A great diet plan focuses on adopting healthy eating habits and exercise routine permanently, rather than favoring a fad diet for fast weight loss. A diet that incorporates healthy foods assists in keeping pounds off long-term. Trimming daily calorie intake to create a calorie deficit will assist in shedding extra pounds.
How It Works
A successful diet plan should include reduced calorie consumption, healthy food choices and daily physical activity. Entire food groups shouldn't be eliminated, however, according to the American Heart Association. A pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories, according to MedlinePlus. If you want to lose a pound of fat, you will need to burn an extra 3,500 calories a week. Two pounds of fat is equal to 7,000 calories. Burning more calories than your body requires will result in long-term weight loss.
Foods to Eat
The body needs to consume the right types of foods for weight loss. The American Dietetic Association recommends a diet full of nutrient rich foods from the major food groups, including fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, low-fat milk and lean protein sources from fish, meat and poultry. Each person has different serving requirements, based on your weight, age and height. The Mayo Clinic offers a healthy weight tool, allowing you to calculate required servings for each food group.
Considerations
Balance a healthy diet with physical activity, recommends the American Dietetic Association. The minimum activity you should schedule is 30 minutes of moderate activity daily. Boost your weight loss by increasing activity to 60 minutes a day or choosing more intense activity. Select high-calorie burning activities, like rollerblading, which burns 913 calories in a 60-minute session, according to the Mayo Clinic. Jumping rope burns 730 calories and playing basketball burns 584 calories in an hour.
Misconceptions
Some people think a successful diet means depriving yourself of your favorite foods. The Mayo Clinic recommends sweets in moderation. The organization recommends keeping sweet consumption to 75 calories or less daily. This will prevent your from feeling deprived.
Warnings
Consuming high-fat and high-sugar drinks and snack foods will make losing weight difficult, according to the American Dietetic Association. Scale back on consumption of these items. If you do decide to consume a high-fat food, do it in moderation. Measure out portion sizes and make these food choices as seldom as possible. For example, if you enjoy soda, scale back from consuming one daily to once a week. Switch to calorie-free sparkling water the rest of the time.
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