Weight Loss Diet Planner

Many medical organizations and diet websites offer a variety of very useful tools for planning your weight loss diet. You can use resources to select well-balanced, nutritious meals, count your total calorie intake, and record your weekly progress. All of these efforts to plan and organize a diet will help keep you focused and motivated, and can decrease the likelihood that you will stray from your diet.

Food Guide Pyramid

You can use online guides from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Guide Pyramid to select healthy foods from each of the main food groups. The Food Guide Pyramid outlines the percentages of each food group that should be included in your diet. Fresh fruits and vegetables make up the foundation of the pyramid, followed by whole grains, low fat dairy products, followed by lean meats and protein, and a very controlled amount of healthy fats.

Calorie Counter

Calorie counters, available on websites such as the Mayo Clinic or FitClick allow you to calculate the calorie totals for your meals. You can also search for healthy snacks and ensure that you choose foods that provide optimal energy without excess calories. Consistent use of a calorie calculator will help you learn the caloric values for some of the most common foods, and you will be able to combine these foods to make healthy meals.

Meal Planner and Food Journal

A meal planner and food journal will help you prepare your food schedule in advance and track your diet and calorie intake. You can use an online planner or a printed one to carry with you. These planners and journals help you track how consistent you are with your diet and you can note whether you tend to stray from your eating plans during times of stress or from boredom. This information can help you develop tools to avoid these pitfalls.

Exercise Log

Similar to a food journal, an exercise log can be used in an online or printed form. Daily exercise is a critical part of your diet plans, and you should be completing at least 30 minutes of activity each day. Your log will help you track your workouts and add variety to ensure that you have a healthy mixture of cardiovascular exercise and strength training. Similarly, you can note the progress in your workouts and get a clearer sense of any issues that cause you to miss your workouts.