Food Diet Programs

When engaging in a diet, you have two main options to consider. One viable option is a liquid diet, consisting mainly of pre-prepared drinks that have been fortified with vitamins and nutrients to meet your nutritional needs. The alternative is a solid food diet. Although a solid food diet leaves more options available for unplanned cheats, a solid food diet has the advantage of concurrently retraining your dieting habits so you are better equipped to maintain your weight loss at the cessation of the plan.

Daily Caloric Intake

• Understand that there are two main components to consider when discussing any solid food diet--quantity of food intake (i.e. caloric intake) and the quality of food intake. Ignoring one or the other is a common dieter's mistake, but only by considering both can you truly reach your dieting goals. When considering quantity of food intake, you will naturally need to create a caloric deficit to lose weight. However, you should strive to create as slight of a caloric deficit as possible, giving yourself more wiggle-room for later adjustments once your body adapts to the reduced intake. For example, while you can lose weight on a super low-calorie diet (such as 1,200 calories per day), you will have nowhere realistic to go once your metabolism adapts to that level and your weight loss halts. If you plan more conservatively, consuming 1,800 or so calories per day, you can simply drop calories further (to 1,500, then to 1,200) each time that weight loss stalls, prolonging the useful life of your dieting efforts. Therefore, start your solid food diet with the minimal amount of caloric deficit needed to lose one or two pounds per week (normally around 200 to 300 fewer calories per day).

Food Quality

• Remember to consider food quality as the other part of the equation. Ideally, you want to consume as much nutrient-dense food as possible while on a solid food diet. This will provide your body with the vitamins and minerals it needs to still continue functioning at an optimal level, improving your overall condition over a diet plan that does not regulate food quality. Accomplish this by limiting yourself to lower calorie, nutrient dense foods like fruits, vegetables, and lean meats such as chicken, turkey and seafood. These foods will allow you to consume larger portions while still keeping under your daily caloric level, curbing your hunger while keeping your weight loss on track. For example, four pieces (half) of a frozen pizza can easily cost you over 1,000 calories. However, it would take one full pound of grilled chicken breast and five medium-sized apples to equal that same number of calories. Therefore, avoid all fried, processed, breaded, sugary and other unnatural types of food while on a solid food diet.