Successful diet plans have one thing in common: They work. They help you to achieve your nutritional and weight loss goals without making you feel deprived or hungry. Most successful diet plans include a variety of foods and nutrients--and are forgiving if you occasionally splurge on dessert.
Benefits
A successful diet plan benefits your health by helping you to achieve your goals. For most healthy adults who are trying to lose weight, a successful diet plan will reduce their intake by 500 to 1,000 calories per day, which will allow them to lose 1 to 2 lb. per week. By achieving a healthy body weight, you can significantly lower your risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes.
Types of Successful Diet Plans
The USDA MyPyramid website has meal plans that range in calories from 1,000 to 3,200, and all of these plans meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Weight Watchers also offers successful diet plans that can be tailored to your weight, your weight loss goals and your physical activity level. Other successful diet plans, like the South Beach Diet and the Ornish Diet, have well-balanced meal plans that are available online and at your local bookstore.
Misconceptions
Many people think that every diet has to be restrictive, but this is not the case. Successful diet plans allow you to eat a variety of foods from all of the food groups in order to meet your nutritional requirements. You do not have to eliminate carbohydrates or fats in order to lose weight. Instead, you simply need to balance your caloric intake and make sure that if you are trying to lose weight, you eat fewer calories than you burn.
Physical Activity
All successful diet plans should be accompanied by regular physical activity, especially if weight loss is a desired outcome. Healthy eating is not sufficient in itself to reduce your risk of all diseases; therefore, aim to get a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommends that adults perform strength training exercises two days each week to help maintain muscle and bone mass.
Warning
Before you start any diet plan, you need to receive proper medical clearance from your physician. It is important to make sure that you do not have any outstanding medical conditions that could possibly alter your nutritional needs. In addition, you need to make sure that you do not have any cardiac problems, which could limit your ability to exercise.
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