To Lose Weight this New Year, Burn it and Cut it to Drop it

Every extra calorie you ate last year counted towards excess pounds. No magic pill, liquid fast, or excessive exercise can melt it away. The only way to bring down what came up is to implement an equal amount of calorie restriction and exercise. This involves burning 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound of fat. I recommend losing a maximum of 1.5 pounds a week. This means whether you need to lose 10, 20, 30, or 40 pounds focus on burning and cutting 750 calories a day.To start your weight loss journey with my guidance, copy and paste the following link to read my article on SMART goals, http://t.co/9jOAfw0x. The article explains how to commit to a realistic exercise and dieting plan that will fit your lifestyle. The next tool you will use after you determine your SMART goals will be using choosemyplate.gov. Simply copy and paste this link: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/myplate/index.aspx to reveal your personalized daily calorie intake. Fill in the required information but under physical activity, instead of entering in what you currently do for exercise put in what you plan to do, which should be based from your SMART goals.

As an example, for Geneva’s SMART goal, she commits to burn 330 calories running for 30 minutes 6 days a week. Based on her body type, choosemyplate.gov personalized plan recommends she eats 2,600 calories a day. Geneva knows she still must cut 420 calories from her diet so she will eat 1,850 calories a day. The combined burn of 330 and cut of 420 calories equals a 750 calorie deficit.

However, after two weeks of following a lower calorie diet, if Geneva does not see weight loss, she may need to cut more calories from her diet. She would then cut 100 more calories from her diet, which means she’ll eat 1,750 calories a day. For measurable progress she can weigh herself a couple of times a week during the first two weeks. If the scale goes down, she’s on the right track! If her weight stays the same or the scale goes up, she should add 10-15 minutes of physical activity to increase the calorie burn.

At any age when losing weight it is important to provide yourself with proper energy intake that fuels physical activity and a busy lifestyle. I recommend females to never eat below 1,300 calories a day and males should never eat less than 2,000 calories a day. A licensed professional must monitor a diet lower than 1,300 calories.

There are no shortcuts in weight loss. If you lose weight the right way - by having the patience and commitment to a diet and exercise plan - I guarantee the weight will come off and stay off. If you have 40 pounds or more to lose, it will take longer, but initially you may see rapid weight loss due to losing excess water. If you’re losing the last 10 pounds, expect to see a slow but rewarding finish - your weight loss may slow to ½ to 1 pound a week.

As I promised earlier, if you have been following my teen weight loss article series, which can be applied to everyone, you are ready for my next advice on how to get started with physical activity. I will also include how to bust through weight loss plateaus. Good luck and stay committed!