Many of us in the United States carry around more weight than we would like.  This excess weight affects our health and our appearance.  The best advice is to avoid putting on excess weight in the first place.  If you are overeating get counselling and get more exercise.  Try to reduce your food intake as it will come back to haunt you later.

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For those who want or need to get thinner:

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1.  Weigh yourself daily.  Don't be too concerned about any one weighing.  The goal is to have the average weight drop.  If you like you can average your weight over (for example) 10 days.  This helps smooth out the daily fluctuations.  If the average is dropping you are probably losing weight.  

​2.  Get regular exercise--5 to 6 days per week.  Estimate the amount of calories burned based on the type, duration and the intensity of the exercise.  If possible do exercise you enjoy as you are more likely to stay with it.  See the section on exercise.  

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3.  Write down everything you eat and the amount of calories consumed.  If you don't know the exact calorie amount from the food label or your own knowledge estimate the amount and add 25 percent because most of us underestimate by about that amount.  The total amount of eating in a given day is the amount of calories consumed.

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Roughly speaking 1 pound of fat is 3500 calories.  So if you want to lose 1 pound per week you need to consume 500 fewer calories per day than you burn.  This rate of weight loss is safe and most medical professionals recommend that you don't try to lose much faster.  At this rate you can lose about 50 pounds in 1 year.

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Find out your basal metabolic rate which depends on your age and add to calories burned through exercise.  This rate is how many calories your body burns per day resting. The total of the basal metabolic rate and number of calories burned by exercise on that day is your total calories burned for the day.    

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Be persistent and you will succeed!

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