A diligent approach to diet helps you lose weight safely and quickly. Commit to healthy habits to improve the quality of your life and the appearance of your waistline. While cleaning up your diet will help your weight loss efforts, add a little extra movement to your day to accelerate your progress.
Reduce Calories
Cut 500 calories per day to lose a pound a week. At least 1,200 calories per day should be consumed to obtain proper nutrition and keep your energy stores up.
Liquid Calories
Stop drinking sodas, fruit juice, energy drinks and sugary coffee concoctions which can contain between 150 and 500 calories, depending on the serving. Your body does not find these calories satisfying and usually they contain little nutritional value.
Eat Often
Eat five to six times per day. Three full meals and two snacks keep you energized, your metabolism burning and your appetite sated. At each mini-meal, include lean protein, a fruit or vegetable and whole grain for a total of 300 or 400 calories.
Processed Food
Stay away from refined foods such as white flour, white bread, white pasta and simple sugar. Go for whole grains instead because, as a study published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" found, they help with weight loss when included in a low-calorie diet.
Portion Sizes
Learn proper portion sizes and strive to stick to them. A 3-oz. serving of chicken is about the size of a deck of cards, a baked potato should be the size of a computer mouse and a serving of rice the size of a muffin wrapper.
Healthy Fats
Consumption of monounsaturated fats found in olive oil, nuts and avocados and omega-3 fatty acids found in cold water fish can help with weight loss. The American Diabetes Association reports that a Spanish study found that monounsaturated fats can positively affect fat distribution--particularly belly fat. Stay away from trans fats and saturated fats which put you at risk for heart disease and contribute to obesity.
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