Healthy Weight Loss Diet Plans

If you are looking to lose weight by modifying what you eat, the most successful plan is to stay away from diets. Most diets restrict your choices too severely. They encourage you to follow a specific food plan for a short period of time; when you lose the weight, you go off the diet. Unfortunately, this also means you will probably regain the weight: Once you go back to your old ways of eating, the pounds come back on. To really manage your weight, you need to develop a food program you can follow for the rest of your life.

To lose weight, you need to burn off more calories than you consume. This is true no matter what type of food you eat, whether it is carbohydrates, fats or proteins. If you consume more calories than your body needs, the extra food will be converted to and stored as fat. The best approach is to combine restricting calories with regular aerobic exercise. One lb. of fat is equal to 3,500 calories. To lose 1 lb. per week, you either need to cut 500 calories a day from your diet or burn off 500 calories through exercise. To lose 2 lbs. per week, you need a deficit of 7,000 calories per week. It is not recommended that you lose any more than 2 lbs. per week. This is a slow, steady and safe weight-loss amount that will help your body slowly adjust and keep the weight off. See Resources for an online calculator to determine your caloric needs for weight maintenance. Form there, make adjustments to your diet and exercise program to lose weight.

To lose weight and still be healthy and have energy, you need a well-balanced diet. Restricting food types like carbohydrates or proteins will bring your body out of balance. While you may initially lose weight, you may be left feeling tired, irritable, weak and hungry. The pyramid shown here gives a basic overview of how many servings of each food type you should aim to consume. Also follow the link to My Pyramid: This interactive web page maintained by the USDA will help you develop a healthy food pyramid based on your age, sex, height, weight, activity level and other information.

To successfully lose weight, you must keep track of what you eat and learn about proper portion size. Many people are unaware of how small one portion of many foods really is. These days, restaurants often serve meals that have two to three portions. It is important to retrain yourself to know how many calories you are actually consuming. You can track your calorie intake by the numbers, or by using a point system like Weight Watchers. Writing down what and how much you eat is the only way you can really know if you are consuming too many calories. In addition, at least initially, you need to measure your food, so you know you are only getting one portion. While this may seem burdensome at first, after a time, you will learn to better judge portion size and the proper amount of food you need to eat to lose and then maintain your weight. It does not work to "eyeball" portion sizes or guess how much you have eaten. A common phrase in Weight Watchers is "If you bite, it write it." You may be surprised at all of those extra calories you are ingesting.

The best weight-loss food plan is one that teaches you to eat not only a wide variety of foods, but also the foods you enjoy and normally have. If you try to cut out your favorite foods or stick to just prepackaged meals, you will never learn to develop a lifelong plan. You will eventually give in to cravings and possibly binge-eat. Using a food plan like Weight Watchers teaches you to eat the foods you like, go out to restaurants and attend social activities, all while losing and maintaining weight. You learn to eat in moderation and develop skills to handle situations in which you normally would overeat. This will not only help you manage your everyday food plan, but also teach you to make it through the holidays and vacations without gaining weight.

To help you lose weight, you need support and accountability. Family members may not always be happy about changes to a food plan. If you have friends with whom you tend to overeat, they may not provide you with the encouragement you need. Finding a weekly support group like Weight Watchers or Overeater's Anonymous will greatly help your weight-loss efforts. You will have the encouragement you need to stay on track, as well as getting and sharing advice from others who are trying to lose weight. Other members have probably dealt with similar roadblocks, and can help you get through yours. In addition, try to find a group that weighs you in. This provides accountability. If you overeat, the scale will show it, and your meeting leader will know. Knowing that you have to step on that scale may provide you with the motivation to not overeat. In times when you stick to your plan, you will be rewarded by the scale and your fellow group members. Permanent weight loss is not easy. There is no quick diet or fix that is healthy or works in the long term. It takes effort and persistence.