Losing weight requires you to create a calorie deficit--you must burn more calories than you consume. Exercise helps you lose weight by increasing your daily calorie burn, but it is not essential to weight-loss success. Careful attention to your diet and your eating style can be enough to stimulate weight loss.
Step 1
Strive to take in about 1,200 calories per day if you are a woman and 1,500 if you are a man. Do not dip below these minimums unless you are under medical supervision, according to the National Institutes of Health. For most people, these numbers represent a calorie intake below the basal metabolic rate--the amount of calories it takes to breathe, pump blood and digest food.
Step 2
Eat between 25 and 35 percent of your daily calories in the form of lean proteins, the high end of recommendations from the Institute of Medicine. Choose protein options, such as skinless poultry, flank steak, tuna, shrimp or pork tenderloin, that are low in saturated fat. Protein helps you feel full, reduces cravings and adds a subtle increase in calorie burn during digestion. In a 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, experts from the Harvard School of Public Health report that high-protein diets can result in increased weight and fat loss.
Step 3
Augment your protein meals with colorful, watery vegetables and whole grains. Go for dark greens, broccoli, asparagus, peppers, cauliflower and eggplants, which provide optimal nutrition and fill you with fiber. Include just 1/2 cup serving of oatmeal, brown rice or quinoa or a slice of whole wheat bread with meals to ensure that you take in enough carbohydrates to provide energy.
Step 4
Do not shun all fats. Stay away from saturated and trans fats, which can lead to weight gain and health problems. Eat modest servings equivalent to about 25 percent of daily calories of plant-based oils, nuts and avocados, which are classified as healthy unsaturated fats. Include these fats to help improve your satiation levels, help with hormone regulation and vitamin absorption.
Step 5
Include more non-exercise daily movement. Gesture, fidget, tap your toes, laugh and stand--if you are able--more often during the day to burn extra calories. The New York Times reported on May 24, 2005, that these types of activities are characteristic of leaner people and help them burn as much as 350 extra calories per day.
Tips and Warnings
- If you feel extremely hungry or weak on 1,200 to 1,500 calories per day, increase your intake slightly. Another indication that this amount of calories is too low for your individual needs is if you lose weight at a rate faster than 2 lbs. per week.
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