You can go on a series of fad diets or you can develop a healthy diet plan for life. As long as you are chasing the “next, best thing,” you will constantly be on a weight yo yo. Most fad diets are unsustainable for the long term. And, many of them have you losing water weight rather than fat. So, if you are ready to develop a healthy diet plan for the long haul, this article can help you.
A healthy diet plan starts with the recognition that your body needs fuel to operate. For instance, a 120 pound woman who does nothing but lie in bed all day still needs 1245 calories to keep her body functioning. Her heart needs energy to beet, her liver needs energy to process bile.
If that woman gets out of bed and starts to do light to moderate housework or goes to work and walks around some, she may need up to 1850 calories. If she does strenuous exercise for 45 minutes, she may need more than 2000 calories. A 6 foot tall 30 year old man who weighs 180 pounds and works construction will need 3000 calories just to maintain his weight.
But, not all calories are created equal. A healthy diet plan takes into consideration whether you are getting the kind of nutrients in your food that you need. You need vitamins and minerals in your food. Supplements do not provide the same quality of nutrients as real food does. So, there is a qualitative difference between an Oreo plus a vitamin and an apple.
When you eat more calories than your body needs, it stores the excess as fat. If you eat 3500 more calories than you expend over a given period (day, week, month), then you will put on one pound.
The opposite is also true. When your body needs more calories than you are feeding it, it burns fat to make up the difference. Burning 3500 extra calories will reduce your weight by one pound. That means, to lose a pound a week, you have to take in 500 fewer calories than you consume.
Your healthy diet plan will burn these calories either by exerting more energy or consuming fewer calories. Of course, you can also do a combination of both. Here’s 5 ways to cut out 100 calories in a day:
Use 1% milk instead of whole fat milk
Substitute all fruit jam for butter on your toast
Prepare tuna salad with fat free rather than regular mayonnaise
Leave 4 bites on your dinner plate
Choose apple pie over chocolate cream pie
Alternatively, you can exercise to burn calories. Here’s 5 ways to burn 100 calories:
Skip rope for 9 minutes (hum the theme to Rocky to keep you going)
Ski down an advanced slope
Slow dance for half an hour
Rake leaves for 20 minutes
Take your dog on a 25 minute walk
Additionally, there are things you can do to speed up your metabolism. For instance, if you can handle it, drinking 16 eight ounce glasses of ice water is the equivalent of burning 100 calories. Plus, you won’t need to eat as often as your stomach will be full! However, you will have to go to the bathroom a lot!
Developing a healthy diet plan is about coming up with sensible choices to balance good calories in and energy out.
