How to lose a pound a week

There are 3,500 calories in one pound of fat eliminate 3,500 calories a week from your diet, and you are providing yourself with the potential to lose a considerable amount of weight. After one year, you could be 52 lbs. lighter if you have a significant amount of weight to lose. Losing a pound a week is a reasonable rate of weight loss that increases your chances of keeping the weight you lose off for years to come.

Step 1

Subtract 500 calories from the number you need to maintain your weight. This is the number of calories you will need to eat each day in order to cut 3,500 calories from your diet each week.

Step 2

Eliminate foods that contribute only empty calories to your diet.  Replace these foods with lower-calorie healthy foods such as vegetables fruits and lean proteins.

Step 3

Exercise every day. If you burn 250 calories exercising, you will need only to cut 250 calories each day from your diet.

Tips and Warnings

• Keep a food diary. Recording the foods you eat helps you to become aware of your eating habits and can keep your diet on track.
• Avoid eating fewer than 1,200 calories a day, as very-low-calorie diets can cause serious health problems and should not be undertaken without medical supervision. If you are unable to cut 500 calories from your diet without staying above this number, burn off the calories by engaging in additional physical activity. You can also choose to slow the rate of your weight loss and burn 1,750 calories a week instead, which will result in a weight loss of 1/2 lb. per week.