Hundreds of diet plans, books, online services, supplement companies, weight management programs and trainers vie for your attention when it comes to losing weight. Each purports to offer the best, fastest or safest diet plan. Understanding the fundamentals of a diet plan for losing weight can help you weed through schemes and promises to find the best diet for your needs. And remember to consult your doctor before beginning any diet.
Features
Every diet plan for losing weight has one common feature--it reduces calories below what you burn to yield weight loss. Diets that place limits on certain food groups, such as low-carb or sugar-free ones that combine nutrients in "special ways like the Zone or tout one superfood--like acai berry or olive oil--are really just low-calorie diets in disguise.
"The New England Journal of Medicine" in February 2009 published a study in which Harvard researchers compared the weight loss effects of four different diets, each with a different combination of fats, proteins and carbohydrates. They found that regardless of how you put food together, the low-calorie nature of the diets resulted in weight loss.
Considerations
Diets that call for fewer than 1,200 calories per day for women or 1,500 calories per day for men can lead to diminished energy and nutritional shortages that can cause you to binge or give up on your plan altogether.
A diet for losing weight should cut just 500 to 1,000 calories from the amount you need to maintain your weight. Joanne Larson, R.D., on Ask the Dietitian suggests you multiply your present weight by 12 to estimate the calories you need to maintain your current weight. From this number, subtract 500 to 1,000 calories to come up with the amount needed to lose a pound or two per week.
One pound of weight equals 3,500 calories. If this equation puts you under the previously mentioned minimums, adjust your expectations about the rate of weight loss you can achieve.
The Problem With Junk Food
While eating fewer calories than you burn helps you lose weight, the types of food you choose can affect your ability to adhere to a plan. Technically, you could use your calories up with junk food like French fries, chips, donuts and sodas, and as long as you did not exceed what you burn daily, you could lose weight. However, since these foods contain a lot of calories with very little nutrition, you would have to severely limit portion sizes and be terribly hungry.
A McDonald's meal consisting of a quarter pounder with cheese, medium fries and medium soda contains 1,100 calories. For the same amount of calories, you could eat almost a day's worth of meals consisting of healthy food. For example a breakfast of 1/2 cup oatmeal, soy milk and berries contains about 300 calories; for lunch, 4 oz. of grilled chicken with a whole grain roll, lettuce and tomato along with two tablespoons of hummus and 1 oz. baked tortilla chips contains about 450 calories; and 3 oz. of baked salmon with 1/2 cup of brown rice and steamed asparagus for dinner contains just under 400 calories.
A diet plan for weight loss should nourish your body, support lean muscle development, enhance skin and hair health and provide fuel for daily physical activity.
Types of Foods
Choosing fresh, unprocessed foods is your best strategy for a diet plan. Build your diet around five servings of vegetables and two servings of fruits daily. Include two to three servings of lean proteins like extra lean ground beef, white meat poultry, fish and beans.
Six 1/2-cup servings of whole grains like brown rice, barley and oats give you carbohydrates for energy. You could also use a slice of bread, a whole grain pancake or half a bagel as a serving of grains, according to Ask the Dietitian. Try to make unsaturated fats comprise about 25 to 30 percent of your total calorie intake every day. These healthy fats that do not raise your cholesterol levels are found in plant oils, seeds, avocados and fatty fish, notes the American Heart Association.
Portion Sizes
Even healthy foods cause weight gain if you eat too much of them. Learn to eyeball proper portions so you do not feel tied to your measuring cups and spoons. A serving of meat, poultry or fish looks about the size of a deck of cards, a typical slice of bread the size of a cassette tape, a tablespoon of peanut butter is the tip of your thumb, and two tablespoons of salad dressing is the size of a ping pong ball, advises the Cleveland Clinic.
An even easier way to eat proper portions of food for a weight loss diet is to look at your plate and divide it into four sections. Fill two sections with watery, fiber-rich vegetables like greens, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, peppers or asparagus. Another quarter is reserved for your serving of protein and the final quarter is for a serving of starchy vegetables or whole grains.
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