Three big holidays are coming to an end, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Bellies are full, and weight was gained. Society often puts a lot of pressure on having the perfect body. However going about losing weight should be done safely.

“In order to lose weight you need to take in less calories than you burn,” physical education teacher Vern Miller said. “It’s an equation: if you eat 2000 calories per day and you burn off 2500 calories a day you’re now slowly losing weight over the course of that week, month, year or so on at a healthy rate.”

Under Armor, a fitness clothing store, suggested using it’s MyFitnessPal App for free to track your calorie intake. It also suggested that those looking to become healthier should figure out their metabolic rate to help with how much they eat to make sure they are not eating an incorrect amount of food.

“Some unhealthy ways to lose weight are things called crash dieting,” Miller said. “These are  where you starve yourself over the course of a week or longer in order to lose weight. What usually happens because of this is a yo-yo effect where somebody loses weight, but then they start eating again at the same or a higher rate. They end up consuming more calories and end up regaining the  weight they lost or more.”

CNN reports, that crash diets can weaken dieters’  immune system and increase the risk of dehydration, heart palpitations and cardiac stress. CNN also suggests to lose weight safely, people should exercise regularly and stick to a diet that limits saturated fats and sugars, and emphasizes fruits and vegetables, lean meats and fish, and whole grains.

“Water intake should be at least half of your body weight in ounces,” PE teacher Rebecca Moore said. “Pop, juice and high sugar fluids should be decreased or avoided altogether. Fast food and fried foods will sabotage weight loss efforts simply because of product used, and lack of high quality fruits and vegetables. You should try and eat lean meat and have a very colorful plate. Make sure you track your weight loss; only 1 – 2 pounds per week is safe for weight loss.”

Health, a informative website on different body issues and how to stay safe and do good for your body suggest some ways to lose weight, some of them are dancing, swimming, walks and yoga.

“Exercise at a level that is good for the individual,” PE teacher Chad Logan said. “Portion control on meals or managing caloric intake as well as cutting down on sugar can help an individual lose weight in a healthy way. Exercise by doing cardio and weight training and flexibility  works as well. Losing weight is easier said than done.”

Losing weight in a healthy way at slow rates can be beneficial for everyone, even if you work out for 10

– 15 minutes a day. Working out should be fun and the extra bonus is losing weight or gaining muscle, try something new.