you track your eating over time. Choose to eat lean proteins such as chicken breast, salmon, or tofu; a wide variety of green and leafy vegetables; as well as a selection of fruits and whole grains. Swap out unhealthy fats like butter for healthy choices like olive oil. Avoid alcoholic beverages, which are high in calories, and can also stimulate your appetite. Try eating several small meals throughout the day instead of a few larger meals. This will help keep your energy levels up and prevent you from getting too hungry. Also, drink plenty of cool water to stay hydrated, which can help keep you fuller longer. Avoid juice, soda, and other sweetened drinks. It is important to reduce your daily calorie intake, but don't eat fewer than 1200 calories a day, which can trigger your body's starvation response and slow your weight loss. Also, aim for a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise each day. Depending upon your level of fitness, you can get the exercise you need by walking, running, swimming, cycling, or taking a class at the gym. Mix things up with strength training. You don't need any special equipment – body weight exercises such lunges, squats, and push-ups can all help you get toned and burn fat. Find friends or family to work on losing weight with you so that you can support each other. With consistent attention to diet and exercise, you'll lose weight in a healthy, sustainable, way. To learn more from our Dietitian co-author, like how to make a meal plan, keep reading!

1. How to Lose Weight
Co-authored by Pouya Shafipour, MD, MS
Last Updated: December 19, 2020 References Approved
Download Article
There are many reasons why you might want to lose weight. If you have been significantly
overweight or obese for a long time, then you might have concerns about what the extra weight
could be doing to your health. Obesity increases your risk of many health problems, including
diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, gallbladder disease, and some types of cancer. If
you have recently gained a bit of weight, then you might just want to lose some weight to fit back
into your old jeans. Whatever your reason for wanting to lose weight, there are some important
strategies that you should know about.
ARTICLE VIDEO
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1
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Part
1 Eating Right
Choose fibrous proteins instead of fatty ones. Protein is important for organ
function and building muscle. Select lean cuts of beef or extra-lean ground beef
when you're consuming red meat. Remove skin from chicken before cooking.
Skip the fatty deli meats like bologna and salami. Choose lean turkey or roast beef
as a replacement.
Vegetarians can get plenty of protein from soy, nuts, beans, and seeds. Lentils,
legumes, and beans are excellent sources of fiber and protein.
Eat low-fat dairy for a source of protein, including low-fat cheeses and nonfat
yogurt. A 150-gram serving of Greek yogurt provides about 11 grams of protein.
The study has shown that 20 women who were eating high-protein yogurt snacks
instead of crackers, chocolate, and other low-protein snacks consumed fewer
calories and experienced less hunger.
Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruit helps to satisfy your sweet tooth thanks
to its natural sugars, while fresh vegetables help your stomach fill up more quickly.
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Fruits and vegetables contain fiber to help you feel full quickly. Try some of these
tips to introduce more fruit and vegetables into your diet:
Eat what is in season and eat fruit and vegetables for snacks or, for dessert. When
you eat apples in the fall, for instance, or cherries in late summer, it might as well
be an indulgent dessert. Cut up celery, carrots, peppers, broccoli or cauliflower and
dip them in a light salad dressing or hummus.
Use vegetables as a main dish. For example, make a stir-fry or a hearty salad and
add just a few ounces of cooked chicken, salmon or almonds.
Eat more whole grains and cut simple carbs. Whole wheat bread, oatmeal,
whole wheat pasta, sweet potato, and brown rice are all excellent sources of
energy and sources of nutrition. Combined with the right combination of proteins and
vegetables, whole grains are perfect all-around nutrition.
Simple carbs are things like white bread, processed flour, and white sugar. This
gives you energy quickly but then comes with a crash. It turns into fat very quickly.
Substitute whole wheat flour or oat flour into pancakes or baked goods. You might
need to add additional leavening ingredients, like baking powder or yeast. Put
barley in your soup instead of rice or try a pilaf with barley, wild rice or brown rice.
Eat only naturally-occurring carbohydrates instead of processed carbohydrates.
Avoid processed foods, like white bread, semolina pasta or crackers, or processed
sweets like candy bars or sugary vegetables.
Try a formal diet plan. If you like the idea of following a more specific diet and
putting the planning into someone else's hands, try following a new diet and
exercise:
Follow a paleo diet and eat grass-produced meat, fish, and seafood, fresh fruits,
and vegetables, eggs, seeds, and nuts, just like paleo-humans did. Eat nothing
prepackaged or processed.
Try sticking to raw foods. The Raw Food Diet requires 75 percent of your dietary
intake to be uncooked. Most people eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, whole grains,
nuts, and beans.
Join a commercial diet plan. If you prefer to eat whatever you want and to meet
weekly with other people who are losing weight, then try WW (formerly known as
Weight Watchers). If you prefer prepared meals so that you don't have to cook, try
Jenny Craig or NutriSystem.
Cut the salt from your diet. Eating more sodium causes your body to retain water,
which can cause you to feel bloated and gain more weight. The good news is that
you'll sweat that weight out very quickly, so an easy way of cutting some pounds is to
eat less sodium in your diet.
Instead of salt, try spicing your meals with chili flakes, fresh salsa, or cajun spices
and seasonings.
Unsalted foods will taste much saltier eventually if you cut salt out for a while and
let your taste buds re-acclimate.
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3. 6
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Don't skip meals. Lots of people think skipping a meal will help to lose weight, but
people who have lost weight tend to maintain their weight loss better when they eat
three meals and two snacks every day. This indicates that eating three meals and
two snacks may be a healthy eating pattern for weight loss.
Make sure that you don't get hungry by eating small portions throughout the day at
regular intervals. Between your meals, eat a 150-calorie snack to keep your
metabolism burning and to stave off hunger. Be sure that you don't eat a fattening
snack such as sweets or crisps. When you're hungry, your body conserves calories
and slows down your metabolic processes.
Avoid sweetened drinks. Drinks that are sweetened, whether artificially or
naturally, will have little nutritional value and add lots of empty calories to your diet.
Do not drink fruit juice or other sweetened drinks. Even natural sugars will increase
your daily calorie intake and prevent weight loss. If you chose to drink juice, do not
exceed 4 oz per day (1/2 cup). Instead of drinking sweetened beverages throughout
your day, drink unsweetened, calorie-free beverages. Some beverages to avoid
include:
Soda
Juice
Sweet tea
Kool Aid
Fruit punch
Sports drinks
Sweet coffee drinks
Alcoholic drinks
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1
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Part
2 Losing Weight Basics
Control your portions. One reason why you might have gained weight is due to
eating portions that are too large. To start losing weight, you will need to eat
smaller portions. Eating smaller portions can also help you to keep eating some of your
favorite foods while still losing weight.
For example, before loading up your plate with half a frozen pizza, check the label
to see what a portion size is and only put this amount on your plate.
Or, if you want to have a bowl of cereal, check the box to see how much you can
have for one serving and use a measuring cup to get the exact amount.
Controlling portions doesn't have to mean you're hungry all the time if you try
strategies to make yourself feel more full.
Write down everything you eat this week. People who keep food diaries,
according to a study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and
Check Out This Healthy Way on How to Lose Weight

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Dietetics, lose an average of 6 pounds (2.75 kg) more than people who don't keep a
record of everything that they eat. So force yourself to write down the good, the bad
and the ugly. Keep these tips in mind:
Be complete. Write it all down, including beverages, condiments, and a description
of how the food was prepared. Don't pretend you didn't have that extra glass of
wine after dinner. If it goes into your stomach, it goes into the journal.
Be accurate. Record your portion sizes in your food diary. Don't eat too little or too
much - keep track. Also, read the ingredients list so that you can be accurate about
serving sizes.
Be consistent. Carry your food journal everywhere that you go. As an alternative,
you can use a diet-tracking app on your smartphone or tablet.
Figure out how many calories you should eat each day to lose weight. Losing
weight isn't all about weight. The more aware you are of the calories in the food
you eat, the more easily you'll be able to eat the right amount of food and do the right
amount of exercise to drop a couple of pounds. Take your food journal and look up
each item individually. Keep a running tally and add up your calorie total for the day.
Next, look up how much a person of your age, height, weight, and energy level
needs per day in calories.
Add about 170 calories to your total. Recent studies estimate that we tend to eat
slightly more than we're able to keep track of in a day.
Make a meal plan, and stick to it. Decide what you're going to eat this week
before you're standing at the fridge and trying to figure it out on the fly. Buy the right
healthy ingredients to eat the way you want to eat, and plan it out by the calorie.
Be realistic. If you like to eat out a lot, don't try to totally eliminate eating out.
Instead, plan on eating home-cooked meals six days a week.
Cut down on the snacking, or try to make them healthy snacks. Fresh vegetables
with guacamole, unsalted almonds, or fruit make for great weight-loss snacks.
Let yourself have non-food treats. Promise yourself that if you can follow this for six
weeks and exercise (if that is one of your goals), you will treat yourself to a
pedicure or a massage.
Work indulgence foods into your calorie plan. If you do want to have something that
is a little higher in calories, then make sure that you work it into your overall calorie
goal for the day. For example, if you are following a 1,800 calorie plan, and you
want to have a brownie that is 300 calories, then you would only have 1,500
calories left for the day.
Eat fewer calories than you burn. The only surefire way to lose weight is to eat
less than you burn over the course of a day. Sounds simple, but it takes work and
consistency. That means exercise. If you want to lose weight and stay healthy, you
need to start exercising. Aim for 15-30 minutes of exercise 3-5 times a week to get
started.
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5. 6
Try to tally your energy-output each day. It's helpful to keep track of these with
pedometers, or other weight-loss tracking apps that you can use to make this
easier. Read the section about exercise for more specific tips.
Set mini-goals. Your ultimate goal might be to lose 20 pounds, but instead of
focusing on that, think that you want to lose 1 to 2 pounds this week. Or you can
focus on non-pound goals like skipping after-dinner snacks this week or only
drinking alcohol on weekends.
It is important to understand that weight is entirely a function of input and output.
The input is the food you eat and the calories contained therein. The output is your
energy output. To lose weight the output needs to be greater than the input. It is
that simple. Do not believe any of the diet fads. If you are currently not gaining or
losing weight then just burning 300 extra calories per week or eating/drinking 300
calories less per week (2 sodas for example or a small burger) WILL make you lose
weight - in this case around 5 pounds of fat per year.
Drink at least 2 liters (0.53 US gal) of water each day. Water has the double
effect of both hydrating your body and filling your stomach with a certain volume of
a liquid that has zero calories. The Institute of Medicine determined that an adequate
intake (AI) for men is roughly 3 liters (0.8 US gal) (about 13 cups) of total beverages a
day. The AI for women is 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day.
Drinking water about 30 minutes before meals can reduce the number of calories
people end up consuming, especially in older individuals.
Research showed that dieters who drank half a liter of water before meals lost 44%
more weight over a period of 12 weeks, compared to those who didn’t.
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1
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Part
3 Exercising
Start doing basic aerobic and cardio exercise. Start with a small goal of 30
minutes, 3 times per week if you aren't exercising at all currently. Try these steps to
get yourself going:
Buy a pedometer. Attach the pedometer to your belt and try to take 5,000 steps
daily. Move up to a goal of 10,000 to 15,000 steps as you get in better shape.
Start by walking to lose weight. Walking around your neighborhood costs nothing
and is a great way to start moving. You can also try other low-impact exercises like
swimming, riding a bike or jogging.
Try machines at the gym. You can use a treadmill, an elliptical trainer, a stationary
bike, a rowing machine or a stair climber. Start with short sessions and gradually
add minutes as you get more fit. Also, use the settings on the machines to increase the
intensity as you lose weight.
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Do a variety of different machines until you find something you like. Consult a
personal trainer to make sure you're using proper form to avoid injury. They're there
to help, not to intimidate you.
Take an aerobics class. You can take a traditional aerobics class or try any
number of movement-based exercise routines. These are great ways of keeping
yourself motivated in a group, having fun moving around, and losing weight. Try any
of the following:
Kickboxing
Jazzercise
Zumba
Pilates
Yoga
Martial arts
Crossfit or Bootcamp
Get into strength training. Start small, aiming for one or two 15-minute sessions
per week until you feel motivated to do more. Exercise large muscle groups to burn
more calories and lose weight, instead of focusing on specific muscles. Try some of
these examples:
Start with squats paired with an overhead dumbbell press to work your lower body
and upper body at the same time.
Perform resistance exercises while sitting or reclining on an exercise ball. You'll
strengthen your core while simultaneously working on other areas.
Use machines and free weights. These tools tend to focus on particular muscle
groups like the arms, shoulders, thighs, glutes and upper back. Do these more
focused exercises after you work on exercises for multiple muscle groups.
Rest at least one full day between strength training workouts so that your muscles
can recover. Recovery will help you to avoid pain and injury.
Play a sport. If you're not into the idea of exercise for the sake of exercise, try
finding a fun activity that you enjoy, which has the added benefit of getting you
moving. Find an intramural league in your town, or just get together with some friends
to play a pick-up game every now and then.
If you don't like competitive sports, try doing something that you can do by yourself.
Swim, or play golf, or go hiking instead of playing a game with a ball and a net.
Get a bicycle if you want to find a great way to get around and exercise at the same
time. Don't spend all that time sitting down in your car when you could be burning
calories.
Also, try going on a walk after dinner for 40 minutes-1 hour. During this time, your
body goes into fat-burning mode until you eat in the morning. Make sure to do this
after dinner, because eating anything but protein will take you out of the fat-burning
mode and make sure to eat a good breakfast.
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Part
4 Staying Motivated
Find creative ways to eat less. While doing these things alone won't necessarily
make you lose weight, they can be helpful little tricks to keep you moving on the
right path. Try out the following to help your hunger cravings during the day:
Eat three fewer bites of each meal.
Put your knife and fork down between bites.
Use smaller plates, and fill your plate only once.
Wait to eat until you feel hungry, don't just snack when you're bored.
Find creative ways to manage your cravings. If you're used to big snacks and
indulgent meals, it's no secret that dieting and switching to exercise is challenging.
But learning to manage your cravings for a big slice of cake or a greasy hamburger is
possible, with a little creativity.
Smell fresh fruit when you want a snack, instead of eating something.
"Close" your kitchen between meals.
Don't keep sugary or fattening snacks in the house.
Some studies show that the color blue is an appetite suppressant. Try getting a
blue tablecloth, or blue dishes to eat on.
Eat at home. Going out to eat makes it too easy to cheat. Food sold at restaurants
is commonly much higher in fat, sodium, and other weight-loss killers. The portions
are also often much larger than what you might usually eat at home, as well. Instead of
heading out, try to make your own meals.
Eat in a small group, instead of a large one. Some research shows that people
eating at big tables tend to eat more than people eating alone.
Don't eat while you do other things, in general. Watching television, or reading, or
working while you eat often causes people to eat much more food than they
normally would.
Eat cereal for breakfast. One recent study revealed that people who eat cereal for
breakfast each day have a much easier time losing weight than people who eat
other types of breakfast. Start your day right with a high-fiber, nutrient rich natural
cereal, or oatmeal.
Switch to skim milk with breakfast and for use in other dishes. Each lower-fat step
you take down, you're losing 20% of the calories. Switching to a low-fat version of
milk is an excellent way to cut down on the calories you're taking in, without having
to sacrifice any of the nutritional benefits.
Decide to lose weight in a group. Commit to losing a certain amount of weight
by a certain date with the caveat that you'll pay up if you don't lose. You may enjoy
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8. 6
starting up a Biggest Loser Club at work or with your friends, or you can investigate a
weight loss betting website.
Give yourself a treat now and then. If you're attending a party or going out for a
special occasion, allow yourself an indulgence. Just make sure that these
indulgences don't become daily habits. Don't let a single slip-up derail your diet
and exercise plan. Get back to it, even if you forget for a day or two.
Try using non-food rewards as well. When you do something right with your diet
and exercise, treat yourself to something. Go to a game with a friend, or get a
manicure, a massage or a trip to the movies when you meet your mini-goals. Get
yourself that new shirt that you've been wanting if you meet your goal of losing a
pound this week.
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Community Q&A
Question
Which type of fat is good for you?
Question
How can I prevent obesity later in life?
Question
What are the best vitamins for losing weight?
Pouya Shafipour, MD, MS
Board Certified Family Medicine Specialist
Expert Answer
There are a few different categories of fat: saturated, unsaturated, monosaturated,
polyunsaturated, and trans fat. You want to stay away from trans fats and you don't
want to eat too many saturated fats, but there are healthy fats out there. Olives, olive
oils, fatty fish, walnuts, and avocado are all healthy forms of fat. A small amount of
grass-fed beef isn't the end of the world either, so long as it isn't pumped full of
hormones.
Pouya Shafipour, MD, MS
Board Certified Family Medicine Specialist
Expert Answer
Commit yourself to exercising every day, be mindful of what you eat, and don't snack.
Try to finish your last meal earlier in the day to prevent weight gain from sleeping with
a full stomach. So long as you do that, you should be fine!
CLICK HERE TO SEE MY RECOMMENDED WEIGHT LOSS TRICK

9. Question
How much weight can you lose over the course of 2 weeks?
Question
What can you do if the people around you cook food you need to avoid to lose
weight?
Question
Can I eat pizza and have a little Pepsi now and then?
Question
Pouya Shafipour, MD, MS
Board Certified Family Medicine Specialist
Expert Answer
There are no magical vitamins that are going to help you cut weight. It's really all about
eating healthy and exercising. However, if you have specific dietary needs or nutrient
deficiencies, you may benefit from certain supplements. For example, if you're on a
ketogenic diet, you may need B vitamin supplements. Still, you should talk to your
doctor before you start taking anything for your diet.
Claudia Carberry, RD, MS
Master's Degree, Nutrition, University of Tennessee Knoxville
Expert Answer
If you follow the steps described in this article, you can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per
week. To do this, make sure you are cutting 250-500 calories from your diet and
burning 250-500 calories through exercise every day.
Claudia Carberry, RD, MS
Master's Degree, Nutrition, University of Tennessee Knoxville
Expert Answer
Having support is very important with weight loss. If everyone can get on board, it will
be easier to achieve your goals. Talk to your family (or friends, roommates, etc) before
starting your diet and let them know your plan. Explain why you are making this
decision and ways they can help you succeed. Even if they do not change with you,
that's okay! Go forward with your plan! They may decide to join you once they see you
succeed with weight loss.
Community Answer
You can treat yourself once in a while. Just don't let it become a habit.

10. How do I stay away from unhealthy foods?
Question
What are the best exercises for weight loss?
Question
How much weight can a 13-year-old lose safely?
Question
Is it okay to eat ramen noodles regularly?
Community Answer
Find alternatives! Not all 'healthy' food is yucky. Some healthy foods can taste just as
good as junk food. For example, if you like chips, try some homemade veggie chips
instead. Find healthy foods that you enjoy eating and you'll see how much easier it is
to stick to a healthy diet.
Community Answer
Aerobic exercises, cycling, and swimming are the best exercises to lose weight.
Community Answer
It is best to concentrate on a healthy diet with lots fruits and vegetables and exercise.
13 is young so it is best to concentrate on your health as you are still growing.
Corpa123
Community Answer
Instant noodles are a highly processed food that lack nutritional value. It is a junk food
that is high in sodium. High-sodium foods can cause hypertension, heart disease,
stroke, kidney damage and other health problems.

11. Tips
Weigh yourself daily and then average your weight over seven days. Focus on creating
a downward trend as opposed to losing a certain amount of weight per week. You may
gain weight some weeks, especially if you're female (because of water retention related
to your menstrual cycle), for reasons that have nothing to do with your healthier
habits.
Consume healthy oils. If you cook with oil, use a teaspoon of healthy oils such as
olive oil. Or instead of adding oil for flavor, add spices or apple cider vinegar which has
additional benefits as well as a very strong flavor.
Don't eat at least an hour before you go to bed and make sure you drink lots of water.
Drink water before and after a snack or meal.
Whenever you take a bite of food, try to chew for a longer period of time. There are 15
minutes between the time when you're full and the time where you know you're full. If
you eat slowly, the chances of overeating are less likely.
Make sure to double check the food or drink labels. You need to know your portions
and how much protein, fat, carbohydrates, etc. it contains to maintain a more strict diet.
Instead of drinking 120 to 140 calorie milk, try 60 to 90 calorie almond milk.
Take at least 10,000 steps a day.
Don't start a weight loss journey alone. Find support from friends and family members
who may also want to lose weight, or join a weight loss support group in your
community. You can also find support in many online weight loss forums.
Losing weight with osteoarthritis is still possible if you take necessary precautions.
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Warnings
Do not deprive yourself of food. Make sure to eat at least three meals per day.[25]

12. If you're breastfeeding, pregnant, or chronically ill, talk to your doctor before starting a
weight loss program.
Avoid losing more than one to two pounds (0.5 to 1 kg) per week whenever possible.
Faster weight loss may cause you to lose muscle mass instead of fat. Also, people
have more difficulty maintaining rapid weight loss over the long term.
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Things You'll Need
Healthy foods
Pedometer or FitBit
MP3 player or iPod
YouTube videos and/or DVDs
Athletic shoes
Workout clothes
Food diary
Food scale
Measuring cups and spoons
Water
References
1. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/obe/signs
2. http://www.choosemyplate.gov/protein-foods-tips
3. http://www.choosemyplate.gov/dairy-tips
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25266206
5. http://www.choosemyplate.gov/fruits-tips
6. http://www.choosemyplate.gov/grains-tips
7. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/low-carb-diet/art-
20045831
8. http://thepaleodiet.com/what-to-eat-on-the-paleo-diet-paul-vandyken/
9. http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/guide/raw-food-diet