How to Lose 80 Pounds in 8 Weeks

 

If you are overweight, then losing weight is probably one of your main goals. Excess body fat stops you from doing many things and living a normal life. Most overweight people want to see results fast. Losing weight is not easy and requires motivation, lifestyle changes and dedication, but it is possible. By using these guidelines and changing your eating habits, if you are severely overweight you should be able to lose 80 pounds in eight weeks.

Things You'll Need

• pedometer

Step 1:
Start with a goal of losing 80 pounds in two months. If you have never had success losing weight this might seem impossible, but following simple guidelines will help you get the weight off. Safely losing 80 pounds in eight weeks requires you to follow a strict diet and guidelines.

Step 2:
Start a diary. Document everything that you eat and do for exercise for the eight weeks. Keep track of the times that you eat and how long you exercise. Your goal should be to eat no more than 1,500 calories each day and to burn off at least 600 of those calories.

Step 3:
Begin each day with a healthy breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal and you should never skip it. Have one serving of meat, such as a piece of bacon or sausage; one serving of cereal, grits, toast, oatmeal, or eggs; and one serving of fruit. You can also eat a bagel or a breakfast sandwich. Drink a cup of grapefruit juice and a glass of water. Measure how much you are eating to make sure you limit yourself to only one serving of each. Consult the package or a calorie counter to determine the number of calories in your breakfast. Your breakfast should be no more than 400 calories.

Step 4:
Exercise for one hour each day. Ease yourself up to at least 30 minutes of fast walking or jogging outside or on a treadmill. The goal is to increase your heart rate for at least half an hour. Add other exercises that help build your strength and add muscle tone. If you are the type of person who is not disciplined enough to exercise on your own, joining a gym can help motivate you to exercise. Health clubs and gyms have personal trainers that can show you how to use the different apparatus, demonstrate the

correct way to do each exercise and set you up on program that is tailored to your goals and abilities.

Step 5:
Eat lunch around noon. Your lunch should be a tuna, turkey or ham sandwich with an apple. A salad with low-fat dressing is another alternative. Choose a healthy lunch consisting of two servings of bread, one serving of meat, one serving of fruit and an 8 ounce glass of water. If you don’t have time to make lunch you can go to a fast-food restaurant like McDonald's and buy a grilled chicken sandwich. Lunch should consist of no more than 500 calories.

Step 6:
If you get hungry between lunch and dinner, eat a healthy snack and drink an 8 ounce glass of water. Eat snacks that are low in fat such as yogurt, nuts or low-fat cookies or crackers. Make sure to watch the serving size and calories in the snacks you eat.

Step 7:
Eat dinner around six o'clock. Dinner should consist one serving of meat, one serving of bread, one starch and one serving of vegetables. The meat can be baked chicken, pork chops, ground meat or fish. The vegetables should be broccoli, green beans, corn, cabbage or mixed vegetables. Your starch can be rice, brown rice or mashed potatoes. You should drink 8 ounces of water with dinner. Drinking tea or a small amount of juice is all right, but limit yourself to one serving. Dinner should consist of no more than 600 calories.

Step 8:
Avoid eating after seven o'clock. Try drinking water instead. If you absolutely must have a snack, eat a piece of fruit, a handful of nuts or a small amount of yogurt.