Following a low-calorie diet will help you shed pounds, while cutting back on fats and carbohydrates will help stabilize glucose, lower cholesterol and reduce your risks of serious health complications, such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Eat a variety of foods to ensure proper nutrition and limit your sodium intake to less than 1,500 mg daily for maximum health benefits.
Calories for Weight Loss
Your age, sex and activity level determine how many calories you need. The University of Maryland Medical Center suggests you can maintain your current weight by eating between 12 and 14 calories per 1 lb. of body weight. If you weigh 135 lbs., consume 1,600 calories daily if you're sedentary, and up to 1,900 calories daily if you're very active. You can lose weight by reducing calories, but don't cut calories too drastically or you'll slow your metabolism and stall weight loss. A lo-calorie diet for women should have at least 1,200 calories a day, while a lo-calorie diet for a man should have at least 1,800 calories a day to keep metabolism functioning properly.
Low-Carb Diets
Most low-carb diets allow for between 50 and 150 g of carbs daily -- about 20 to 30 percent of a 2,000-calorie diet. It's important not to eliminate carbs, but rather to choose the "right" carbs. The Atkins, South Beach and Nutrisystem diets are all based on choosing high-fiber carbs that have little impact on glucose. There are three types of carbohydrates -- sugar, starch and fiber. Limiting sugar and starch will help keep blood sugar levels stable and may reduce food cravings. Choose high-fiber carbs, such as vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains, to provide much-needed nutrients and bulk. A high-fiber diet can help you feel full faster and stay satisfied longer, leading to an overall decrease in calorie consumption and weight loss.
Low-Fat Diets
A low-fat diet, such as the Pritkin program or Dean Ornish diet restricts fat intake to 10 percent of total calories. Fat slows digestion, helping you stay satisfied. You may feel hungry on a low-fat diet, making it difficult to follow. Fats are an essential macronutrient your body uses to produce hormones and manufacture cells. The majority of your fat intake should come from unsaturated fats -- omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are especially beneficial. According to the American Heart Association, polyunsaturated fats help your body get rid of newly formed cholesterol, keeping blood cholesterol levels low and reducing your risk of heart disease.
Very Low Calorie Diets
There are three macronutrients -- carbs, fat and protein. If you restrict one macronutrient, you'll have to compensate by eating more of the other two. Although it's possible to follow a low-calorie, low-carb diet or a low-calorie, low-fat diet, it's almost impossible to follow a low-calorie, low-carb, low-fat diet long term. Your protein consumption would have to be 50 to 60 percent of your caloric intake. The only exception to this is a medically supervised very low-calorie diet, usually a liquid-only diet that restricts calorie intake to about 800 calories daily and relies on high-protein meal replacements. A VLCD is used in cases of extreme obesity or in the few weeks leading up to bariatric surgery.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Healthy Eating for a Healthy Weight; February 2011
- MayoClinic.com; Low-Fat vs. Low-Carb; Donald Hensrud; September 2010
- MayoClinic.com; Low-Carb Diet; May 2010
- Pritkin Longevity Center and Spa: How Pritikin Works
- Wellness.com: Ornish Diet
- Weight-control Information Network; Very Low-Calorie Diets; August 2008
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