionists, psychologists, and the published scientific database for how to eat right to shed pounds and improve overall health.

Eat a balanced diet

Chances are you’re going to need to change your diet habits if you want to lose weight. Eating healthy isn’t just about eating and drinking fewer calories, but also understanding your blood sugar, or blood glucose, levels.

Whenever you eat, whether it’s a candy bar or bag of baby carrots, your body breaks it down into glucose and sends it into the blood. This triggers your pancreas to release insulin which helps your cells absorb the glucose.

When glucose enters your cells, it is either used for energy immediately, or stored as fat for later use. The key difference between the candy bar and baby carrot is that you digest the candy bar much faster, which can spike your blood sugar levels.

Research shows that blood sugar spikes will overload your system with glucose and insulin, so that your cells can’t possibly use it all for energy. This means there’s more residual glucose left over that your cells then store as fat.

Therefore, a regular diet of processed, simple sugars that spike your blood sugar levels can easily lead to weight gain. So it’s important for weight management to eat foods that you digest slowly. Here’s 5 tips on what to eat to lose weight.

1. Cut out processed carbs and sugars

Most importantly, studies and experts agree that to lose weight you should limit or cut sugar and processed carbs out of your diet.

Most processed foods are made up of simple carbs, which you digest quickly. This leaves you full for a shorter period of time and can lead to overeating and weight gain.

It also spikes blood sugar levels, which over time can strain arterial walls and hinder the body’s ability to control insulin. This can lead to conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

2. Eat the right carbs: Fiber and resistant starch

Popular diet plans — like the ketogenic diet and Atkins diet — restrict all types of carbs from the simple carbs in cupcakes to the complex carbs in whole grains.

However, complex carbs are important because you process them slowly, which can leave you feeling full for longer and stave off hunger pains. They’re also proven to help protect against coronary heart disease.

Fiber and resistant starch are two types of complex carbs that you should include in your diet. Foods that are a good source of both include peas, lentils, beans, whole grains, and cold pasta.

3. Eat more vegetables

Vegetables are often considered some of the most weight-loss-friendly foods you can eat. They’re low in calories and high in fiber, which means you can eat a lot, feel full, and not spike your blood sugar levels.

Leafy greens, especially, are loaded with essential vitamins and minerals. This can help reduce the risk of nutrient deficiencies, which can be a problem for restrictive diets like the Whole30 diet and the GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) Diet.

Here’s a nutrient breakdown of what the CDC considers to be some of the most nutritious greens you can eat.

4. Limit saturated fats

Saturated fats are most ubiquitous in processed foods including meats, cheeses, and baked goods. These calorie-dense, low-fiber foods are already something to avoid when trying to lose weight.

But research has found that reducing saturated fats can also lower cholesterol levels and the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. That’s why the USDA recommends no more than 20 grams of saturated fat per day for a 2,000 calorie diet.

Instead, focus on healthy polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats that you can get from fish, seeds, and nuts.

5. Eat carbs, fats, and protein

You may lose weight more quickly by cutting out carbs or fat. But these restrictive diets are not sustainable.

As a result, you’ll likely gain back the weight you lost once you reintroduce carby or fatty foods. This can lead to an unhealthy cycle of yo-yo dieting where you’re constantly losing weight and gaining it back, which can do long-term damage to your heart and kidneys.

Nutritionists recommend a diet that includes a healthy balance of healthy fats, protein, and carbohydrates. The eating plans that are most recommended by dietitians include the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet.

Try intermittent fasting

A growing body of scientific research suggests that when you eat is as equally important for overall health as what you eat. This method where you only eat during a certain window of time each day is called intermittent fasting.

There’s only limited research that indicates intermittent fasting works for weight loss. More evidence, from animal and human studies, points to other benefits from fasting like improvements in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and neurological disorders.

If you decide to try this approach, there are many different types of intermittent fasting to choose from. Two of the most popular are:

Equally important is what you eat on intermittent fasting. Stick to fiber-rich foods and get enough protein in your diet, because it can help you handle hunger pains during the fasting period.

Reduce stress

If you use food as a coping mechanism, like for stress, it can be extremely difficult to lose weight — and can even lead to weight gain.

Researchers have discovered that stress due to racism, homophobia, and physical or sexual abuse can trigger emotional eating.

Therefore, to stop emotional eating means overcoming the stress that triggers it. Some ways to overcome stress include:

Related to emotional eating is a more serious condition called binge eating. Binge eating is considered to be an eating disorder that requires specific treatment. Therefore, it’s important to determine if you have a binge eating disorder and then take the necessary steps to stop binge eating.

Keep the weight off

If there’s anything harder than losing weight, it’s keeping it off long-term. The most sure-fire way to keep the weight off is to choose a sustainable eating plan when you first start losing weight.

It can also help to lose weight gradually. If you lose too much weight, too fast, your body may retaliate by increasing levels of ghrelin, the hormone that signals hunger. In fact, there are many functions at play in your body and brain that makes it especially difficult to keep the weight off.

Experts recommend losing weight at a rate of 0.5% to 1% of your body weight per week (BW/Wk). For a 180-pound person trying to lose 40 pounds that would mean it would take 25 to 50 weeks to reach their goal weight of 140 pounds.

Also, avoid fads like reverse dieting, which claims to boost your metabolism so that you don’t gain weight as you readjust to adding more calories to your diet. Metabolism is related to weight loss, but you can’t easily manipulate it the way some people claim.

Skip the diet pills

Diet supplements marketed for weight-loss, like keto pills and probiotics, may seem like the easy way out. But don’t waste your money. Just about any over-the-counter diet pill or supplement is not FDA approved or regulated and is likely not proven to work.

The most common ingredients in these products are usually vitamins, minerals, herbs, and enzymes and can be found in a database from the National Institutes of Health. If you’re wondering whether it’s safe or if it works, that’s where you can get the information you need.

Now, there are five prescription drugs that the FDA has approved for long-term weight loss. However, doctors often reserve these treatments for people who are considered obese with a BMI over 30 and have obesity-related complications like high blood pressure. They also come with some serious side effects.

Takeaways

The best way to lose weight is an approach that helps you keep it off long-term. Trendy, restrictive diets that require you to cut out certain food groups, like carbohydrates, are unsustainable and, therefore, not recommended by nutritionists.

Instead, focus on eating the right balance of healthy fats, carbs, and proteins. Cut out processed foods. And find an eating routine you can stick with and enjoy.

How to Lose Weight in a Comfortable Way

This article was co-authored by Laura Flinn. Laura Flinn is a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Certified Personal Trainer, USA Olympic Weightlifting Sports Performance Coach and Certified Fitness Nutritionist, with an additional qualification as a TRX Suspension Trainer. Laura runs her own personal training program based in the San Francisco Bay Area and specializes in topics such as weight loss, muscle growth, cardiovascular training, and strength training.

There are 13 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

This article has been viewed 105,093 times.

Many people have tried to lose weight using extremely difficult workouts and complicated or overly restrictive diets. These programs can be confusing, expensive, and feel too hard to maintain long-term. Studies have shown that weight loss is easier and more comfortable when you make more subtle changes over longer periods of time. In addition, it’s easier to maintain the weight you’ve lost. [1] X Trustworthy Source Mayo Clinic Educational website from one of the world’s leading hospitals Go to source With a few tips and tricks you can lose weight and improve your overall health without using an uncomfortable or difficult diet program.

How to Lose Weight Safely as You Age

Your metabolism naturally slows over the years, and the numbers on your scale can climb. Here’s what to do.

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Weight gain is a common “side effect” of aging.

“Your metabolism gradually slows down,” says Steven Heymsfield, M.D., a researcher at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

Sarcopenia, a decrease in muscle tissue that occurs with age, is a likely cause—but not the only one.

“People generally become less active as they get older, even more so if they have orthopedic or other painful health issues,” Heymsfield says. “When you’re not burning as many calories but still eating the same amount, you gradually gain weight.”

Prescription medications may also play a role. Psychotropic drugs—particularly certain classes of antidepressants and antipsychotics—and corticosteroids (often prescribed for inflammatory diseases) can lead to substantial weight gain.

A few extra pounds might not be a bad thing. In people older than 60, being a little overweight may be beneficial because being underweight increases one’s risk of malnutrition, osteoporosis, and falls. But you don’t want to carry too much extra.

“If you’re very overweight or obese, you’re more likely to develop chronic diseases earlier in life,” Heymsfield says. And obesity makes it more difficult for older people to engage in healthy daily activities.

Small Changes, Big Benefits

You probably don’t have to lose as much weight as you think to improve your health. Simply maintaining a healthy weight—or dropping just a few pounds, if necessary—can be worthwhile.

“Losing just 5 to 8 percent of your weight [about 11 to 17 pounds for a 220-pound person] improves your health and how well you function,” Heymsfield says. The effect can be considerable. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that people who lost just 7 percent of their weight had a 58 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Getting Started

It’s important to know how to lose weight the right way from the very start. First tip: You can’t just cut calories.

“Unless it’s coupled with an exercise program, weight loss will result in muscle loss,” Heymsfield says.

That’s why the best strategy combines calorie-burning, muscle-building exercise along with diet changes. In a study in the journal Obesity, half the people who took a similar approach kept off at least 5 percent of the weight they lost for eight years.

“Changing a diet has to be something you can stick with long-term because if you return to the way you were eating before, you’ll likely gain back the weight,” says Denise K. Houston, R.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at the Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C.

To eat more healthfully, consult our healthy meals for weight loss plan or follow the MyPlate for Older Adults guidelines from Tufts University: Half of every meal should be fruits and vegetables; one-quarter should be grains, such as brown rice, oatmeal, and whole-wheat bread; and one-quarter should be protein (some of it dairy). Use oils and other fats, such as butter, sparingly.

Next, try to eat fewer calories. Simple changes help—such as cutting out sugary drinks, switching from whole to 1 percent or nonfat dairy products, and making half of every meal fruit or vegetables. The National Institutes of Health Body Weight Planner allows you to personalize the number of calories you need to eat to reach your goal weight.

But keep in mind, Houston says, that women need to take in at least 1,200 calories per day; men, at least 1,300.

“When you don’t eat enough calories,” she says, “it’s tough to get all the nutrients your body needs.”

Meet Goals for Nutrients

One must-have to keep in your diet: protein.

“As you age, your body needs more protein to stimulate muscle protein synthesis,” Houston says.

Shoot for 0.6 to 0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight daily. To hit the target, eat beans, dairy, eggs, fish, lean meat, or poultry at each meal. (A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that protein from any source—including plants—was associated with improved muscle health.)

Vitamin B12, vitamin D, and calcium are also important. Vitamin B12 helps maintain red-blood and nerve cells, and assists in the production of neurotransmitters (chemicals that relay signals between your brain and other parts of your body). It becomes more difficult for the body to absorb B12 with age. For vitamin B12, fortified cereals, seafood, and meat are good sources.

“Vitamin D and calcium are crucial for building and preserving bones, and they may be key for muscle health, too,” Houston says.

Egg yolks contain small amounts of vitamin D, and fatty fish such as mackerel, salmon, and tuna are among the best sources. Dairy products are rich in calcium; it’s also found in leafy green vegetables, such as bok choy and kale.

The Exercise Connection

Aerobic activity, such as walking or cycling, is tops for burning calories. For example, walking for half an hour torches about 140 calories, depending on your weight.

Strength training, however, may be more crucial for keeping weight off as you age.

“After midlife, you lose 5 to 10 pounds of muscle per decade, which dramatically reduces how many calories your body burns,” says Wayne L. Westcott, Ph.D., a professor of exercise science at Quincy College in Quincy, Mass. “Resistance training helps offset that loss, and research shows that your resting metabolic rate stays elevated 5 to 9 percent for up to 72 hours after a session.”

That means if you work out with weights only two days out of seven, you’ll reap the rewards of an elevated metabolism all week. Put a routine together with these tips from Westcott.

Design your plan. Choose three lower-body moves (legs and glutes); three for your upper body (back, shoulders, arms, and chest); and two or three for your core (abs and lower back). In Westcott’s research, people did the following exercises: leg extensions, leg curls, leg presses, chest presses, lat pull-downs, shoulder presses, abdominal curls, low-back extensions, and torso rotations. A trainer can guide you, or you can design a routine by using the online library of the American Council on Exercise.

Choose your resistance. Bands, medicine balls, strength-training machines, and free weights such as dumbbells all work equally.

Use enough weight. Do eight to 12 repetitions of each move. If you can’t do eight reps, you’re using too much resistance. When you’re able to do more than 12 reps, add 5 percent more weight.

Repeat the suggested reps of each exercise once. Rest 90 seconds to 2 minutes, then do another set. Do the workout twice a week.

How to Lose Weight Fast, but in the Safest Way Possible

A nutritionist shares some smart advice.

The editors at Health are a dedicated team of experienced health editors, writers, and other media professionals who strive to bring trustworthy and responsible health and medical content to their readers. As a team, we have decades of experience in health journalism and have worked at legacy publishers and some of the biggest news and media companies in the U.S.

As a registered dietitian, I don’t believe that losing weight fast is the healthiest approach. It often backfires, which leads to regaining all (or more) of the pounds shed, and it usually results in shedding only water weight, rather than body fat.

That said, I’ve counseled hundreds of people throughout the years, and some need to see quick results in order to feel confident and successful, which allows them to build the motivation and momentum needed to ease into long-term lifestyle changes. The latter is the ultimate goal, and the best way to achieve lasting weight-loss results.

But if you’re initially motivated to drop a few pounds fast, here’s a primer on what you should know, including the safest approaches, and who should definitely not go down the quick fix path.

Losing Weight Fast: What Research Shows

Some research indicates that the rate of weight loss doesn’t necessarily dictate results down the road. One study, published in the journal The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, enrolled over 200 men and women with high BMIs. During the first phase, participants were assigned to either a 12-week rapid weight loss plan or a 36-week gradual weight loss program. Both approaches were designed to reduce weight by 15%. Those who lost 12.5% or more weight during phase one were placed into a phase two weight maintenance plan for 144 weeks. At the end of the study, both the subjects who lost weight gradually and those in the rapid weight loss group had regained most of their lost weight.

While this wasn’t a good outcome in terms of weight management, researchers say the results indicate that the rate of weight did not affect the proportion of weight regained. In other words, the findings are not consistent with the belief that weight lost quickly is regained more rapidly. However, this study does support a result I’ve seen over and over in my practice, which is that keeping weight off requires making changes you can sustain long term.

Eating Less of These Foods Might Help

Most weight loss tactics focus on what to cut out. For quick results, you’ll see the greatest impact when you ditch the usual suspects: processed foods, including fast food; sugary foods, like candy and sweet drinks; products made with refined white flour and sugar, including baked goods; and items high in sodium, such as frozen dinners, pizza, and canned soup.

These foods can trigger water retention and bloating, which can affect your weight on the scale and how your clothes fit. They also generally pack a more concentrated amount of calories or carbs per serving, which can create surpluses that interfere with weight loss. And these foods are typically stripped of nutrients and fiber. The latter delays the return of hunger and helps regulate blood sugar and insulin levels, which are tied to weight management.

If you clear your kitchen and grocery cart of these foods, just be sure to replace them with nutrient-rich whole foods (see more below). Eating too little can leave you feeling hungry, irritable, fatigued, and constipated, which can trigger a binge. And don’t swap them with «diet» foods made with artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols. These faux sugars can stoke a sweet tooth, throw off appetite regulation, and potentially cause bloating. What you replace these foods with is just as important as nixing them.

Eating More of These Foods Is Also Smart

Non-starchy veggies are at the top of the list of foods to incorporate into every meal. Most provide 25 calories or less per cup (about the size of a tennis ball) and are low in carbs while packing filling fiber and fluid as well as many nutrients. Aim for about five cups per day, such as one cup at breakfast, two at lunch, and two at dinner.

This can include greens and raw vegetables, or sautéed, oven roasted, or grilled veggies. Try to mix up the colors and types to take in a broader array of nutrients and antioxidants. Blend spinach or kale into a smoothie at breakfast, or sauté veggies like tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and greens with eggs. Make an entrée salad or Buddha bowl your go-to lunch, with a base of greens and veggies the size of two handfuls. Opt for cooked veggies at dinner, in a dish like a veg-packed stir-fry. Or cover half of your dinner plate with sautéed or oven-roasted veggies, such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green beans, eggplant, or cauliflower.

Round out your meals with lean proteins, healthy fats, and smaller portions of whole food carbs. Proteins can include plant or animal sources, including pea protein powder in smoothies, lentils, and beans, pasture-raised eggs, or fish. Healthy fats boost satiety and keep you fuller longer. To get your fill, blend nut butter in a smoothie, serve avocado with eggs, toss salads with extra virgin olive oil vinaigrette, and drizzle pesto over cooked veggies.

Finally, don’t omit nutrient-rich, whole-grain carbs like brown rice and quinoa, starchy veggies (including skin-on potatoes and butternut squash), and fresh fruit. To meet your energy needs, including at least one cup of fresh/raw or a half cup of cooked carbs per meal. Leaving them out can result in lingering hunger or cravings, plus spontaneous snacking that hinders results. In other words, don’t fall into the old trap of making meals out of steamed veggies and plain grilled chicken. In addition to feeling miserable, you’ll burn out quickly and deprive your body of important nutrients.

What To Drink and Not Drink

You don’t have to give up coffee, but do doctor it up with a little unsweetened plant milk, sugar in the raw or maple syrup, and cinnamon, rather than refined sugar or artificial sweeteners and cream or dairy. After a cup or two, switch to water, and aim for 64 ounces spread evenly throughout the day. Make water your only beverage, and if you don’t like it plain, flavor it with all-natural ingredients like citrus, fresh mint, cucumber, ginger, or bits of in-season fruit.

Eliminate alcohol, at least short-term. In addition to its calories, alcohol is an appetite stimulant and it lowers inhibitions, so you’re more likely to overeat or nibble on foods you wouldn’t eat when sober. For a longer-term strategy, limit alcohol to a few occasions per week, and stick with cocktails made with sparkling water rather than regular or diet colas or tonic water.

Who Should Not Attempt Quick Weight Loss

Before you try to lose weight at all, examine your relationship with food. If you have a history of disordered eating, or if previous weight loss attempts have led to feelings of depression, anxiety, anger, loneliness, or other emotions, take a beat. Health includes both physical and emotional well-being, and if a focus on weight loss harms your mental health, it is not a worthy trade. Explore why you feel compelled to lose weight, and seek out support from loved ones who care about you or a mental health professional.

Losing Weight Fast: Bottom Line

In my years of working with clients one-on-one, I think I’ve seen it all, from cleanses and detoxes to dozens of quickie diets. I’ve also observed very predictable patterns related to weight loss, including what tends to stick or fizzle out, and the methods that enhance health versus those that deter from it. If you’re a good candidate for a weight loss jump start, please consider these two final bits of advice. First, extreme methods don’t lead to better results. Second, if you want to keep the pounds you lose off permanently, settle into an eating pattern you can sustain long-term, so you won’t wind up taking another wild ride on the unending weight control rollercoaster.

How Much Weight Is Safe to Lose in 1 Week?

Rachel MacPherson is a health writer, certified personal trainer, and exercise nutrition coach based in Montreal.

Anisha Shah, MD, is a board-certified internist, interventional cardiologist, and a fellow of the American College of Cardiology.

Kseniya Ovchinnikova / Getty Images

During your life, your weight may have fluctuated and changed. This is normal and expected as many people experience times where their habits shift depending on current priorities and time constraints.

If you have made the decision on your own or with the help of a healthcare provider to lose weight, you may wonder how much weight is safe to lose in a week in order to set your rate of weight loss and reach your goal. In general, slow and steady weight loss is best for sustainability. Below you will find out more about a healthy rate of weight loss and what you can expect.

Weight loss discussions can be triggering for some, especially those who have experienced disordered eating. Weight loss is not appropriate for everyone.

Why Weight Fluctuates

Weight can fluctuate for several reasons. Shifts in your daily activity, exercise habits, eating habits, hormones, and other factors can increase or decrease your overall calorie intake or expenditure.

Even over a short timeframe, weight tends to fluctuate. Research on weight fluctuations in adults shows that weight tends to fluctuate by 0.35% over the weekend, with a slight gain to a subsequent loss on weekdays.

Weekend and holiday weight increased fluctuations can be due to increased sodium in your food choices if you eat out or indulge in something higher in sodium than your typical weekly diet. Sodium can cause water weight gain that will level out once your intake balances out. Be sure to drink lots of water to help flush out excess sodium and water retention and to stay hydrated.

Holiday weight gain such as over the Christmas period is shown to increase by a mean of 1.35% and that weight gain doesn’t tend to come back off in the following months. For those who menstruate, weight fluctuations often occur in the week or days before your period and may continue throughout that week.

Others may see an increase during ovulation in the middle of the menstrual cycle. Likewise, hormonal shifts cause fluid retention during this time and weight usually levels out once it’s over.

How to Know What a Healthy Weight Is For You

Knowing what a healthy weight is for you will help set appropriate goals that improve your health. You may even find that you do not need to lose weight to be within a healthy range. Everyone’s version of a healthy weight is different due to individual body composition.

If you have more muscle mass, you will be heavier than someone with less muscle at the same height. You may even find that BMI charts indicate you are overweight when you have a healthy body fat percentage due to your increased muscle mass. This is why BMI is not a good indicator for several groups of people, including elderly or muscular individuals.

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a dated, biased measure that doesn’t account for several factors, such as body composition, ethnicity, race, gender, and age.

Despite being a flawed measure, BMI is widely used today in the medical community because it is an inexpensive and quick method for analyzing potential health status and outcomes.

You also can be healthy and overweight. Although obesity is linked to several chronic illnesses and diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, diabetes, cancer, stroke, sleep disorders, and more, it is not always the case that your body composition will harm your health.

It is vital to speak to a healthcare provider about your unique needs and health concerns. Below is a calculator you can use to get a general idea of what your weight loss calories might be. Consult your health care provider for more individualized advice.

How to Lose Weight Safely

Losing weight safely means working toward your weight loss goal with your physical and mental health as top priorities. Weight loss should never be your number one priority at any cost. When losing weight comes before your overall health, it is not safe nor sustainable.

Focusing on your nutrition and exercise as tools to support your weight loss goal is wise. A safe rate of weight loss is anything from 0.5 pounds to 2 pounds per week, with an average of 1 to 2 pounds per week being the typical recommendation. The leaner you are, the slower your rate of weight loss should be to help you preserve muscle mass and protect your metabolism.

Both exercise and nutrition play significant roles in supporting safe weight loss. Studies show that combining both strategies leads to better results in the long term.

Exercise for Safe Weight Loss

Adding exercise to your routine for safe weight loss is very effective. Exercise is excellent for your overall health and is more important than losing weight. In other words, even if you do not lose weight, exercise improves your health substantially, reducing your risks of illnesses and diseases.

Research shows that people with obesity can more likely reduce their risks of heart disease and premature death through adding exercise than they can by dieting or losing weight.

Exercise can improve your physical and mental well-being. It also can help you build strength, stability, and mobility, increase heart and lung health, reduce stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, and boost self-esteem.

When it comes to weight loss, exercise helps you create a calorie deficit, which is necessary for weight loss to occur. Instead of requiring all of your calorie deficit to come from your diet, you can boost your activity levels to provide some of the deficit needed. Moving more during the day and intentional exercise are both ways to boost your total daily energy expenditure.

Nutrition for Safe Weight Loss

To lose weight, you will need to consume fewer calories than you burn. As stated, adding exercise increases your calorie expenditure so if you are eating the same amount of calories, you will create a deficit through your calorie burn. In order to burn enough calories to lose weight consistently, this will take quite a lot of exercise. Experts recommend creating a deficit with a combination of diet and exercise.

To do this, you can subtract some calories from your maintenance amount. Using the above calculator will allow you to choose your activity level and factor that into what you should eat to support your activity while still accommodating weight loss.

It’s essential to keep in mind that while any calorie deficit will work to induce weight loss no matter what you eat, it’s much better for your health to focus on nutritious foods. Foods high in water, fiber, and protein are filling and nutritious, making it easier to lose weight. Getting a balance of carbs, protein, and fats are preferred over drastically cutting out carbs or fats.

Research consistently shows that cutting back drastically on one macronutrient does not lead to greater or more sustainable weight loss than simply eating a balanced diet in a deficit.

Not only will whole foods packed with water, fiber, and protein keep you feeling full longer, but they also provide you with the nutrients you need to feel energized and perform well, which is more of a challenge when in a deficit.

A Word From Verywell

Weight loss is not a goal that is appropriate for everyone and losing weight does not necessarily lead to better health. Losing weight safely by using sustainable, health-promoting habits and practices will better ensure your weight loss goal is achieved, maintained, and leads to overall improved wellness both physically and mentally.

If you are concerned about your weight, speak to a healthcare provider for advice. Nutrition and fitness professionals as well as a medical professional can help you create a plan toward safe, sustainable weight loss.

Frequently Asked Questions

To lose 2 pounds per week, you need to create a calorie deficit of 1,000 calories per day. This is only safe if a healthcare provider has approved it. Calorie needs depend on a variety of factors such as metabolism, current weight, height, and activity level, which are different for everyone.

To lose 2 pounds per week, the amount of exercise you would need to do depends on your current calorie intake, metabolism, current weight, height, and activity level. This will be different for everyone. If you are using exercise alone to create a calorie deficit, you would need to burn 1,000 calories per day while consuming your previous maintenance calories.