Weight Loss Quick-Start

Weight Loss Quick-Start

There are a lot of different diets out there, and no particular plan is right for everyone. Regardless of what diet might be in vogue this week, you'll be more successful if you choose an approach that fits your lifestyle and food preferences and is appropriate for any health concerns you have. For example, vegetarians might find a lower-fat diet easier to follow than a lower-carb regimen. People with or at risk for diabetes may do better on a carb-controlled diet.

Regardless of which approach you choose, the detailed nutritional information and expert guidance you'll find on Nutrition Data allow you to make more informed decisions about your own diet and health. We also provide tracking and analysis tools that make it easier to manage your diet. Although there can be big differences between various approaches to weight loss, all effective weight-loss programs incorporate the same basic principles.

Basic principles for successful weight loss

•Kick-Start Your Diet

•Reduce your total caloric intake.

•Maintain or increase your metabolic rate.

•Correct bad eating habits.

•Avoid getting too hungry.

•Record everything you eat.

•Maintain or improve your health.

Kick-Start Your Diet

Get time savings and help from the experts all in one place! We've created quick-start food lists tailored to fit specific dietary goals. Add foods from one or more quick-start list to your My Foods list with a single click.

Reduce your total caloric intake

To lose weight, you have to change your energy balance. There are just two ways to do this: Either consume less energy (calories) or expend more energy (via exercise and/or increased metabolic rate). The easiest way to reduce your consumption is simply to cut back on the size of your meals and/or the amount of high-calorie foods you consume. This doesn't mean that you have to give up any particular food: In fact, completely avoiding a food can lead to strong cravings that derail your diet. A smarter approach is to just eat less of those high-calorie foods.

To get a realistic idea of how many calories you consume, consider keeping a food diary. You don't have to keep your diary forever, but do track your daily intake for at least one week. The My Tracking area of My ND makes this calorie-counting exercise especially easy and provides you with totals of nutrients as well.

Also beware of foods containing "hidden" calories. For example:

•Watch what you drink.

•What you drink during the day can have a major impact on your calorie intake. In most cases, calorie-free drinks such as water or tea are just as filling (and more refreshing) as high-calorie drinks like soda, so this is one of the easiest places to improve your diet. Water is almost always your best choice, but coffee, tea, and diet drinks can also help cut calories.

•Be smart about condiments and toppings.

•Butter, mayonnaise, and a lot of the "special sauces" used by restaurants are very concentrated sources of calories. If you want to add flavor to your food, try using lemon juice, soy sauce, salsa, or spices instea

Maintain or increase your metabolic rate

One of the most common mistakes that dieters make is to get excited or impatient with their diet and reduce their caloric intake too far. If you do that, your body will respond by lowering your metabolic rate and slowing your weight loss. To prevent this downward adjustment of your metabolism, make smaller changes to your eating habits. Your patience will pay off in terms of more consistent weight loss, more energy, and fewer cravings.

For the best results, add exercise to your plan. Regular exercise expends energy as you're doing it but can also lead to increases in your basal metabolic rate, so you'll burn more calories even at rest. High-intensity exercises burn the most calories, but don't select exercises solely on their fat-burning potential. Instead, pick exercises, such as sports activities, that you enjoy and want to incorporate into your daily routine.