Weight Loss Diet
A well balanced weight loss diet is exactly the opposite of fad diets that are getting as common as weeds in an unmaintained lawn. If your weight loss diet resembles hopping from one chemical solution to the next to rid the lawn of weeds, then do read further. Here I present a natural, healthy way to structure a weight loss diet that will be something that you can implement today and follow for the rest of your life. Here you will find all the information needed. This is not about providing just more useless information to spread confusion. No, my weight loss diet is not a diet in that sense; it is a structured approach to healthy living.
I’m not sure if everybody is as fed up with this overload of fad diet information and the one diet program after another trying to get every consumer to jump onboard and lose weight at an alarming rate. Yes, I know it is nice to see evidence that other people were able to lose weight rapidly and that the latest fad diet will be the last diet ever needed. The truth is that I’ve been around the block a few times and these wild claims are no longer making any impact on me. I know what really works is a weight loss diet that are based on sound principles and a solid foundation. Further to that I would like to share my success with others without a need for monetary compensation. This is not about creating yet another diet plan or making money on unsuspecting consumers. This is my way of providing free, relevant information about what constitutes a healthy weight loss diet and what everybody can do to lose weight successfully.
At first the weight loss diet equation seems very simple. Just count the calories in your current daily diet, and then reduce the amount of calories consumed and you will lose weight. That is not bad guidance, but a healthy weight loss diet needs to go further than just that. Any weight loss diet is about changing behavior so that it is more than just another fad diet, but becomes a healthy lifestyle that can be followed for the rest of your life. So, before we continue, let’s look at what a fad is. My approach is to pull out Webster’s dictionary and get their expert opinion.
Fad: “a practice or interest followed for a time with exaggerated zeal” (craze)
If that is a fad, then a well structured and balanced weight loss diet should be one that is not just the latest craze, but something that results in permanent change. And that is my goal with the information in these pages. I’ll teach you what are the basic cornerstones of a well balanced weight loss diet. I’ll provide free information so that you can structure your own diet based on your own individual needs and I will never ask you to pay for any of this. I’m unemployed at the moment and know how difficult it is to find real information that you can trust without the need to pay upfront. So this is my way of giving back. Here is free information that you can use however you like to. And if I missed something, feel free to drop me an email and I’ll be more than welcome to answer your questions directly.
As I warned you, a well structured weight loss diet is about behavioral changes. What are these behavioral changes?
- Slowly reducing calories over time to support your ideal weight
- Slowly increasing exercise and overall level of activity
- Adjusting the specific food that is consumed to more healthy habits
Let me tell you just upfront that this is not information for specific health related problems. I make no claim that I am the authority on a diet related to diabetes, various allergies, or other specific medical or health problems. The weight loss diet contained here is best for those that are healthy and are able to consume most products. If you are unsure that this is fit for you, please consult your doctor or a dietician to assist you in creating a specific weight loss diet for your dietary needs.
A Balanced Weight Loss Diet is About Reducing Calories
If you are overweight today, then it is probably correct to assume that at some point you consumed more calories that what your body needed. You may already have started to reduce the calories, or you may just be looking for a way to calculate how many calories should be included in a weight loss diet. There are quite a number of factors to consider when determining the healthy caloric need for an individual. First and foremost we must understand where we are today before we can determine the end goal and then create a plan to reach that end goal.
From the research I’ve done, the best calculator to determine Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) was formulated by MD Mifflin and published in the American Journal of clinical Nutrition. I’m not going to bore you with the detail of this study. Just be aware that not all calorie calculators are created equally. If you want the boring detail, email me for a copy of the report as a PDF file. Here is also an online calculator that is base on this formula: http://www.ahealthyme.com/topic/calneed
It will provide your REE as well as the total calories used in a day based on your selected activity level. I would recommend to use the “very light” setting. This will provide you with your individual REE and then just adjust your caloric need for exercise and other activities you perform on a daily basis.
The goal in any balanced weight loss diet is to structure it in such a way that you lose 2 lbs of weight during a week. I don’t fall into the group that try to weigh myself each day or at the beginning of the week. What I do is weigh myself each Wednesday in the middle of the day at least 2 hours after lunch and before dinner. This gives me a good indication of my general weight and I don’t get distracted by natural, daily fluctuations in weight.
So how do I lose weight? My weight loss diet is structured on losing weight by reducing calorie consumption and combining it with an increase in exercise and activities. You will have to cut 500 calories per day to lose 1 pound of fat per week. That means if your current REE is 2000, then consuming 1500 will result in a daily caloric deficit of 500 calories. This will help you to lose 1 lbs of fat weekly. Do not exceed this caloric deficit. If you’re not going to include exercise, then just adjust your consumption by 500 calories per day in your weight loss diet.
A Balanced Weight Loss Diet is About Increasing Activity
My balanced weight loss diet is based on losing 2 lbs of fat each week. One pound is based on a calorie deficit and the other pound is based on an increase in activity. The same holds true that a pound of fat contains approximately 3500 calories, so the goal is to “burn” 3500 calories per week as a result of exercise. Again, there are many calculators to estimate how many calories are burned during exercise and most cardio equipment will provide an estimate as well. My target is to train on moderate to high intensity for 30 to 60 minutes each day.
My exercise program consists of a full body weight training program that I perform 3 times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This program takes between 45 to 60 minutes to complete, but there are programs that provide similar results by exercising anything from 15 minutes to 90 minutes. It is all about the combination of intensity and duration. I find that 45 minutes to 60 minutes is a healthy guideline and allow me sufficient time to recover between different exercises.
On alternate days I perform a cardio routine that lasts approximately 30 to 40 minutes and “burns” about 500 to 600 calories. Take into account that my activity level is based on the fact that I’ve exercised regularly for a number of years and starting out you would not need to exercise at this level. Start out with a core weight lifting routine 3 times a week. On alternate days include a cardio program of 20 to 30 minutes and then take a resting day on Sunday. I know my weight loss diet sound like too much. Please don’t be fooled by programs that offer more results on less work. Combining weight training with cardio will provide the best results. And if you’ve read this far then you will understand that you need to burn at least 500 calories per day through exercise to lose 1 lbs of fat per week. This is a healthy weight loss diet approach and will not result in poor diet choices and extreme behavior that is not recommended for permanent weight loss.
A Balanced Weight Loss Diet is About Healthy Food Choices
There are many guidelines for specific nutritional guides, but this guide is about healthy choices for the general consumer. That means putting together a weight loss diet that combines food from all major food groups and ensure sufficient variety so that there is no risk of insufficient vitamins and minerals. This mean eating carbohydrates, protein and fat from meat, dairy and grain products combined with fresh fruit and vegetables. My goal is to consume carbohydrates/protein/fat in a ratio of 40/30/30 by calories in each meal. That means that I have to calculate overall calories consumed in a meal, then calculate how many comes from carbohydrates, protein, and fat.
It is not that difficult. Yes, you can probably buy into some diet that will do all the calculating and measuring for you. On the other hand, if you’re like me, then taking control of your own diet and being able to structure your own diet is worth the effort. As I said earlier, this is free information that everybody can use to put together a balanced weight loss diet. After a while you will be able to do the calculations by just quickly looking at the nutritional label. In general, each gram of carbohydrate and protein provides 4 calories and each gram of fat provides 9 calories.
In my case then I will take my overall consumption of calories for the day: 2400 (after adjusting for exercise and caloric deficit) and divide it by the number of meals. That can be anything from 3 to 6 meals per day, depending on your preference. Let’s take the more general case of 3 meals per day. That means I need to consume 800 calories in each meal. That means 320/240/240 calories from carbs, protein, and fat respectively. And that means 80/60/26 grams of carbs, protein, and fat respectively.
See, that was not so difficult. Most nutritional labels have all the details necessary to quickly calculate these values. Just make sure you combine the total calories from all the food and make sure you include fresh fruit and vegetables with each meal. Walk past the frozen meals and buy fresh, healthy alternatives. Your body will thank you and you will reap the benefits for the rest of your life.
There you have more than enough to put together a weight loss diet that you can follow for the rest of your life. Stay tuned for more free information and guidelines. Feel free to browse around and drop me an email with any questions.
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