But choosing it over a banana adds more than just extra calories - you’ll be piling on more unhealthy fats and added sugar. That slice of banana bread at the bakery looks divine.

What you put into your body makes a difference in your health and your weight.

That said, if you don’t just want to eat healthy, but want to lose weight, you’ll want to consider these five tips as well: To get started, check out our Essential Guide to Healthy Eating. Reducing how much you eat and turning to more healthful foods are the prime directives for anyone looking to lose weight. Most people find a combination of the two leads to the most effective weight loss. There are two ways to lose weight: changing what you consume and changing how you move. Now you know about creating a calorie deficit let’s talk about how to achieve it. See our Essential Guide to Your Metabolism for starters. How much your body burns at rest depends on many variables such as genetics, age, hormones and muscle mass. Since your basal metabolic rate (the calories you burn at rest) accounts for 60–70% of the calories burned throughout the day, it’s important to calculate that as a starting point if you’re wanting to create a deficit. In general, you’ll need to create a deficit of 250–500 calories per day to lose 1/2 to 1 pound per week. The calories burned through exercise + non-exercise activity + basal metabolic rate need to be more than the calories consumed through food to produce weight loss. The key to creating a calorie deficit is to burn a little more (or eat a little less) than your body requires for weight maintenance. Burn more calories than you consume and you’ll lose weight, right? If only it were that easy! Calories in minus calories out: That’s the simple, age-old equation for creating a calorie deficit to lose weight.

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