While losing weight requires you to eat fewer calories than you burn, it does not require complex food combinations, recipes or spreadsheets of macronutrient intake. Drop pounds following an easy diet that involves reducing portion sizes and focusing on balanced nutrition. Couple your diet with an increase in physical activity to accelerate to your goal.
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Follow the guidelines of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Guide Pyramid, which provides an easy way to determine how much food you need to eat daily. Go for the minimum recommended servings when trying to lose weight, says Joanne Larsen, a registered dietitian, on Ask the Dietitian. This means daily you should have two to three, 3-ounce servings of meat, fish or beans, two to three servings of low-fat dairy, three to five 1/2-cup servings of vegetables, two to three servings of fruit and six servings of whole grain breads, cereals or pasta.
Calorie Considerations
A pound of weight is equal to 3,500 calories. So, to lose one pound per week, you have to reduce your calorie intake below your burn rate by 500 calories. Even if you switch to healthy foods, eating too much of them can prevent weight loss. An easy way to reduce calories is to eat less at meals and make healthy swaps. Learn to eyeball proper portions at meals by comparing foods to familiar objects, the Cleveland Clinic recommends. Look at a serving of meat as being the size of your palm or a serving of fish as the size of a checkbook. A piece of fruit is the size of a baseball and a baked potato the size of a computer mouse. A half cup serving of rice or cereal fits into a cupcake wrapper. Choose white meat poultry over ribs when you eat out. Go for skim milk instead of full fat. Skip cheese on a sandwich and have tomato instead.
Sample Meals
An easy diet involves establishing a few "go-to" meals that you can always reach for knowing they will provide nutrition, satiation and good taste. For breakfasts, choose a bowl of whole grain cereal with skim milk and fresh berries; egg whites scrambled with mixed vegetables like broccoli, cherry tomatoes, spinach or bell pepper; and a whole grain English muffin or a smoothie made with whey protein powder, soy milk and bananas. For lunch, rely on green salads with salsa or lemon as the dressing with grilled chicken or fish on the side. Alternatively, enjoy a sandwich with lean, low-sodium meats like ham or turkey and whole grain bread. Have an apple or yogurt for dessert. At dinner, broil or grill a protein low in saturated fat, like turkey or salmon, and serve with a half cup of sweet potato or whole grains like quinoa. Microwave a bag of steamed vegetables to have on the side. At snack time, enjoy an ounce of nuts, a piece of fruit or cut-up vegetables with hummus.
Eating Out Made Simple
An easy diet shouldn't mean you always have to prepare meals at home. If you are in a hurry, buy a rotisserie chicken and enjoy it with a prewashed salad mix, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Follow specific guidelines when eating at certain types of restaurants. At Italian establishments, go for whole wheat or plain spaghetti with marinara and a green salad. At Mexican restaurants, order chicken fajitas but skip the sour cream and cheese. Go easy on the guacamole and eat only one tortilla. For basic American, go for a meal salad that includes a grilled meat and leave off fatty additions like cheese, croutons, fried toppings and sugared nuts. Order the dressing on the side and dip your fork in before spearing your vegetables to add flavor with minimal calories.
Whole Foods
Stick to whole foods rather than seemingly "easy" diet foods. These foods usually replace some of the calories or fat with extra sugar, salt and carbohydrates. You may feel like you have the right to eat more of these foods because they contain fewer calories--and then end up eating more than you would if you had stuck to a small portion of the regular version, notes Larsen. Whole foods may seem more complicated, but grabbing a piece of fruit over "low-fat" cookies or snack mix provides more fiber and nutrition and will likely be more satisfying.
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