How To Lose Weight Quickly: Diet Plan

In the previous two articles on How To Lose Weight Quickly, we covered two different exercise options for you to choose from. However, simply exercising will not be enough to give you the quick weight loss results you're looking for.

You will also need to be very aware of what you eat. Most people know to lose weight, you must consume less calories than you burn each day. Only after you cause a negative balance in your calories will your body start using it's fat stores as fuel.

To get your body in a calorie defecit, we will:

• Burn calories each day with exercise
• Reduce our daily caloric intake through diet

The previous articles gave you a great start on burning calories, but lets look at the other side of the equation...the calories you consume.

Simple dietary tips to lose weight quickly

Reduce calories by 20-25%

The first step is to reduce your calories...but, by how much? It isn't sufficient just to start starving yourself, or skipping meals. You need to be more precise, if you want fast weight loss.

The first step to putting yourself in control of your weight is to find out how many calories you require each day. I have another article on that covers in much greater depth. This is a must read as you formulate your diet strategy. However, for the purposes of this article, I will give you a basic guideline to determine your caloric requirements.

The method shown here was published by the US National Library of Medicine (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001943.htm) and doesn't require a lot of complicated math.

To figure out how many calories you need, you'll multiply your current bodyweight by a multiplier. The correct multiplier for you to use depends on your activity level. Chose your current activity level below, and then multiply your bodyweight in lbs. by the multiplier.

• If you are sedentary or very obese - 10X
• If your activity level is low, or if you are over age 55 - 13X
• If you regularly do moderate activity - 15X
• If you regularly do strenuous activity - 18X

Activity levels:

* Low activity: No planned, regular physical activity; occasional weekend or weekly activity (such as golf or recreational tennis) is the only type of physical activity

* Moderate activity: Participating in physical activities such as swimming, jogging, or fast walking for 30 - 60 minutes at a time

* Strenuous activity: Participating in vigorous physical activity for 60 minutes or more at least 4 - 5 days per week

Here's an example: Let's say you are moderate active and that your weight is 150 lbs. 150 X 15 would give you 2,250 calories each day. This is the number calories you would consume to MAINTAIN your weight. However, we want to lose weight.

So reduce this amount by 20% (or 25% to be more aggressive) to determine how many calories you should consume to lose weight. In this case, that would mean reducing our target number by 450 calories - which gives us a total of 1,800 calories. (Caution - don't go under 1,200 calories per day without speaking to your physician)

Track your calories

Many people don't realize how many calories they take in during any given day. In fact, studies have shown that people tend to underestimate their calories...unless they track them. So, get yourself a binder and write down what you eat every day and the corresponding calories of each meal.

Don't drink your calories

One of the easiest ways to immediately cut calories is to cut out calorie containing liquids. It's much better to stick to water and teas. If you're totally jonesing for something sweet to drink, try a Crystal Light "On The Go. It's sugar free and tastes pretty good - and, it's only got 5 calories.

Break your meals up into smaller meals

Instead of trying to eat all your calories in 3 meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), try to break your meals up into smaller meals through out the day. This will keep your metabolism raised through out the day. It's a lot like periodically putting fire wood into a furnace to keep a room continously warm.

Also, by eating a little something every 2-3 hours, you will reduce the tired hungry feeling you get when you cut calories and stop eating regularly. Eating a few hundred calories every few hours goes a long way to making you feel better and evening out your blood sugar levels.

Eat lean protein

One major problem that I see in many peoples diets is that they are too high in carbohydrates and too low in protein. This will be especially true because you started a new exercise routine. Your body will need protein to repair itself.

Another reason to include lean protein at every meal is to keep your insulin levels in check. Too much insulin tricks your body into holding on to fat. However, if you level out your blood glucose and control your insulin by adding protein to your meals, you will start to lose weight.

Still another important reason why you should incorporate sufficient amounts of the right proteinsis because it will help you resist the urge to binge eat or snack. That's because protein is more satieating than carbs. A meal of protein, carbs, and fat will make you feel fuller longer.

Eat as many vegetables as you want

Ok, you know you should eat low protein, but what should you eat with it? The first thing you should reach for is vegetables.

Vegetables are very low in calories, while being rather bulky. This helps you feel full. If you find that you are still hungry after finishing your meal, try loading up on a few more vegetables.

Cut back on the carbs

Vegetables are friendly carbs...Other carbs, are not so friendly. Watch out for carbs that come from refined sugar, white flour, and corn syrup. These foods are nutritionaly void, and can pack quite a lot of calories in even small amounts.

Instead, reach for things like whole wheat, oats, barley, quinoa, sweet potatoes, or even regular white potatoes. Make sure that you use these items sparingly. Eat no more than 2 servings per day.

A serving should be about the size of your fist.

Time your carbs

Many bodybuilders swear that the key to losing weight is not to eat carbs in the evening. And, there is some evidence to support that...But, most people will do better to follow this advice:

It's best to eat carbs, with the exception of vegetables, within three hours of you workout.

Or, very simply, if you workout in the morning, don't eat them in the evening. If you workout in the evening, have one serving after your workout. The reason is that carbs are better absorbed and used as fuel for your muscles after a workout.

If carbs aren't used as fuel for your muscles, they get stored as fat. So to avoid that, give your body carbs when it will use them effectively, and restrict them at the times when they are more likely to turn to fat.