Achieving healthy weight loss isn’t about a “diet” or “program” but a lifestyle with healthy eating patterns, regular physical activity, and stress management. Medications taken for other conditions may also make it harder to lose weight. If you are concerned about your weight or have questions about your medications, talk with your health care provider.

When you’re trying to lose weight, it’s natural to want it to happen very quickly. But people with gradual and steady weight loss (about 1 to 2 pounds per week) are more likely to keep the weight off.

Once you’ve achieved a healthy weight, rely on healthy eating and physical activity to help maintain health over the long term.

Losing weight isn’t easy, and it takes commitment. But if you’re ready to get started, we’ve got a step-by-step guide to help get you on the road to weight loss and better health. Before starting on the guide, it’s important to approach the changes with self-compassion and to understand your readiness and motivation. Creating a supportive environment, both physically and with the people in your life, can help you achieve your goals.

Even modest weight loss can mean big benefits

Even a modest weight loss of 5% to 10% of your total body weight is likely to produce health benefits, such as improvements in blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and blood sugars.

For example, if you weigh 200 pounds, a 5% weight loss is 10 pounds, bringing your weight down to 190 pounds. While this weight may still be in the “overweight” or “obesity” range, this modest weight loss can decrease your risk for chronic diseases related to obesity.

So even if the overall goal seems large, see it as a journey rather than a final destination. You’ll learn new eating and physical activity habits that will help you live a healthier lifestyle. These habits can help you maintain your weight loss over time.

Losing Weight: Getting Started

Losing weight takes commitment and a well-thought-out plan. Getting started on your weight loss journey means changing your lifestyle to eat a variety of healthy foods, get regular physical activity, get enough sleep, and manage stress.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to getting started.

Step 1: Make a commitment.

Making the decision to lose weight, change your lifestyle, and become healthier is a big step. Start  by making a commitment to yourself.

Whether you have a family history of heart disease, want to see your kids get married, or  want to feel better in your clothes, writing down the reasons you want to lose weight can help confirm your commitment to yourself. Post these reasons where they serve as a daily reminder of why you want to make this change.

Step 2: Take stock of where you are.

Ask your health care provider to evaluate your height, weight, and any weight-related risk factors you may have. Depending on your weight category and risk assessments, your health care provider can offer resources to support a healthy weight, including referral to a registered dietitian and other clinical or community programs, FDA-approved medications or devices, or surgery. Ask for a follow-up appointment to monitor changes in your weight or any related health conditions.

Write down everything you eat for a few days in a food diary. By doing this, you become more aware of what you are eating and when you are eating. This awareness can help you avoid mindless eating. Tracking physical activity, sleep, and emotions along with the food diary can be help you understand current habits and stressors while also identifying areas where you can start making changes.

Next, examine your lifestyle. Identify things that might pose challenges to your weight loss efforts. For example, does your work or travel schedule make it hard to get enough physical activity? Do you find yourself eating sugary foods because that’s what you buy for your kids? Do your coworkers often bring high-calorie items, such as doughnuts, to the workplace to share with everyone? Think through things you can do to help overcome these challenges.

Step 3: Set realistic goals.

Set some short-term goals and reward your efforts along the way. Maybe your long-term goal is to lose 40 pounds and to control your high blood pressure. Then some short-term eating and physical activity goals might be to  drink water instead of sugary beverages, take a 15-minute walk in the evenings, or have a salad or vegetable with supper.

Focus on two or three goals at a time. Effective goals are —

• Specific
• Realistic
• Forgiving (less than perfect)

For example, “exercise more” is not a specific goal. But if you say, “I will walk 15 minutes, 3 days a week for the first week,” you are setting a specific and realistic goal for the first week.

Remember, small changes every day can lead to big results in the long run. Also remember that realistic goals are achievable goals. By achieving your short-term goals day-by-day, you’ll feel good about your progress and be motivated to continue. Setting unrealistic goals, such as losing 20 pounds in 2 weeks, can leave you feeling defeated and frustrated.

Being realistic also means expecting occasional setbacks. Setbacks happen for many reasons—maybe the holidays, longer work hours, or another life change. When setbacks happen, get back on track as quickly as possible. Also take some time to think about how you could prevent setbacks in similar future situations.

Keep in mind everyone is different—what works for someone else might not be right for you. Just because your neighbor lost weight by taking up running, doesn’t mean running is the best option for you. Try a variety of activities such as walking, swimming, tennis, or group exercise classes. See what you enjoy most and can fit into your life. These activities will be easier to stick with over the long term.

Step 4: Identify resources for information and support.

Find family members or friends who will support your weight loss efforts. Making lifestyle changes can feel easier when you have others you can talk to and rely on for support. You might have coworkers or neighbors with similar goals, and together you can share healthy recipes and plan group physical activities

Joining a weight loss group or visiting a health care professional such as a registered dietitian can help.

Step 5: Continually “check in” with yourself to monitor your progress.

Revisit the goals you set for yourself in Step 3 and evaluate your progress regularly. If your goal is to walk each morning but you have trouble fitting it in before work, see if you can shift your work hours or if you can walk at lunchtime or after work. Evaluate which parts of your plan are working well and which ones need tweaking. Then rewrite your goals and plan accordingly.

If you are consistently achieving a particular goal, add a new goal to help you continue on your pathway to success.

Reward yourself for your successes! Recognize when you’re meeting your goals and be proud of your progress. Use non-food rewards, such as a bouquet of freshly picked flowers, a sports outing with friends, or a relaxing bath. Rewards help keep you motivated on the path to better health.

Do you think you need to lose weight? Have you been thinking about trying a weight-loss program?

You are not alone. More than 70 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or have obesity —and many of them try to lose the extra pounds through different kinds of weight-loss programs. A number of these programs are advertised in magazines and newspapers, as well as on the radio, TV, and internet. But are they safe? And will they work for you?

Your health care professional may be able to help you make lifestyle changes to reach and maintain a healthy weight. However, if you’re having trouble making these lifestyle changes—or if these changes aren’t enough to help you reach and stay at a healthy weight—you may want to consider a weight-loss program or other types of treatment.

Talking with a health care professional about your weight is an important first step. Sometimes, health care professionals may not address issues such as healthy eating, physical activity, and weight during general office visits. You may need to raise these issues yourself. If you feel uneasy talking about your weight, bring your questions with you and practice talking about your concerns before your office visit. Aim to work with your health care professional to improve your health.

Prepare for your visit

Before your visit with a health care professional, think about the following questions:

• How can I change my eating habits so I can be healthier and reach a healthy weight?
• How much and what type of physical activity do I think I need to be healthier and reach a healthy weight?
• Could I benefit from seeing a nutrition professional or weight-loss specialist, or joining a weight-loss program?

You can be better prepared for a visit with a health care professional if you

• write down all of your questions ahead of time
• record all of the medicines and dietary supplements you take, or bring them with you
• write down the types of diets or programs you have tried in the past to lose weight
• bring a pen and paper, smartphone, or other mobile device to read your questions and take notes

During your visit, a health care professional may

• review any medical problems you have and medicines you take to see whether they may be affecting your weight or your ability to lose weight
• ask you about your eating, drinking, and physical activity habits
• determine your body mass index (BMI) to see whether you’re overweight or have obesity

People who are overweight have a BMI between 25.0 and 29.9. People with obesity have a BMI of 30.0 or higher, and those with extreme obesity have a BMI of 40.0 or higher. You can use this online tool or chart to see what your BMI is.

If a health care professional says you should lose weight, you may want to ask for a referral to a weight-loss program, dietitian, or weight-loss specialist. If you decide to choose a weight-loss program on your own, consider talking with the health care professional about the program before you sign up, especially if you have any health problems.

Ask questions if you don’t understand something your health care professional has said, or if you need more information.

Questions to ask a health care professional

You may want to ask a health care professional the following questions:

• What is a healthy weight or BMI for me?
• Will losing weight improve my general health, as well as specific health problems I have?
• Could any of my medical conditions or medications be causing weight gain or making it harder for me to lose weight?
• Are there any types or amounts of physical activity I should not do because of my health?
• What dietary approaches do you recommend I try or avoid?

To reach and stay at a healthy weight over the long term, you must focus on your overall health and lifestyle habits, not just on what you eat. Successful weight-loss programs should promote healthy behaviors that help you lose weight safely, that you can stick with every day, and that help you keep the weight off.

Safe and successful weight-loss programs should include

• behavioral treatment, also called lifestyle counseling, that can teach you how to develop and stick with healthier eating and physical activity habits—for example, keeping food and activity records or journals
• information about getting enough sleep, managing stress, and the benefits and drawbacks of weight-loss medicines
• ongoing feedback, monitoring, and support throughout the program, either in person, by phone, online, or through a combination of these approaches
• slow and steady weight-loss goals—usually 1 to 2 pounds per week (though weight loss may be faster at the start of a program)
• a plan for keeping the weight off, including goal setting, self-checks such as keeping a food journal, and counseling support

The most successful weight-loss programs provide 14 sessions or more of behavioral treatment over at least 6 months—and are led by trained staff.

Some commercial weight-loss programs have all of these components for a safe and successful weight-loss program. Check for these features in any program you are thinking about trying.

Although these diets may help some people lose a lot of weight quickly—for example, 15 pounds in a month—they may not help people keep the weight off long term. These diets also may have related health risks, the most common being gallstones.

For people who are overweight or have obesity, experts recommend a beginning weight-loss goal of 5 to 10 percent of your starting weight within 6 months. If you weigh 200 pounds, that would amount to a loss of 10 pounds, which is 5 percent of starting weight, to 20 pounds, which is 10 percent of starting weight, in 6 months.

Changing your lifestyle isn’t easy, but adopting healthy habits that you don’t give up after a few weeks or months may help you maintain your weight loss. Read how to change your habits for better health.

Many weight-loss programs are now being offered partly or completely online and through apps for mobile devices. Researchers are studying how well these programs work on their own or together with in-person programs, especially long term. However, experts suggest that these weight-loss programs should provide the following:

• organized, weekly lessons, offered online or by podcast, and tailored to your personal goals
• support from a qualified staff person to meet your goals
• a plan to track your progress on changing your lifestyle habits, such as healthy eating and physical activity, using tools such as cellphones, activity counters, and online journals
• regular feedback on your goals, progress, and results provided by a counselor through email, phone, or text messages
• the option of social support from a group through bulletin boards, chat rooms, or online meetings

Whether a program is online or in person, you should get as much background as you can before you decide to join.

Weight-loss programs to avoid

Avoid weight-loss programs that make any of the following promises:

• Lose weight without diet or exercise!
• Lose weight while eating as much as you want of all your favorite foods!
• Lose 30 pounds in 30 days!
• Lose weight in specific problem areas of your body!

Other warning signs to look out for include

• very small print, asterisks, and footnotes, which may make it easy to miss important information
• before-and-after photos that seem too good to be true
• personal endorsements that may be made up

You can report false claims or scams by weight-loss programs to the Federal Trade Commission.

Weight-loss program staff should be able to answer questions about the program’s features, safety, costs, and results. Find out if the program you’re interested in is based on current research about what works for reaching and maintaining a healthy weight.

A first and very important question to ask of commercial weight-loss programs is, “Has your company published any reports in peer-reviewed, scientific journals about the safety and effectiveness of your program?”

If the response is “yes,” ask for a copy of the report or how you could get it. If the answer is “no,” the program is harder to evaluate and may not be as favorable a choice as programs that have published such information. If you have questions about the findings, discuss the report with your health care professional.

Here are some other questions you may want to ask:

What does the program include?

Eating

• Am I expected to follow a specific meal plan?
• Am I encouraged to write down what I eat each day?
• Do I have to buy special meals or supplements? If so, what are the daily or weekly costs?
• Does the program offer healthy meal-plan suggestions that I could stick with?
• If the program requires special foods, can I make changes based on my likes, dislikes, and any food allergies I may have?

Physical Activity

• Does the program include a physical activity plan?
• Does the program offer ways to help me be more physically active and stay motivated?

Counseling

• Does the program offer one-on-one or group counseling to help me develop and stick with my healthier habits?
• Does the program include a trained coach or counselor to help me overcome roadblocks and stay on track?

Weight Maintenance

• Does the program include a plan to help me keep off the weight I’ve lost?
• What does that program include? Will there be ongoing counseling support?

Other Features

• How long is the actual weight-loss program?
• How long is the weight-loss maintenance program?
• Does the program require that I take any kind of medicine?
• Can I speak with a doctor or certified health professional if I need to?
• Can I change the program to meet my lifestyle, work schedule, and cultural needs?
• Will the program help me cope with such issues as stress or social eating, getting enough sleep, changes in work schedules, lack of motivation, and injury or illness?
• Is the program in person? Is there an online part to the program?

What kind of education or training do staff members have?

These questions are especially important if you are considering a medically supervised program that encourages quick weight loss (3 or more pounds a week for several weeks):

• Does a doctor or other certified health professional run or oversee the program?
• Does the program include specialists in nutrition, physical activity, behavior change, and weight loss?
• What type of certifications, education, experience, and training do staff members have? How long, on average, have most of the staff been working with the program?

Does the program or product carry any risks?

• Could the program cause health problems or be harmful to me in any way?
• Is there ongoing input and follow-up to ensure my safety while I’m in the program?
• Will the program’s doctor or staff work with my health care professional if needed—for example, to address how the program may affect an ongoing medical issue?

How much does the program cost?

• What is the total cost of the program, from beginning to end?
• Are there costs that are not included in that total, such as membership fees or fees for
  • weekly visits
  • food, meal replacements, supplements, or other products
  • medical tests
  • counseling sessions
  • follow-up to maintain the weight I’ve lost

What results do people in the program typically achieve?

• How much weight does the average person lose?
• How long does the average person keep the weight off?
• Do you have written information on these and other program results?
• Are the results of the program published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal?

What if I need more help losing weight?

If a weight-loss program is not enough to help you reach a healthy weight, ask your health care professional about other types of weight-loss treatments. Prescription medicines to treat overweight and obesity, combined with healthy lifestyle changes, may help some people reach a healthy weight. For some people who have extreme obesity, bariatric surgery may be an option.