1. Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight is important for your overall health and well-being.
2. If you are significantly overweight, you have a greater risk of developing many
diseases or conditions, including high blood pressure, type-2
diabetes, stroke, and
some
forms of cancer.
3. For obese adults, even losing a few pounds (such as 5-10% of your body weight) or preventing further weight gain has health benefits.
4. Consuming fewer calories than expended will result in weight loss. This can be achieved over time by eating fewer calories,
being more physically active or, best of all, a combination of the
two.
Learn Your BMI and Set a Weight Goal:
• You just learned how to
determine your BMI and your weight status category.
• A weight goal needs to
be reasonable. If you want to
lose weight, start with a goal of
5–10% of your current weight. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, that would
mean losing about 7–15 pounds. Make sure to talk to
your doctor as well.
Eat Less:
You know you need to eat less to lose weight. Some people give up sugary desserts to help lower calories. Others find measuring their foods and watching portions is the key. Often, making just a few changes
can help with weight loss.
• Calorie balance over time is the key to weight management.
• Eat smaller
portions.
Try
using smaller
plates for
dinner.
• Choose low-calorie snacks. Try
foods such as fruits, vegetables,
air-popped popcorn, fat-free yogurt,
hummus, and almonds.
• Watch your
intake of sugary and high-fat desserts—they can add a lot of extra calories and fats.
• Limit foods high in
solid fats,
such as butter/stick margarine,
regular
cheese,
fatty meats, and French fries fried in oil.
• Drink more
water and fat-free or
low-fat (1%) milk and less regular
soda, sports drinks,
energy drinks, and fruit drinks.
Keep Track
of
What You Are Eating:
Studies
show that tracking all your meals, snacks, and drinks can help weight loss. Keeping track will give you an idea of your eating patterns. It also can help you see areas where you are doing well and areas where you could improve. For example, are you snacking too much in the evening?
• Keep track of what you eat for 3 or
more days to get an
idea of how
many calories you are eating
and
drinking each day.
• The amount of calories you need varies depending on how active you
are.
See
the Daily Calorie Needs handout to learn
about your
body’s estimated calorie requirements.
• Weighing yourself regularly can
help
you determine whether you are
eating the amount of calories that your
body needs. If your
weight is going
up, cutting
back on the amount of calories you are eating each day can
help you lose
weight.
Add Activity Every
Day:
• The Physical Activity
Guidelines
for Americans recommend that everyone
engage in regular physical activity for health benefits.
Staying
physically active can help you arrive and stay at a healthy weight.
It makes sense—staying active helps you burn up some of the calories from foods. Most of us don’t get enough activity to make up for what we eat.
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