You have probably heard that diets don't work, or don't follow a diet if you want to lose weight. Well, that is only partially true. Diets are designed to help someone lose weight, and are based on an overall reduction in calories. Usually below BMR (Basal metabolic rate), or the number of calories your body needs to survive. In theory, in order to lose a pound of body fat a week you need to consume at last 500cals less than you burn a day for 7 days. (1 pound of body fat = 3500cals). Now here is the problem, one or the reasons "diets don't work."
For me, I am a 41 year old woman, and have a BMR of approximately 1250 cals. Subtracting 500cals from that I get 750 cals. I need to eat no more than 750 cals to lose a pound of body fat a week. Ok, so for breakfast I will have a coffee with milk instead of cream and 1 teaspoon of sugar (approx 50 cals). Plus 1 bagel and cream cheese (300 cals) and for lunch I will have a sandwich turkey sandwich with no mayo or cheese and a half a cup of fruit juice (300 cals). Oops, that leaves only 50 cals for dinner....see the problem? I am eating too many calories early in the day, leaving nothing for dinner or snacks. So the solution is to go to a dietician, who puts me on a diet. Here is what it looks like.
Breakfast.
Grapefruit and black coffee
1/2 cup cottage cheese.
(120cals)
Snack:
apple.
(50cals)
Lunch:
2 cups of lettuce.
3/4 cup of raw veggies.
Lemon juice
1 can tuna
(200cals)
Snack:
4-5 celery sticks plain.
4-5 carrot sticks plain.
(30cal)
Dinner:
Cod fillet 150grams)
1 small potato
1 cup of veggies
(300 cals)
There it is, a diet that you can follow that will allow you to lose a pound a week for how every many weeks you need to follow it, in order to all the weight you want. Yeah right! I don't think I could follow that for even two weeks without cheating! I think I would have more luck on the bagel/cream cheese and turkey sandwich diet, at least I like eating those things! And even for the poor sap who manages to stay on the diet until all the extra weight is gone. His maintenance diet would be adding an extra 500 calories to that. That would be an extra snack or a beefier lunch/breakfast. Certainly no room for beer, lattes, burger and fries, can of coke, dark chocolate bar, chips, cheesies, nachos....the list goes on.
That is what I struggle with, if I am going to go on a diet, I have to be able to maintain that diet for at least six months. That diet above I would not be able to maintain for long enough to lose weight. One of my strategies for weight loss that I have come up with is writing my own diets. For example, I will write a weekly menu, and include all the things I like to eat, but keeping within my weight loss goals. I shoot more for losing a part of a pound a week, maybe 1/2 or 1/4. So for example, I know I need to eat 250 calories less than my BMR in order to lose approximately 1/2 pound a week. So for me that means 1000cals a day. Now I have an issue right there, I have tried a 1000cal day, it isn't possible for me. So I added exercise into the equation as well. Exercise allows you to add more food to your daily diet. I exercise 2hrs a day and I estimate that I will burn an extra 800 cals, so I get a daily total of 1800cals a day. That is a diet I can manage. That way if I want to have a small latte, I can (no added sugar though). Or if I want a couple of squares of dark chocolate I can have those, but they are counted in the diet. Also my breakfast is something I like to eat, oatmeal with mixed in greek yoghurt and 1 egg. You can use other people's diets, for suggestions on how to structure your own, but diets are specialized. For example I used the diet's of two body builders to structure my diet because I needed to add more protein. The end result was a diet that I could do because it is specialized for me, my likes and dislikes. Again, if it is something you can't follow for six months, it isn't going to work. Your weight loss diet, should like only slightly different than your maintenance diet.
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