Winning Weight-Loss Strategies

Try these proven methods and be on your way to successful weight loss.

What's Your Number?

The weight-loss formula is one of the simplest in mathematics: Consume fewer calories than you burn, or burn more than you consume.

It's really all a numbers game. If you need 2,000 calories a day to maintain your current weight but you take in 2,100 instead, every day your body will store that extra 100 calories. Over the course of a year you'll gain more than 10 pounds. By contrast, consume 1,900 calories a day and you'll lose more than 10 pounds in a year.

If you want to shed pounds, it helps to have an idea of how many calories you need to maintain your current weight so that you can figure out what calorie limit you'll need to live within every day to lose weight. According to the nonprofit Calorie Control Council, most people leading moderately active lives (exercising regularly -- at least three times per week for 30 to 60 minutes each time) need about 15 calories per pound per day to maintain their weight. For a 130-pound woman that's 1,950 calories (130 x 15). If you're inactive, you need fewer calories. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most inactive women need about 1,600 calories a day, and most inactive men need about 2,200.

To lose a pound a week you'll need to cut 500 calories a day from your diet. Or better yet, cut 300 calories and burn an extra 200 through exercise.

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