The food lover's diet was developed by "Fitness" magazine as an all-inclusive plan to help people gradually lose weight without fad diets, unhealthy dieting techniques or extreme measures. According to "Handbook of Obesity Treatment," the average overweight person attempts to lose weight more than ten times prior to successfully achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight. If you've tried to diet unsuccessfully before, you may want to know if the food lover's diet really works before investing your time, effort and energy into yet another dieting attempt. Consult your physician before you embark on the food lover's diet or any other diet plan.
Food Lover's Diet Guidelines
The food lover's diet includes five primary strategies: eating appropriate portions, planning meals, maintaining a diet primarily of unprocessed foods, setting realistic expectations and incorporating regular exercise into your routine. Dieters consume approximately 1,500 calories per day on non-exercise days and 1,600 calories per day on exercise days. Whole grains, fruits and vegetables, lean protein and healthy sources of fat -- such as peanut butter, avocado and olive oil -- are emphasized on the meal plan.
Science of Weight Loss
The concept of weight loss is incredibly simple: Burn more calories than you eat and you'll lose weight. Since fat contains 3,500 calories per pound, eating 500 fewer calories per day than you burn would result in a weight loss of approximately 1 lb. per week. However, the science of weight loss is much more complicated when applied to real people. If your caloric consumption drops too low, generally below 1,200 calories per day, according to "Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies," your metabolic rate will plummet, resulting in slower weight loss.
Food Lover's Diet Weight Loss
The food lover's diet is designed to produce a gradual weight loss of 1 lb. to 2 lb. per week by increasing the calories you burn through exercise and decreasing the calories you consume. According to "Handbook of Obesity Treatment," this is the ideal rate of weight loss for long-term success. The actual amount of weight lost varies on your specific meal choices and calorie consumption, exercise routine and metabolic rate.
Considerations
The food lover's diet does not take your current weight, medical conditions or exercise routine into account. Therefore, it may not provide enough calories for very overweight people, nursing mothers or people who perform vigorous exercise. Additionally, people with medical conditions, such as diabetes or hypertension, may need to follow a prescribed diet and limit certain foods to manage their conditions. Therefore, you should always speak with your physician prior to attempting any weight loss program.
References
- Fitness; The Food Lover's Diet; Elizabeth Somer, RD
- "Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies"; Frances Sizer; 2008
- "Handbook of Obesity Treatment"; Thomas A. Wadden PhD, et al.; 2004
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