14 Tips to Lose Weight and Stay Fit

Around 42% of people in the United States are considered obese,¹ and many of them seek out fad diets. News about the latest trendy diets and promises of simple, rapid weight loss appear to be everywhere. The truth is that losing weight can be hard work — and there are no quick fixes for long-term success.

A successful weight loss plan involves committing to long-term healthy habits that will not only help remove extra pounds but also leave you with more energy and better overall health. The strategies below can help you on your journey to weight loss success.

1. Maintain Your Motivation

Plan for success with activities that help you stay focused:²

• Keep a weight log or food diary for self-monitoring, or write about your weight loss progress in a journal. This can help you better understand when and how much food you are eating during the day and help you break bad habits, like snacking when feeling stressed.
• Get regular checkups with your doctor to keep track of your weight loss progress and see how the changes are improving your health.³
• Reward yourself with a new outfit or a bucket list vacation when you reach a specific milestone on your weight loss journey.

2. Set Realistic Goals

Focus on making small changes consistently for long-lasting results. This might include:⁴

• Setting weight loss goals that can be measured, such as losing 1 pound a week³
• Setting goals to help you change your exercise and/or eating habits, which is an important part of weight loss success
• Aiming for a reasonable weight loss goal of around 0.5 to 2 pounds per week until you reach your ideal weight

3. Eat a Healthy Amount of Calories

While reducing the amount of calories you eat is a big factor in weight loss, you will still need a healthy amount of calories each day to fuel your body and avoid developing a variety of mental and physical issues.⁵

• Eating fewer than 1,200 calories per day for women and 1,500 calories per day for men can endanger your health if a doctor isn't supervising your weight loss.⁶
• Extreme calorie restriction can cause electrolyte imbalances, fatigue and trouble concentrating. In some cases, you might even experience organ damage, weakened bones, an irregular heartbeat or cardiac arrest.⁵
• To lose weight, try aiming for a loss of 1 to 2 pounds per week, burning 500 to 1,000 calories more than you eat each day through exercise rather than calorie restriction.⁶

4. Make Time for Regular Exercise

Whether it's walking your dog or dancing, you'll be more likely to stick with activities you enjoy and that fit into your schedule.

• In addition to burning calories, exercise may provide other benefits, such as boosting your mood and strengthening your muscles.³
• Doing exercise like yoga not only helps keep you active but may also help reduce stress that can lead to weight gain.³
• Aim for between 30 minutes and one hour of activity each day.³
• Exercise more by taking the stairs when possible instead of the escalator or elevator. Or park farther away from your destinations to get in some extra steps.

5. Eat a Nutritious Diet

Eat a variety of nutritionally dense foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and legumes.⁷ It's also important to:

• Try to minimize excess sugar, saturated fats and processed foods.⁸
• Plan ahead by stocking your kitchen with healthy foods and nutritious, easy-to-prepare meals. Ideal meals include 50% vegetables and fruits, 25% protein and 25% whole grains.⁸
• Make a shopping list based on your meal plans. Having a list before going to the store can make it easier to eat healthy and avoid impulse purchases of unhealthy snacks.⁹
• Stock up on fiber-rich foods like whole grains and vegetables, which can keep you feeling fuller for longer.⁷

6. Choose Smaller Portions

Eating large portions — even of healthy foods — can lead to weight gain or stagnation of your weight loss. To ensure weight loss, it's better to eat smaller portions.⁹

• Serve foods at home on smaller plates to encourage eating smaller portions.⁹
• When eating out at restaurants, take home a portion of your meal, share your meal with a friend or order a lower-calorie option. Many menus contain calorie information for their food options.³

7. Don't Skip Meals

It may seem like skipping meals could give you the chance to indulge in larger portions later, but the opposite is true. Eating smaller meals throughout the day — even small healthy snacks of vegetables and fruits — can help with weight loss better than not eating meals can.¹⁰

Skipping meals can lead to weight gain because:¹⁰

• It can cause the body to produce a type of stress hormone called cortisol, slow down your metabolism and lead to low blood sugar.
• Increased cortisol levels can increase your appetite and lead the body to store fat in the abdomen.¹¹
• An increased appetite can cause you to overeat later in the day.

8. Seek Out Weight Loss Support

Find a group of people you can rely on for support as you move forward with your weight loss goals:¹²

• Whether it's a social network, a weight loss group, friends and family or a counselor, having the support of people you can count on is an important part of your weight loss journey.
• Remember to choose friends or family members who will stay positive about your weight loss without trying to sabotage it or shame you for it.
• You can also join an online weight loss program like the Mayo Clinic Diet, which offers meal plans, exercise plans, tracking tools, expert coaches from the Mayo Clinic and a support community to help you reach your goals.

9. Get a Good Amount of Sleep

It may seem counterproductive because resting doesn't burn calories the way exercise does, but getting enough sleep may help regulate the body's hormone levels that affect your appetite.¹³

• Aim for at least seven hours of sleep every night.¹¹
• Those who get good quality sleep each night tend to lose more weight than those who sleep fewer than seven hours per night.³
• Getting a proper amount of sleep will ensure you aren't too tired to exercise.¹³

10. Stay Well-Hydrated

Not only does drinking water help you feel full and reduce the amount of food you want to eat during meals, but it also helps your body remove waste products and better digest foods.¹⁴

When staying hydrated, remember that:¹⁴

• Drinking water won't add any extra calories to your diet. It may also help you burn fat and will keep you hydrated after exercise.
• You should avoid sugar-sweetened beverages that contain excess calories, which can quickly contribute to weight gain.
• You can also drink unsweetened green tea, which contains chemicals called catechins that help amp up your metabolism and burn fat.¹⁵

11. Avoid Distracted Eating

Eating meals while mindlessly scrolling on your phone or binge-watching your favorite shows may seem fun, but it can lead to overeating.³ That's because:

• When you're distracted, you tend not to realize when your body is full (satiated) and you're no longer hungry, meaning that you may eat more.¹⁶
• Commercials for snacks and treats can increase your cravings for food.¹⁷

12. Take Your Time While Eating

Not only should you avoid eating while distracted, but you should also avoid scarfing down grab-and-go meals. In fact, you'll want to:⁹

• Make meals last at least 20 minutes. Do this by savoring your food and chewing each bite completely.
• Eat slowly because this gives your stomach time to let your brain know that you're full and you no longer feel hungry. By eating quickly, you will become full before your brain has a chance to register that fact, and you may end up ingesting more calories than you need.
• Enjoy a meal with a friend, taking time to savor the food and engage in some stimulating conversation to draw it out longer.

13. Don't Stress About Occasional Treats

Overly restrictive diets can become counterproductive in the long run and may increase your cravings of "forbidden" treats.³

• Give yourself a pass to occasionally indulge in a sweet treat or snack.³
• Shaming yourself for slipping up by eating something that's not healthy can stress you out. This prompts your body to produce the hormone cortisol, which causes increased fat storage in the abdomen.¹¹

14. Visit a Weight Loss Doctor

Those with medical conditions such as hormonal imbalances and endocrine disorders may benefit from having a doctor oversee their weight loss. Your doctor can:¹⁸

• Provide blood and lab testing to determine if an underlying issue might be the cause of your weight gain or inability to lose weight.
• Prescribe medication to accompany your diet and exercise to help you lose weight.
• Recommend bariatric (weight-loss) surgery if necessary.

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Author Bio

Susan Paretts is a freelance writer with 19 years of experience covering health and wellness, pet care and more. Her work has been published by the American Kennel Club, Bayer Animal Health, Elanco, LIVESTRONG.com, The San Francisco Chronicle, Chewy and more.