Researchers found that people can successfully drop pounds by adhering to a commercial diet. Being content with the amount of food you can eat is important, something many diet plans fail to address. One doctor found a way to eat more of some foods, while avoiding others, and still manage to melt away pounds. The trick to losing weight is to eat healthy foods and exercise daily.
Weight Watchers
The Journal of the American Medical Association published an article in 2003 indicating that over a two-year period, people who followed the commercial diet plan, Weight Watchers, were able to sustain weight loss more successfully compared to people on a self-help plan. Weight Watchers' philosophy is based on a point system. Foods are assigned a certain number of points. Dieters aim to eat a specific number of points each day. Along with exercise, if participants maintain their numerical goal, it is possible to lose 20 lbs. in about 10 months.
Weight Watchers basis its diet on the guidelines established by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In a 2006 study published in the British Medical Journal, researchers found that people who joined and complied with the rules of a structured diet plan lost on average about 13 lbs. in six months.
The Volumetrics Eating Plan
With the intention of providing an alternative to restrictive commercial diets, Barbara Rolls, who holds a Ph.D. in nutrition, created the Volumetrics Eating Plan. At its essence, Rolls encourages eating foods that make you feel fuller faster. Foods high in fiber, including fresh fruits; vegetables with high-water content like broccoli and tomatoes; whole-grain foods including pasta, rice, bread and cereal can be enjoyed without adding on pounds. There are no food restrictions in Rolls' diet, but she does suggest starting a meal with a low-calorie soup or salad. Prefacing a meal with a low-calorie starter that is filling will minimize the amount of higher-calories foods people typically eat. Rolls' also suggests foregoing fattening foods like those that are deep friend and high in sugars.
Similar to self-regulating diets, the Volumetrics Diet encourages consuming 500 to 1,000 fewer calories a day, resulting in a 1- to 2-lb. weight loss per week. Increasing an existing exercise routing by 30 to 60 minutes each day could result in a 20-lb. loss in about 10 weeks.
Self-Regulating Weight Loss Plan
Not one source will suggest that a self-regulating diet is easier than a structured, commercial diet. However, compared to plans that charge fees, require buying their food, attend meetings or purchase a book, it will be much less expensive. For people who already eat healthy and enjoy exercise, chances are you will be just as successful regulating your own diet as you would be on a commercial plan.
FamilyDoctor.org suggests that cutting calorie intake by 500 calories a day amounts to about 1 lb. Keep a calorie journal to determine the average amount of calories consumed daily. Nutrition information on thousands of different foods can be found at CalorieCounter.com. It's not healthy to east less than 1,200 calories a day. So if your intake is 2,000 or more, you can easily lose between 1 and 2 lbs. a week if you change your eating habits.
Substitute high-calorie foods for those that are lower in fat and calories. An easy way to begin is by simply substituting full-fat dairy for low- or reduced-fat alternatives (for example, drink low-fat milk instead of whole). Substitute beverages high in sugars for water or seltzer. There are 136 calories in a can of cola. If you eliminate three cans of soda a day, that's more than 400 calories. An exercise routine could easily put you on a fast track to achieving your goal. The Mayo Clinic reports that "exercise can help burn off the excess calories you can't cut through diet alone."
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