Finding the Best Diets that Work for You

admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:58:43 +0000

There are a number of diets that exist from starving yourself to death to eating prepackaged meals to only eating specific foods. But what diets work? Really the question should be what are the best diets that work for you?

Let’s look at some dieting basics. What is dieting? It is the selection, or limitation, of food you eat to reach a goal. These goals can be to lose weight, gain weight, improve health or enhance your physical condition. Of course when choosing a plan to follow you want to know about diets that work. Most often when someone is “on a diet” it is to lose weight.

To lose weight you simply need to burn off more calories than you consume to lose weight. There are many different approaches to do this, but only the effective ones are diets that work. You need to find the best diet to fit your needs and lifestyle. You might be able to find the “best” diet out there but if it is too confusing or does not work for you day in and day out you will give up without reaching your weight loss goals.

When making goals try to focus on a realistic and achievable goal as well as an ideal goal. Also, before you even start your diet weigh and measure yourself. Be sure to record this somewhere so you can keep track of the progress you make along the way. Periodically during your diet repeat this exercise and note your updated weight and measurements next to your starting numbers.

Also, another thing to consider before starting your diet is WHY? Why are you going on a diet? Is it just to lose weight or is it to begin taking better care of yourself or for a special occasion that you want to look your best? It is important to identify specifically why you are doing this. A diet is behavior modification and to change a behavior you need to be convinced there is value to change and it is worth the effort.

When trying to decide which diet plans that work for you and your lifestyle here are a few things to think about. Do you love to cook and try new things, or would you rather just heat up something without thinking about your diet? Do you want to invest time or money or both into a diet? Are you self disciplined and can follow basic guideline or do you need a strict regimented routine? Do you need to lose a few pounds or 30+ pounds?

Your diet should be a time of self discover and improvement. Some days will be easier than others but all are part of the journey. The Best Diets That Work is here to help you along the way, happy dieting!

Calorie Counting

admin — Mon, 11 May 2009 01:13:06 +0000

Calorie Counting is a diet plan that has been around for a long time and has been used by many dieters. The concept is easy, consume fewer calories than your body uses and you will lose weight. Although in practice you need some self discipline and determination to make the right food choices to help you succeed.

To lose a pound you must create a shortage of 3,500 calories for your calorie needs. You can do this through exercise, a reduced calorie diet or a combination of both. If you reduce your daily calorie consumption by 500 calories or exercise to burn off 500 calories a day you should lose 1 lb. a week. You can also reduce calorie consumption by 250 and exercise to burn another 250 to achieve the same results.

First thing you need to determine is per your weight, height, age and sex how many calories your body needs a day to function. This is your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). You can find a number of BMR calculators online by doing a simple Google search. Use a few of the calculators to help you determine your BMR calorie range as results vary from one BMR calculator to another.

BMR calculator links
www.caloriesperhour.com
www.fitwatch.com
www.bmi-calculator.net
www.health.discovery.com
www.internetfitness.com

Once you have determined how many calories you want to consume daily you need to track what you are actually eating. Many people will keep a calorie counting journal to write down everything they eat and the calories for each item or meal. To do this read the packages of the food you are eating and focus on the portions associated with the calories listed per serving. Another tool is searching online for the calories in foods. There are a number of calorie counting websites, however just typing “how many calories in ___________” into Google’s search engine will bring up a number of results.

Calorie Counting Websites
www.calorieking.com
www.caloriecount.about.com
www.nutritiondata.com
www.fitday.com
www.thecaloriecounter.com

The Best Diets That Work Overview

Low cost – you can do this diet for free, possible cost is investing in cookbooks with low calorie recipes.

Medium time – Your investment is in research regarding the calories your body needs, calories in the food you are eating as well as journaling everything you eat during the day.

Self discipline – You will need to keep track of the calories you are consuming daily and focus on staying within the calorie range needed for your body without formal accountability.

Weight loss – This diet is suitable to lose a few to a lot of pounds over a period of time. Also, this diet plan will aid in maintaining weight lost.

Long term – Once you are familiar and develop eating habits for the calories you actually need this is an easy diet that works.

Other – You have the flexibility to eat whatever you want whenever you want. However, you must stay in your calorie range to ensure weight loss. Doing a combination of a calorie reducing diet and regular exercise is the best way for a health diet plan.

The Best Diets That Work » Calorie Counting

Finding the Best Diets that Work for You

Calorie Counting

The Best Diets That Work Overview