How to Develop a Solid Plan to Lose Weight

It is time to develop a plan to lose weight. Everyone knows how vital nutrition is in order to lose weight fast. Cultivating the right habits is essential in order to lose body fat and get in shape but sometimes we have a hard time sticking with these habits because of poor planning.

The importance of developing a plan to lose weight cannot be under-estimated and can often be the difference between ultimate success or miserable failure. In this two part article we will reveal 5 ways that you can ensure incredible fat loss success by incorporating a solid plan to lose weight.

1. Write your weight loss goals down on paper

Goal setting is a key part of any plan to lose weight. Start out by writing down your ultimate weight loss goal, making sure that it is long-term and achievable. Then break this large goal into weekly and monthly targets which include both numerical, performance related goals like "losing 1 pound in 1 week" and non-numeric goals like not to eat any chocolate in 1 week or do a cardio workout by Sunday which don’t involve looking at the scales.

These smaller targets keep your motivation on track and give you confidence when you achieve them. If you don’t reach each one of these goals don’t panic, reassess and start over the following week – you’ll know where you’ve slipped up.

2. Calculate your maintenance level

Most people don’t even bother with a weight loss plan and think that simply by eating less they will lose more weight but this isn’t necessarily true, certainly if you want to max out your weight loss plan you’ll need to calculate your maintenance level. First up you’ll need your RMR (notice I suggest this rather than the more familiar BMR).

To calculate your RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) you need to use the following Muffin equation:

v For men: (10 x w) + (6.25 x h) – (5 x a) + 5 = RMR

v For women: (10 x w) + (6.25 x h) – (5 x a) – 161 = RMR

v w = weight in kg

v h = height in cm

v a = age

Once you’ve found this, the next step is to assess your activity level from the following:

1. 1.2 Sedentary Little or no exercise and office job
2. 1.375 Lightly Active Light exercise/sports 1-3 days a week
3. 1.55 Moderately Active Moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days a week
4. 1.725 Very Active Hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week
5. 1.9 Extremely Active Hard daily exercise/sports and physical job

The numbers to the left represent what you’ll need to multiply your RMR score with to find your daily maintenance level of calories.

Be aware that the activity levels leave a lot to be interpreted by you so the result won’t be 100% accurate but you will get a very good idea of how many calories you should be eating so you can create a solid plan to lose weight.

One other thing I must mention with regards to RMR and a plan to lose weight is that the equations above don’t take into account body composition – or how much fat/muscle your body is made up of.

This means that if you have a non-typical amount of lean muscle mass you won’t have such accurate results from your RMR calculation. This all comes down to the fact that muscle burns more calories than fat. So if you have above average muscle mass your real RMR will be much higher than calculated, likewise if you have less than average muscle mass your RMR will be less than calculated.

So as you can see, RMR and maintenance level calculations are estimates and whilst they are perfectly adequate for most people’s needs they aren’t perfect. Just assess and use common sense when you plan to lose weight.

So there you have the first two steps to creating a formidable plan to lose weight, keep an eye out for part 2 of this article which will delve into the final 3 steps to help you design a fully-fledged weight loss plan to help you lose more weight, faster and easier than you thought possible!

James Weston is Owner of Online UK store. Vita Wellness Pro provide vitamins and supplements made in Uk