Weight Loss Management as a Part of Your Diet Plan

• Strive to lower your BMI to below 25 which is the maximum threshold for healthy weight
• Work on walking at least 10,000 steps per day, five days a week to supplement your dietary changes
• Reduce your caloric intake slowly so your metabolism doesn’t slow down and prevent weight loss
• Eat more vegetables and cover all food groups

When you are putting together a change in your diet so you can drop pounds, you need to include a plan for weight loss management. That plan should incorporate several elements, including goal setting, healthy diet changes, and regular exercise.

Setting Weight Loss Goals

When you’re putting together your weight loss management programs, you need to set reasonable short and long term goals. That means you first need to understand your current health status. The first step is determining your body mass index (BMI). You can do this with a visit to your physician or you can use one of the calculators online to get an estimate.

Because BMI is used now to determine the difference between healthy weight and obesity, knowing where you stand is important. A healthy BMI starts at 19 but is below 25. If your BMI is between 25 and 30, you are considered overweight. A BMI above 30 is a sign of obesity.

Your long-term goal should be lowering your BMI into the normal range. However, reaching that level means creating many smaller goals, such as a goal to lose one pound per week or four pounds per month. Talk to your physician or nutritionist about what would be a healthy weight loss goal for you.

Doing Exercises

One of the important goals of your weight loss management should be daily exercise. Changing your diet won’t bring about healthy weight loss and improved health unless you combine it with exercise. This is easier than you might think. Walking is usually the best method for adding exercise into your routine.

There is a program known as 10,000 steps which recommends the right amount of activity to add to your day. You can use a pedometer to keep track of the number of steps you walk each day. Start off by spending two weeks just keeping track of your normal walking routine so you will know how many extra steps you need to add.

Once the two weeks is over, gradually increase the number of steps you walk until you can reach 10,000 comfortably. Then make sure to walk that number of steps at least five times per week.

Changing Diet

With your weight loss management programs, you need to adjust your diet, as well. First, write down everything you eat in a given week and calculate the amount of calories you consume. Chances are you’re going to be shocked. Now make sure to cut down on those calories by about 10% every week until you reach the amount of calories you need to consume to start dropping weight. You want to reduce your calorie intake slowly so you don’t send your metabolism into shock and slow it down drastically.

When you are following this new diet plan, make sure to increase the amounts of vegetables and fruit you are eating. Choose fresh or frozen options over canned ones since they will maintain more of their natural flavors and won’t contain as many preservatives. Also, eat balanced meals and cover all of the food groups, including protein and carbohydrates.

The information supplied in this article is not to be considered as medical advice and is for educational purposes only.