Overview

A lifestyle with good nutrition, regular physical activity, stress management, and enough sleep supports a healthy weight. People who lose weight at a gradual, steady pace—about 1 to 2 pounds a week—are more likely to keep the weight off than people who lose weight quicker.

Factors, such as medicines, medical conditions, stress, genes, hormones, environment, and age can also affect weight management.

If you’re concerned about your weight or have questions about your medications, talk with your health care provider. When you are ready to get started, explore these five steps to guide you to a healthier weight.

Step 1: Understand your “why”

Consider why you want to lose weight, whether it’s because heart disease runs in your family or you want to be more physically active. Writing down your reasons will help you stay focused on your goal. Place your reasons where you can see them daily to remind yourself why you want to make this change.

Step 2: Track where you are

Tracking where you are now helps to identify how you want to improve your health. You can start by tracking your nutrition, physical activity, and sleep. Write down or use an app to track:

• Nutrition: Include everything you consume for a few days in a food and beverage diary. This will help you see what you eat and drink and consider how to make small changes.
• Physical activity: Include time of day, what activity you did, and duration in a physical activity diary.
• Sleep: Include the hours of sleep you get. The amount you need changes as you age.
• Stress: Include healthy ways you are reducing your stress.
• Other wellness factors you can track include how you are feeling when you eat and drink and are active, and lifestyle challenges. To track lifestyle challenges, you can ask yourself questions like the ones included in the table below. If you answer yes, consider ways to overcome those challenges.

Step 3: Set specific goals you can reach in a realistic time

Set short-term goals and reward your efforts along the way. Short-term goals might include drinking water instead of sugary beverages, taking a 15-minute evening walk, or having a vegetable with supper.

Focus on two or three goals at a time. Effective goals are specific and realistic. For example, “exercise more” is not specific. But “I will walk 15 minutes, 3 days a week for the first week,” is specific and potentially more realistic.

Setting unrealistic goals, such as losing 20 pounds in 2 weeks, can leave you feeling defeated and frustrated.

Remember, occasional setbacks happen. This is expected. When they happen, get back on track as quickly as possible. Then, think about how to prevent setbacks in similar future situations.

Everyone is different. What works for someone else might not be right for you. For example, to help you be more active, try a variety of physical activities, such as walking, swimming, tennis, or group exercise classes. See what you enjoy most and can fit into your life. These activities will be easier to stick with over the long term.

Step 4: Find support

Identify family members or friends who will support your weight loss efforts. Coworkers or neighbors with similar goals might share healthy recipes and plan group physical activities.

It may help to join a weight-loss program or visit a health care professional, such as a nutrition or weight-loss specialist. Ask for a follow-up appointment to monitor changes in your weight and any related health conditions.

You can also ask your health care provider for resources to support a healthy weight. This may include referral to a registered dietitian, clinical or community programs, federally approved medications or devices, or weight-loss (bariatric) surgery.

Establishing healthy habits are very difficult when healthy choices are limited. Consider looking up your local community resources, such as food pantries, farmers markets, parks and recreation, and trails.

Step 5: Monitor your progress

Evaluate your progress regularly by revisiting your goals. Decide which parts of your plan are working well and which parts need to be changed. Use this information to revise your goals and plan.

If you consistently meet a particular goal, add a new goal to help continue your pathway to success.

Reward yourself for your achievements! Recognize when you’re meeting your goals and be proud of your progress. Use non-food rewards, such as a bouquet of fresh flowers, a sports outing with friends, or a relaxing bath. Rewards help keep you motivated on the path to better health.