Some people may wish to invite friends or family members to join them, while others might prefer to use social media to share their progress. Weight loss is a gradual process, and a person may feel discouraged if the pounds do not drop off at quite the rate that they had anticipated.

Some days will be harder than others when sticking to a weight loss or maintenance program. A successful weight-loss program requires the individual to persevere and not give up when self-change seems too difficult.

Some people might need to reset their goals, potentially by adjusting the total number of calories they are aiming to eat or changing their exercise patterns. The important thing is to keep a positive outlook and be persistent in working toward overcoming the barriers to successful weight loss.

Successful weight loss does not require people to follow a specific diet plan, such as Slimming World or Atkins. Instead, they should focus on eating fewer calories and moving more to achieve a negative energy balance. Weight loss is primarily dependent on reducing the total intake of calories, not adjusting the proportions of carbohydrate , fat, and protein in the diet.

A reasonable weight loss goal to start seeing health benefits is a 5—10 percent reduction in body weight over a 6-month time frame. Most people can achieve this goal by reducing their total calorie intake to somewhere in the range of 1,—1, calories per day.

A diet of fewer than 1, calories per day will not provide sufficient daily nutrition. After 6 months of dieting, the rate of weight loss usually declines, and body weight tends to plateau because people use less energy at a lower body weight.

Following a weight maintenance program of healthful eating habits and regular physical activity is the best way to avoid regaining lost weight. People who have a BMI equal to or higher than 30 with no obesity-related health problems may benefit from taking prescription weight-loss medications. These might also be suitable for people with a BMI equal to or higher than 27 with obesity-related diseases.

However, a person should only use medications to support the above lifestyle modifications. Achieving and maintaining weight loss is possible when people adopt lifestyle changes in the long term. Regardless of any specific methods that help a person lose weight, individuals who are conscious of how and what they eat and engage in daily physical activity or regular exercise will be successful both in losing and keeping off excess weight.

I have an injury that is keeping me from physical exercise. Is there any way to continue keeping the weight off? If your injury allows, you can do some simple exercises while sitting in a chair, such as lifting light weights.

You can also use resistance bands while sitting or lying down. Some other ways to keep the weight off include counting calories and sticking to a healthful diet that includes fruits, vegetables, lean meat and fish, and whole grains.

Ensure that you include plenty of nutrient-dense foods in your diet, take the time to plan meals, use portion control, drink plenty of water, and maintain a positive attitude.

Gerhard Whitworth, RN Answers represent the opinions of our medical experts. All content is strictly informational and should not be considered medical advice.

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edu to learn more. Beverages like juice, soda, sweet teas, energy drinks, and flavored coffees can put a big dent in your daily calorie budget. Make a habit of increasing your water intake. Count your cocktails too. Alcohol is dense in calories, even before it makes its way into a mixer.

Rethink your drink! While nutrition plays the starring role in weight loss, physical activity is more than just an understudy. Fit in ways to get FFIT!

Try a new dance or martial arts class, take a hike or sign up for a local 5K fun run or walk. F requency - The most current physical activity guidelines recommend a minimum of minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week.

Muscle-strengthening activities that involve all major muscle groups legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms should be incorporated on 2 or more days a week. Spread your activity out during the week.

You can even break it up into smaller chunks of time during the day. Your support group can also offer accountability, which can be a strong motivation for sticking to your weight-loss goals.

If you prefer to keep your weight-loss plans private, be accountable to yourself by having regular weigh-ins, recording your diet and exercise progress in a journal, or tracking your progress using digital tools. It may seem obvious to set realistic weight-loss goals. But do you really know what's realistic?

Over the long term, it's smart to aim for losing 1 to 2 pounds 0. Generally to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, you need to burn to 1, calories more than you consume each day, through a lower calorie diet and regular physical activity.

If you weigh pounds 82 kilograms , that's 9 pounds 4 kilograms. Even this level of weight loss can help lower your risk of chronic health problems, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. When you're setting goals, think about both process and outcome goals.

It isn't essential that you have an outcome goal, but you should set process goals because changing your habits is a key to weight loss.

Adopting a new eating style that promotes weight loss must include lowering your total calorie intake. But decreasing calories need not mean giving up taste, satisfaction or even ease of meal preparation.

One way you can lower your calorie intake is by eating more plant-based foods — fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Strive for variety to help you achieve your goals without giving up taste or nutrition. While you can lose weight without exercise, regular physical activity plus calorie restriction can help give you the weight-loss edge.

Exercise can help burn off the excess calories you can't cut through diet alone. Exercise also offers numerous health benefits, including boosting your mood, strengthening your cardiovascular system and reducing your blood pressure.

Exercise can also help in maintaining weight loss. Studies show that people who maintain their weight loss over the long term get regular physical activity. How many calories you burn depends on the frequency, duration and intensity of your activities.

One of the best ways to lose body fat is through steady aerobic exercise — such as brisk walking — for at least 30 minutes most days of the week. Some people may require more physical activity than this to lose weight and maintain that weight loss.

Any extra movement helps burn calories. Think about ways you can increase your physical activity throughout the day if you can't fit in formal exercise on a given day. For example, make several trips up and down stairs instead of using the elevator, or park at the far end of the lot when shopping.

It's not enough to eat healthy foods and exercise for only a few weeks or even months if you want long-term, successful weight management. These habits must become a way of life. Lifestyle changes start with taking an honest look at your eating patterns and daily routine. After assessing your personal challenges to weight loss, try working out a strategy to gradually change habits and attitudes that have sabotaged your past efforts.

Then move beyond simply recognizing your challenges — plan for how you'll deal with them if you're going to succeed in losing weight once and for all.

You likely will have an occasional setback. But instead of giving up entirely after a setback, simply start fresh the next day. Remember that you're planning to change your life.

It won't happen all at once. Stick to your healthy lifestyle and the results will be worth it. There is a problem with information submitted for this request.

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