Weight Loss Diet Tips and Advice

Diet and nutrition are essential components of good health, especially weight loss. However, with all the fads and quick-fix programs going around today, the word ‘diet’ can conjure up feelings of failure and discomfort. That’s not to say certain dieting techniques do not work, but not too many of them are sustainable over the long term.

While overall weight loss may be the result of some diets, over a twelve-month period the weight often bounces right back. All that discomfort for nothing. The good news is a proper weight loss diet does not involve starvation, cutting out all pleasurable foods and trying to implement an unrealistic nutritional schedule.

With that in mind, when you want to lose weight, there is one scientific fact that you can’t ignore and that is that you have to burn more calories than you intake. There are many ways different diets use tricks to achieve this, but at the end of the day, your body needs balanced nutrition to stay healthy and an energy expenditure that is more than your input to get rid of those fat reserves.

This is a little deceptive because often it’s how you burn the calories that count, but you can explore that element further as part of our section on Fitness Training To Lose Weight – an essential companion to this weight loss diet plan. Before you step foot in a gym, pull on your sneakers, or step onto the stationary bike, though, you need to look at your energy intake compared to your expenditure.

Count Your Calories

Forget about your metabolism, about how long it takes to lose weight or about past difficulties. You will lose your weight, feel great and be fit on this diet, but the healthy, genuine weight loss is only ever achieved gradually. This is a long term plan we are implementing – a permanent one, and the first step is reducing your calorie intake. The bigger you are and the more calories you currently intake in a standard day will give you more room for improvement.

There are many online calorie counters that make this task exceptionally easy, so don’t put it off. It will likely take you five or ten minutes, and suddenly, you will start to realize where your excess weight is coming from and why you haven’t been able to lose it.

Because we don’t know your exact height, weight and current daily intake, we can’t calculate it for you. However, as a rough guide, a good weight loss diet would be to decrease your caloric intake by around 20-30 percent assuming you were consuming around or above your recommended daily dietary intake.

Nutritional Intake

Starving yourself will not help your cause here. While you might think the effort squeezing even more calories out of your diet is doing you a favor, it will only hinder you in terms of the energy you can expend to burn fat, muscle growth (as the body will start to use muscle for fuel) and it may even cause you serious health concerns.

Will you be eating less? Yes, but that doesn’t mean you have to go hungry, and when you reach your goal weight you can then sensibly increase your caloric intake again to a recommended amount for your height and energy expenditure. The key here is choosing nutrition-rich foods when filling up you calorie count. This is actually easier than it sounds in reality.

If you’re a little hungrier than normal and you know that an apple, a bowl of rice or a healthy sandwich will fill you up so much more than a bottle of soft drink, a chocolate bar or ice cream, you will be hungering for the healthy food instead. Junk food adds up the calories fast without providing good energy, so when you’re hungry (and if you’re doing it right, you will be a little hungry), you will soon start realizing the benefit of eating the right foods.

Be Honest

One of the hardest parts about a balanced, nutritional diet when counting calories is to be honest with yourself. You may find yourself sneaking extra servings, not including certain things in your total intake (such as the morning coffee, afternoon snack and midnight fridge raid) or kidding yourself about portion sizes.

While you will start to realize that the good foods satisfy your energy needs much more than junk food, that doesn’t help when it comes to cravings. As mentioned, there’s no need to cut out all things pleasant about eating, but you do have to count your pleasure foods in your calorie intake. Treat yourself, as long as it doesn’t blow out your intake.

To help with this, we recommend using a daily calorie diary (there are several online) and carefully measuring food portions. With a set of kitchen scales, this really is an effortless task, and if you find that it’s too much commitment for you, then you really need to look at increasing your motivation.

Sitting a bowl or plate on scales is as simple a method to ensure success as you will ever find, but it’s one of the best that actually works, is good for you and will achieve your weight loss goals long term.

Plan Of Action

Expend more energy than you intake – it couldn’t be more simple. With a balanced, nutritional diet and fitness training program, you will see the kilos falling off while you start to look and feel great. Follow this sample plan of action to get started on the road to your goal weight.

Step One

Consider a detox – If you drink alcohol, smoke, or are making some big changes to your diet, one of the strongest ways to start is a detox program. Use the time to plan your new weight loss diet.

Step Two

Work out your calorie intake – using an online calculator, go through a few typical days and work out your intake. Be honest and include everything, from cans of drink to coffee, snacks and desserts.

Step Three

Plan your new diet – This may be as simple as adjusting portion sizes, or you may have to completely revamp your take on nutrition. Fresh vegetables, wholegrain bread, rice and pasta, plus protein-rich food like eggs, beans and low-fat dairy. Avoid sauces, junk food and oily food. Make sure you intake enough calories to support any exercise programs.

Step Four

Use a calorie diary – This will help keep you on track and make you accountable for the food you eat. Remember to treat yourself, and to motivate yourself to stick with this long-term program.

Step Five

Set goals and achieve them – Set realistic goals over a period of weeks and months, and reward yourself when you reach them. When you reach your goal weight, you can balance out your calorie intake accordingly. After many weeks of counting calories, you will have a good idea of where the excess calories in our diets come from, and you can use that knowledge to maintain a sensible calorie intake forever.

Stay Motivated

You now have all the information you need to start a weight loss diet that is both healthy and nutritional, long-lasting and will really work. While healthy weight loss is gradual, you will be surprised at the quick and effective results you achieve. Not only that, but you will also feel great as well as look great.

There is one more central defining factor to ensure your success, and it’s one of the hardest elements for those trying to lose weight. You can try any diet in the world, but if you do not have sustained motivation, you will not succeed. This diet requires a high degree of attention to the foods you eat along with honesty for times when you relapse or on days when going over your goal intake is unavoidable.

The key is to realize that this plan is a long term endeavor. Expect your weight to fluctuate on different days, expect to have days when you can’t perfectly control your diet and remember that the long term result will be a permanent weight loss that is neither drastic nor unnecessarily unpleasant.

You have to own up to your weaknesses and be prepared to fight them on a long term basis. If you have struggled with weight loss in the past, this could mean a lengthy battle for you, but it is one you can win, and by using this diet, you will have the knowledge to stay on top of your weight indefinitely.

Most people find it helps to set goals for specific dates or events, so get your calendar out and start making some goals that you can realistically achieve. Joining a weight-loss group (there are plenty online) can help as you share your stories with others, and there is nothing wrong with plastering some motivational posters on your desk, in your room or anywhere else you can gain a boost of motivation.

Good luck reaching your ideal weight with this weight loss diet that actually works. Always seek professional advice when it comes to individual health concerns, specific nutritional advice, or implementing an exercise or fitness training program.

Sebastian

Sebastian was born and raised in the busy city of Abbottabad. As a journalist, Saad Mushtaq has contributed to many online publications including the PAK Today and the Huffing Post. In regards to academics, Saad Mushtaq earned a degree in business from the Abbottabad UST, Havelian. Saad Mushtaq follows the money and covers all aspects of emerging tech here at The Hear Up.Thanks