If you already follow a nutritious diet plan but find yourself gaining weight, a calorie restriction plus a little more exercise can restore your balance. When your weight remains stable, it shows that your caloric intake and output are equal. When you gain weight, you either consume too many calories and/or don't exercise enough. The extra calories become body fat, which creates excessive weight. To reduce your daily calorie counts, eat more of the foods in every food group that have less dietary fat and sugar, and more fiber, vitamins and minerals.
New Calorie Limits
Your body changes over time, and your calorie needs drop as you grow older. You might not notice that your calorie intake is too high until your pants fit too snugly. This is actually an appropriate sign of a weight problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control, a buildup of abdominal fat beyond 35 inches in circumference in women and 40 inches around in men presents a risk for weight-related diseases. Your doctor can help you adjust an average 2,000-calorie diet to set a reasonable calorie restriction that will allow you to lose weight through moderate exercise.
Foods to Eat Often
Your diet must maintain nutritional balance within caloric restrictions for you to lose weight safely. Within each food group, choose low-calorie items with the greatest beneficial fiber or protein and vitamin and mineral content. The American Heart Association considers these to be low-fat protein foods, low-fat dairy items, whole grains, low-calorie fruits and vegetables cooked without fat. Examples include tuna, fat-free milk, wheat bran cereal, strawberries and spinach. Change your selections from day to day to get the full range of essential nutrients.
Foods to Avoid
Many fast foods, sweetened sodas and desserts get the majority of their calories from fat and sugar, and a single high-calorie meal of such foods can total most of your day's calorie allowance. To maintain nutritional balance in fewer calories, high-fat and high-sugar menu items will have to go. To lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, avoid hamburgers, ribs, French fries, fried fish and chicken, sugar-sweetened sodas and fruit punches and full-fat milk, cheese or ice cream. If you're unsure, avoid foods with content over 400 calories, which the FDA classifies as high in calories.
Prevention
Taking the initiative and following through with calorie restriction can greatly improve your health and ward off painful conditions such as arthritis and chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The Office of the Surgeon General reports that addressing weight problems to lose as little as 5 percent of your total weight can prevent potentially fatal heart problems such as heart attacks and strokes.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Assessing Your Weight; February 2011
- FDA: Recommended Daily Values for Nutrients; March 2011
- American Heart Association: Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations; May 2010
- FDA: Choosing Healthful Foods Using the Nutrition Facts on the Food Label; January 2011
- Office of the Surgeon General; Overweight Consequences; January 2007
- USDA: Nutrient Database
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