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Updated February 02, 2015.
Written or reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Board.
Losing weight seems like a pretty easy concept, when you think about it. You eat less, exercise more and the weight is supposed to come off. The fact is, I'll bet you already know how to lose weight. If you're like most of us, you've probably lost weight many, many times...so many times, you're an old pro at it. You may even have your 'go-to' diet or exercise program, powering up your old Weight Watcher's account or starting back to the gym whenever the weight starts to creep up.
But what happens when you go off that diet or stop that workout program? You gain it right back, sometimes with a few extra pounds thrown in.
So what you really want to know isn't how to lose weight, but how to lose it and then make it stay lost...forever. There's no real secret to losing weight. The real challenge is making it permanent.
By the Numbers
Weight loss is such a complex process, the only way we can really wrap our heads around it is to drill it down into a bunch of numbers. You already know these numbers, probably as well as any weight loss expert: You know that, to lose one pound of fat, you have to burn about 3500 calories over and above what you already burn each day. You don't really want to burn 3500 calories in one day, but rather to cut that down into daily calorie deficits, say cutting 500 calories a day with a combination of diet and exercise.
To go by the numbers, you have to go through a few calculations:
Your BMR is the most important part of the weight loss calculations because it tells you how many calories your body needs to maintain bodily functions such as breathing and digesting and well, existing. This is the minimum number of calories you need to eat each day. Important Note: No calculator is 100% accurate and these formulas don't take into account things like bodyfat, frame size or other factors that can make a difference in your BMR. More about your metabolism.
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How To Lose Weight and Keep it Off - About.com Health
