To lose one pound of body weight per week requires cutting back by 3,500 calories, or 500 calories a day. Women who do not get a lot of physical activity can usually accomplish this by maintaining about 1,500 calories a day. Sedentary men can add a few hundred more calories. Be cautious about cutting any more calories than that, however. Depriving your body too much of the calories it needs for energy can result in medical complications over the long term, including gallstones, diarrhea and weakness. Before you start any diet, you should consult with your doctor to make sure it is right for you.
Breakfast
Breakfast is your most important meal because your body has been fasting since the night before. Never skip it, because that will just make you hungrier by mid-morning. To stay within 300 to 450 calories, try an egg sandwich on a whole wheat bagel. You can add tomato, lettuce, apple slices or low-fat cheese and if you use only one egg, you'll stay under 400 calories.Smoothies are also good choices, made with fresh or frozen fruit and fat-free milk. If you concentrate on fruit and eggs and avoid breakfast meats, you can easily and creatively stay within calorie range and still feel full.
Lunch
A chef's salad using mixed greens, 3 oz. turkey, ham or lean roast beef, a tomato and half a green bell pepper is only about 400 calories if you stick with fat-free dressing. A chopped vegetable salad is also healthy and can be low-cal. Toss together 1 diced tomato, ¼ c. diced cucumber, ½ c. chickpeas and a slice of low-fat cheese cut into small pieces. If you use fat-free dressing, you will have a filling, low-calorie lunch. Other ideas include chicken salad with grapes, 1 tbsp. slivered almonds and low-fat mayonnaise, or a serving of cottage cheese with fresh fruit.
Dinner
Dinner offers a great many alternatives if you keep your fish or poultry portions to 4 oz. or so and grill or roast it. Remove the skin from poultry. Shrimp and salmon can both be grilled and tasty with a little olive oil. Chicken can be barbecued with few extra calories. If you cut back to a 3 oz. portion, you can also try roasted pork tenderloin. Balance your fish, poultry or lean meat with vegetables to fill up, such as cole slaw with low-fat dressing, steamed spinach or broccoli. You can still add brown rice or couscous and stay within 500 calories or so.
Snacks
There are a surprising number of snack options available that won't blow your diet and don't require always munching raw vegetables. You can stay within 150 to 200 calories with two cookies and 1 c. of fat-free milk. Popcorn and some nuts are also relatively low in calories.
References
- "Good Housekeeping": Lose 20 Pounds Fast -- Seven Day Meal Plan; Delia A. Hammock, MS, RD, et al.; October 2004
- "USA Today": Easy, Low-Calorie Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Snacks; Nancy Hellmich; Sep. 7, 2010
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: Very Low-Calorie Diets
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