How to lose 20 pounds for a woman

Losing 20 pounds can seem like an overwhelming task but with a plan in place you can get rid of extra pounds effectively. A basic workout plan for women will revolve around how many calories you consume in a day and how many you burn. Implementing an aerobic and strength training regime combined with a low-calorie diet, will help you reduce your overall body fat.

Determine how many calories you will need to burn in a day to lose pounds. One pound of fat equals 3,500 calories. If your goal is to lose 20 pounds in 20 weeks, you need to burn an extra 3,500 calories weekly. If you want to lose 20 pounds in 10 weeks, you will need to get rid of 7,000 more calories weekly than you currently burn. Losing more than 2 pounds weekly is considered unhealthy. Losing 1 to 2 pounds weekly will keep the weight off after you complete your goal.

Create an aerobic routine. Five times a week, choose high-impact activity, such as running, swimming, cycling or jumping rope and perform it for 30 minutes. The intensity of the workout and your current weight will determine how many calories you burn from each exercise. You don't have to do the same exercise every day. For example, you can choose to run for 30 minutes on Mondays, jump rope for 30 minutes on Tuesdays and swim for 30 minutes on Thursdays.

Building muscle is not just for men who want to look big. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that every adult participate in strength training exercises at least twice weekly. Use the other two days that you are not participating in aerobic exercise to do strength training. Using weights, work out your upper body, which includes your arms, chest, shoulders, back and abdomen. Perform each exercise 12 times in four repetitions. Finish your strength training routine with working your lower body; the buttocks, legs and hips with the same repetitions.

Eating a healthy, plant-based diet and keeping portion sizes moderate will help you consume fewer calories. Plant-based foods, such as whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits are naturally lower in calories. Keep a food log that details everything you consume in a day and how many calories each item contains. This will help you determine how many calories you’re consuming daily and how many you’re burning.

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Trimming your waistline is a good way to protect your health by lowering your risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Exercises that burn calories and get your heart rate up are options that aid in weight loss, making swimming an ideal choice. It is important to note that you can't use swimming for spot reduction, since it burns fat all over your body. Combined with a healthy diet, swimming is an effective way to lose excess fat around your middle as well as your in legs, arms and buttocks.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends getting 2-1/2 hours of exercise each week. This guideline is generally for people at a healthy weight. To lose stomach fat, you may need to exercise for as many as five hours per week. You may choose to swim laps exclusively to meet this requirement, or combine swimming with other forms of exercise, such as walking and biking. Add two strength-training sessions per week to build lean muscle mass, which helps increase your endurance and speed in the pool and boosts your metabolism.

Swimming burns an average of 400 to 600 calories per hour. To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume, making swimming a good way to create the deficit necessary to trim your waistline. Your specific calorie burn may be higher or lower depending on your body size and the speed at which you swim laps. The style of swimming you choose also plays a role in how many calories you burn. For example, freestyle swimming burns more calories than the breaststroke, notes "The Daily Mail."

If you are new to swimming, build your routine gradually as you gain strength and endurance. U.S. Masters Swimming suggests doing laps for 30-second intervals, with 30 seconds of rest in between. Slowly increase your swimming time while decreasing your rest time until you are able to sustain a steady pace for your entire session. Swim for 30 to 60 minutes, three to four days per week to meet the exercise recommendations.

Swimming burns calories, helping you lose belly fat, but adding strength-training exercises helps tone and define the muscles in your stomach. Many can be done right in the pool, either before or after you finish your laps. Squats, bicycling, leg lifts, standing crunches and treading water are good options for engaging each muscle in your abdomen.

Despite the calorie-burning potential of a lap-swimming session, eating too many calories could undo your efforts and hinder weight loss in your belly. Consume a diet of whole foods from each food group to satisfy your hunger and control caloric intake. Avoid processed, sugary and fatty foods like candy, soda, cookies and chips, which are low in nutrients and high in calories.

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Water workouts are a good way to burn calories and tone muscles and are a particularly good choice for someone with joint problems or someone who is recovering from an injury. Treading water is one type of water exercise that might aid in weight loss. Talk to your doctor before beginning a new exercise routine.

The only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you consume. Cutting calories from your diet and increasing your exercise help you achieve this. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends losing 1 to 2 pounds per week, which requires cutting 500 to 1,000 calories per day. Treading water burns calories and might help you lose unwanted weight.

Treading water at a moderate effort for 30 minutes burns about 135 calories for a 150-pound person. At this pace you'll feel slightly out of breath as your heart rate increases, but you'll still be able to carry on a conversation. Increasing your intensity to a faster pace, by moving your arms and legs more rapidly, ramps up your calorie burn to about 340 calories per half hour. At this pace your heart rate is rapid, your breathing is fast and having a conversation is difficult. Your calorie burn will be lower if you weigh less than 150 pounds and more if you are heavier. Your calorie burn may also be affected if you only move your arms rather than moving them in combination with your legs.

Despite the calorie-burning benefits of treading water, it is unlikely to result in weight loss on its own. The calories you burn are relatively low when compared to other forms of cardiovascular exercise. To create the calorie deficit required for weight loss, combine treading water with a healthy and well-balanced diet. Reduce your calorie intake by eliminating or limiting fast food, fried food, cookies, cake, candy, soda and frozen meals. Fill your plate with a variety of foods from each food group, including low-fat dairy, lean protein, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. These items are generally low in calories but satisfy hunger and help you meet your nutritional requirements, as well as giving you the energy to tread water during your workout.

Treading water is a good form of exercise and may contribute to healthy weight loss. However, it is difficult for many people to maintain for extended periods of time. If you are unable to tread water for 30 minutes without stopping, you won't burn as many calories as you think. Combine treading water with other forms of water exercises, such as aerobics or lap swimming, to counteract this while also toning your muscles and burning calories.

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Strong legs are important for walking, climbing stairs and sports activities. The hamstring muscles -- located along the back of your thighs -- move your hips backward and bend your knees. The hamstrings consist of three separate muscles -- semitendinosus, semimembranosus and biceps femoris. Standing leg curls strengthen your hamstrings, targeting the lower part of the muscle that bends your knee. Perform standing leg curls at home to strengthen knee flexion.

Stand facing the back of a chair with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold the back of the chair with one or both hands to maintain your balance.

Bend your right knee and lift your heel up toward your buttock. Hold for two to three seconds, then lower back down.

Repeat 10 leg curls on each side. Work up to three sets of 10 repetitions. As strength improves, add ankle cuff weights to increase resistance.