How to Start Losing Weight: 5 Simple Habit Steps From the CDC

If you've decided you want to lose weight and don't know where to begin, the CDC's advice is refreshingly unflashy. There's no special diet in it and no number to hit by a deadline. It's a set of five steps for building habits you can keep.

The CDC sums up the idea in one line: "A lifestyle with good nutrition, regular physical activity, stress management, and enough sleep supports a healthy weight." Here's how its steps for losing weight work in real life.

Step 1: Understand your "why"

Before you change anything, get clear on the reason. The CDC suggests considering why you want to lose weight, "whether it's because heart disease runs in your family or you want to be more physically active."

Write your reason down somewhere you'll see it. Maybe you want to keep up with your kids on a hike, or feel more energetic in the afternoon. A specific reason holds up better on a tired Tuesday than a vague one does.

Step 2: Track where you are

You can't plan a route without knowing your starting point. The CDC says tracking where you are now helps you see how you want to improve your health, and suggests starting with your nutrition, physical activity and sleep. It also mentions keeping an eye on stress.

For a week, jot down what you eat and drink, how much you move, and when you go to bed and wake up. Note the things that get in the way too, like a long commute, late work meetings or the snack bowl at the office. The CDC points to exactly these kinds of challenges, because seeing them is the first step to working around them.

Step 3: Set specific goals you can reach in a realistic time

This is where most plans go wrong, by aiming too big too fast. The CDC recommends setting short-term goals and rewarding your efforts along the way. Its examples are small on purpose:

• Drinking water instead of sugary drinks
• Taking a 15-minute evening walk
• Having a vegetable with supper

The CDC also suggests focusing on two or three goals at a time, and says effective goals are specific and realistic. Compare "exercise more" with the CDC's own example: "I will walk 15 minutes, 3 days a week for the first week." The second one tells you exactly what to do on Monday.

Step 4: Find support

Habits stick better with company. The CDC suggests identifying family members or friends who will support your efforts. It adds that coworkers or neighbors with similar goals might share healthy recipes and plan group physical activities.

That could be a standing Saturday walk with a friend, a family agreement to keep soda out of the house, or a group chat where you trade weeknight dinner ideas. The CDC also mentions joining a program or working with a professional, such as a nutrition professional, if you want more structure.

Step 5: Monitor your progress

Every few weeks, look back at your goals. The CDC says to "decide which parts of your plan are working well and which parts need to be changed." If the evening walk keeps getting skipped, move it to lunchtime. If water instead of soda has become automatic, add a new goal.

Celebrate the wins with non-food rewards. The CDC's examples include a bouquet of fresh flowers, a sports outing with friends, or a relaxing bath.

Why slow and steady works

It's tempting to want fast results. The CDC notes that people who lose weight at a gradual, steady pace are more likely to keep the weight off than people who lose weight quicker. Steady habits are what make that pace possible.

Where to aim your first habits

If you're not sure which goals to pick in step 3, these three areas come straight from the CDC's own guidance:

• Eating: build meals around vegetables, protein and whole grains. Our balanced meal checklist makes it simple.
• Moving: the CDC says adults need 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week, which could be 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Starting with less and building up is fine.
• Sleeping: the CDC recommends 7 or more hours a night for adults ages 18 to 60. Our guide to how much sleep and exercise you need covers both.

Before you start a new activity routine or change how you eat in a big way, talk to your doctor, especially if you have a health condition. They can help you set goals that fit your health.

For more practical, sourced basics on food, movement and sleep, browse the Bloome wellness library.