Diets often fail because the dieter feels deprived, the weight loss stops, a yo-yo effect occurs or the demands of the diet are too strict. A safe diet plan encourages healthful, all natural foods and exercise that you can maintain for the rest of your life -- not just for a short time.
Balanced Eating
A safe diet plan will consist of a balanced proportion of calories from carbohydrates, protein and fat. These three macronutrients are equally important to your body, and should not be cut or restricted from your diet. Carbohydrates serve as your body's main source of energy and are needed for proper function of the central nervous system and brain. Fats are needed for proper growth and development, energy, absorbing vitamins and protecting your organs. Fat helps to provide satiety to meals and aids in keeping you full between meal times. Protein is responsible for preserving and building lean muscle mass, tissue repair, making hormones and enzymes and immune function.
Healthy Caloric Intake
Calorie requirements are not one-size-fits-all, and therefore should not be approached as such when dieting. Your caloric needs are based on, at a minimum, age, gender and activity level. For a more appropriate caloric needs number it should be based on age, gender, activity level, current weight, height and body fat. Determine your caloric needs that take the above factors into consideration; you can then decrease the provided number to begin losing weight.
Exercise
A safe diet plan will also incorporate daily exercise. You should vary cardiovascular and strength training in your exercise routine. Exercise helps you to build lean muscle. Lean muscle burns more calories than fat even at rest. So as you decrease your body fat and increase your lean mass, your body will utilize more energy, a.k.a. have a faster metabolism.
Time Frame
Healthy weight loss is only considered to be up to 2 lbs per week. Diets that claim extreme results in a short amount of time are either false or it can be assumed that these diets do not promote safe and healthy weight loss. One pound is equal to 3,500 calories, meaning you need to create this deficit either through your diet or exercise, or both, for weight loss. Decreasing your calories by 500 calories a day and burning 500 calories through exercise daily will lead to 2 lbs of weight loss per week.
Misconceptions
Do not fall victim to the radical and outrageous claims made by extreme or fad diets. These diets are characterized by extremely low caloric amounts, fewer than 1,200 calories for women and 1,500 for men, and the restriction or removal of a certain macronutrient group. Though these diets may provide short term results, it is not without a price. Extreme diets are associated with the development of mental health problems causing feelings of irritability or depression. These diets are also linked to the development of anorexia or bulimia. Physically, on a crash diet you put yourself at risk for iron, vitamin B-12, potassium and sodium deficiencies. These deficiencies will negatively affect the function of your nerves, muscles and especially your heart. If your potassium and sodium levels are too low, you could even suffer from a heart attack.
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