Dieting to lose weight generally means eating less of certain foods. To reduce total calorie intake a diet may limit high-fat, high-carbohydrate or high-calorie items or portion sizes of several types of food. Planning ahead by finding low-calorie replacements when omitting the taboo foods will prevent you from going hungry while following any weight-loss plan.
Eating Low Fat
Limiting foods high in fat--such as spreads, sauces, dressings and fried foods--generally saves the highest number of calories. Because fats provide 9 calories per gram, a serving can provide between 50 and 100 calories. Reducing fat intake prompts you to seek alternatives to keep sandwiches and salads flavorful, but rarely results in the hunger that other diets can cause.
Eating Low Carbohydrate
Reducing carbohydrate intake saves many calories for those who overindulge in foods like cookies, cakes, pretzels, chips and breads. The result, however, is a constant feeling of hunger and deprivation. Restricting carbohydrate foods leaves the you anxiously seeking snack foods and side dishes that are carbohydrate-free. Unfortunately these are few and far between, aside from cheese, nuts and a few vegetables.
Eating Low Calorie
A low-calorie diet promotes weight loss by leaving you to consume fewer calories than you burn on a typical day. If the calorie level drops too low--usually less than 1,200 to 1,500 calories--the body may experience physical hunger, which can be mildly to extremely uncomfortable. If you routinely eat more calories than you need for weight maintenance, you may have a relatively easy time cutting calories by reducing portion sizes throughout the day. Eating a bit less fat and smaller amounts of most other foods may eliminate enough calories to result in desired weight loss over time.
Avoiding Junk Foods
Eliminating foods that provide lots of calories and little nutrition is a smart way to go about losing weight. Foods, such as soda, candy, high-fat pastries and ice cream, added sweets and other foods that have few nutrients to offer other than calories can be omitted from the diet--or drastically reduced--with no harmful results. Choosing nutrient dense foods--fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein sources and low-fat dairy products--increase the intake of vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein while eliminating excess empty calories. Weight-loss results with less hunger, although cravings for sweets and junk food may persist for a few weeks.
Eating Nutrient Dense Foods
Turning the focus to eating more nutritious foods, instead of eating less of any specific type of food, is a tactic that can work for weight loss. Because there aren't foods that are forbidden, the mind does not focus on and crave what it cannot have. Meanwhile, drinking plenty of water and eating lots of food high in fiber--fruits, vegetables and whole grains, for example--keeps the dieter full enough to prevent hunger. The diet allows for a full stomach even while total calorie intake is reduced enough to promote weight loss.
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