How to Lose 3+ lbs in a Week

I know a lot of people made resolutions to lose weight this year that have yet to see results or are insecure about if they can really do it. I made a decision to lose weight in September 2008. I lost 25 lbs in about 5 months, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I had been slightly on the chubby side practically my whole life, and one day I just got sick of it.

Part of my problem was the way I was thinking about food and exercise. I thought of weight loss as this huge monumental milestone that just couldn't be obtained because it would be too difficult. I thought that anything that was healthy didn't taste good, that I was much happier eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, and that I didn't have time to exercise. I also thought that since I wasn't considered, "obese," I didn't really need to change my diet or exercise more.

Here's what I didn't know:

1) Weight loss is logical and mathematical
2) There are an infinite number of good tasting healthy foods
3) Not only could I find the time to exercise (chose to wake up earlier 3-4 days a week), but doing so gave me much more energy and made me feel better than sleeping an extra hour or so would have in the first place!

Losing weight is all about burning more calories than you are taking in. It's simple math really, just hard to do on a consistent basis. To lose one pound, you must burn somewhere around 3,500 calories. However, eating fewer than 1,200 calories a day is going to do you more harm than good causing you to lose muscle and slowing your metabolism. The answer? Cardio!

Jillian Michaels says that cardio workouts are like weight loss extra credit allowing you to burn additional calories without overtraining. For example, ever wonder how contestants on Biggest Loser can lose crazy amounts of weight every week? Yes, cardio is the magic answer.

Here's some simple math for you. Let's say you are eating 1,500 calories a day and that your basic metabolic rate (BMR) without exercising is around 1,600. Along with your normal daily activity, if you can manage to fit in a one hour cardio session in the morning and a one hour cardio session in the evening (and each session burns around 500 calories), this will boost your BMR to at least 2,000. The result? About 1,500 calories burned that day (almost half a pound) and a loss of about 3.5 lbs a week. Granted, if this is the first two weeks of a weight loss plan, you are going to lose more weight because of the loss of extra fluids and drastic diet change.

Now I know what you're thinking. Who has time to work out 2 hours a day? First of all, that example is for more drastic weight loss. Secondly, it's about your schedule and what you make a priority. If getting healthy is important to you, then you will find the time, but a healthy diet and cardio really is key.

If you don't have a ton of weight to lose, I would recommend doing it much more gradually as it is a lot more realistic. A 0.5-2lb weight loss goal per week is much more obtainable, will be a lot easier to maintain, and you don't have to deprive yourself of the occasional splurge. For me, this consisted of eating between 1200-1500 calories a day and doing at least 40 minutes of cardio 4 times a week (yes I took a weekend off here or there and yes I missed a workout occasionally). The key was staying consistent and viewing it as long-term. Eating that hot fudge sundae is fun on occasion, but don't stop eating healthy after one meal of indulgence.

Just think of it as a lifetime commitment to being healthy as opposed to a quick weight loss fix. To lose weight in a healthy way and maintain for life, you have to not only change your thinking patterns, but do things the right way: eat less, exercise more.