5 Steps To Planning A Successful Weight Loss Program

No matter what your body weight is, no matter why you want to lose weight, you will need to create a weight loss plan for yourself. This weight loss plan will serve as your guide, a roadmap which you can use to reach your weight loss goals. However, for creating a weight loss plan that is easy to maintain, you need to do some research and homework. In this article I will tell you what you need to do for this purpose.

1. Set a weight loss goal: The very first thing you need to do is to set a weight loss goal for yourself. I know it sounds clichéd, but my purpose in mentioning this here is to emphasize the fact that you should set only realistic goals for yourself. If you set unrealistic goals such as losing weight within a month or becoming slimmer within three weeks, you will never be able to achieve those impossible or vague targets and this will in turn make you disappointed and frustrated.

In order to set a realistic goal, you need to take into account how much weight you can ideally lose. Usually, you should shoot for your ideal body weight; you can get your ideal lean body weight by finding out what should be the body weight of a person of your sex, age and height. Once you get that number, you need to multiply it by 1.15 (1.2 if you’re a woman). This will give you your ideal body weight. Then deduct your ideal body weight from your current body weight and you can easily understand how many pounds you need to lose in order to achieve your ideal body weight.

2. Know your resting metabolic rate: Your resting metabolic rate is the number of calories you burn while you are inactive. This will not only give you an idea of how fast or slow your metabolic rate is, it will also tell you how many calories you should really consume on a daily basis in order to lose weight.

3. Create a meal plan: Once you know how much calorie your body needs, you need to create a meal plan for yourself that will provide your body with all the necessary nutrition without making you heavier. Then try to stick to this meal plan and shop for the necessary ingredients. Make sure you don’t go shopping on an empty stomach, as you may be prone to getting tempted to taste the calorie-rich foods. Instead, shop only on a full stomach.

4. Make an exercise plan: You may or mayn’t believe it, but unless you add exercises in your weight loss plan, you can never really keep your weight off for a long time. Exercises form an integral part of any weight loss program. If you find exercises to be boring, have a friend workout with you. Remember that the more intense your exercises are, the more fat you will be able to burn, and that you need to exercise for at least an hour every other day of the week. However, if you find that you are getting tired with high intensity exercises such as resistance training and cardio, you may start with lighter exercises such as swimming, jogging, cycling, walking, etc. and then increase your activity level as you start feeling comfortable.

5. Measure your body instead of body weight: Some people make the mistake of measuring their body weight on a weighing machine every now and then. Not only it is stupid, you also cannot get an exact idea of how you are faring with your weight loss program. A better option is to measure your thighs and waistline regularly. Also remember that you should never confuse muscles with fat. The more muscles you build, the more fat you will be able to burn; hence you should make it a point to do muscle-building exercise regularly!

I sincerely hope that this article has given you an idea of how to go about in creating a successful weight loss plan.

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