Weight Loss for Life: A Diet Plan

You’ve tried to lose weight for years or you’ve been thinking about it but it seemed too difficult. Perhaps you just started to notice that you’re gaining weight. Maybe your old clothes don’t fit so well anymore and you’re in a panic wondering how to stop the spread.

Weight loss can be simple. Take a deep breath and enjoy knowing that you will change your life in just a few short weeks. Just reminding you again, weight loss can be simple!

Days 1 – 14: Start your weight loss plan

You will need: a small notebook, a pen.

Don’t rush out and join a gym. You’re going to give yourself 2 weeks to ease yourself into your new life. All it takes is some paper and a pen.

For 2 weeks, carry that notepad with you everywhere you go. At the beginning of each day, write the date at the top of a fresh sheet of paper. When you eat something, write it down. Write down everything you eat that day. If you drink a glass of water, write it down. If you chew on a breath mint, write it down.

Try and be a little descriptive with the ingredients in meals, but don’t worry about all the herbs and spices. For example, if you have lasagne for lunch, try to describe the size of the lasagne (small plate or large). What are the main ingredients? Beef, cheese, spinach, pasta, sweet potato … jot a few things down.

Cup of coffee? How many shots of coffee and how much milk? Was it an extra large mocha or a small, straight latte? If you have a glass of wine, indicate how full the wine glass was. Did you fill the glass only half up, or tip the brim? Keep in mind that you are the only person who will see this list, so be honest with yourself.

That’s it, that’s all you have to do for 2 weeks. It couldn’t be more simple.

Day 15: Analyse your diet

You will need: access to the internet.

Let’s be honest with ourselves. The reason we are overweight is because we take in more calories than we burn each day. It’s really very simple.

Now you have collected the information you need to critically analyse your diet. In fact, over the past 2 weeks you’ve probably already gained a little insight into why you are overweight. Perhaps you’ve noticed how many chocolate snacks you keep under your desk at work. Perhaps you were drinking more wine every evening than you realised. There is a chance that you’ve already started cutting back on a few guilty pleasures now that you’ve seen them on paper.

Your eyes have been opened, but if you haven’t had any revelations yet, don’t worry about it. Everything will soon become crystal clear.

1. Calculate your ideal calorie consumption

Counting calories is boring and laborious. Nobody wants to have to calculate their calories at every meal, but you need to do it just this once and then put it behind you.

First you should know what your ideal calorie intake should be for a person of your height and age, and your level of fitness.

Google “ideal calorie”. Choose a site with a simple calorie calculator. Compare your current weight with your ideal weight. Notice how the number of calories you can safely consume changes depending on your level of activity. The more active you are, the more calories your body can handle.

Write down how many calories you should be consuming and keep it safe.

2. Count the calories in your food

Take out your list of all the food you’ve eaten over the last 2 weeks. Now you’re going to write down how many calories are in the food you’ve eaten lately.

Google “calorie counter”. Many sites offer the ability to search for quite specific foods, the more specific the better. For example, there is a difference between the number of calories in “coffee” and the number of calories in a “tall vanilla latte”.

Calorie-count and The Calorie Counter are excellent calorie counting sites that I highly recommend.

Now you know that a tall Starbucks latte has 180 calories. A bowl of Special K (2 cups) has 234 calories, and a steamed carrot with salt has 16 calories. It might surprise you to learn that a standard glass of white wine has 70 calories while a standard glass of red wine has 74 calories, while a glass of beer has … woops.

Don’t forget to check the labels on your food at home, too. All the calorie information is contained on food labels, however in some countries the standard measurement is in kilojoules (there are 239 calories in a kilojoules).

3. Add up the calories

It can be difficult to get a precise calorie count for all your food, but do the best you can. Add up the calories for the food you have eaten each day for the past 2 weeks and write down your daily calorie consumption.

Compare your daily calorie consumption with your ideal calorie consumption. Ouch! It might hurt, but now you know. You have been enlightened and there is no turning back from this point.

Days 16 – forever: Change your diet for life

Now you know how many calories are in the foods you regularly eat on a day-to-day basis. You are an informed consumer. You also understand calories a bit more and you know which foods are higher in calories than other foods (for example, carbohydrates including pasta, rice, potatoes and bread are high in calories).

While at the supermarket, you’ll probably find yourself picking up products and reading the labels. You might do this for a week or two, but it won’t take you long before you find some new favourite snacks which are low in calories.

You don’t have to completely clean out the pantry and start over, either. Since pasta is so high in calories, but tomatoes, olives, mushrooms and zucchini are so low in calories, why not serve yourself a smaller portion of fettuccini and more of that delicious home-cooked pasta sauce?

Small changes add up. You will always be able to find innovative ways of reducing the number of calories you eat.

This is not a crash diet. It’s a weight loss plan to last a lifetime. To keep yourself on track, repeat this simple 2 week process once a year. Simply get out that notepad and pen and write down everything you eat for 2 weeks. Take a look at your calories and compare them with the year before. You will see how well you’re doing and where you have room for improvement. You’ll know what’s working and you’ll learn what’s not. Also, you’ll always be inspired to be a little bit more active.

Note: The role of exercise in weight loss

The truth is, exercise is vitally important not just for weight loss but for your health. However, most people curl up into a little ball at the very idea of exercise which is why this article focuses on food. The strength to commit to exercise has to come from within. If you are significantly overweight, the thought of exercise might make you feel physically sick.

Once you’ve made some changes to your diet you will have more energy to burn. Go for a walk, park the car further away from the door, use the stairs instead of the lift. These are just little changes but they all add up.

Find an activity that you like such as bush walking, swimming, bird watching, landscape painting … anything that gets you out of the house. Join a local group to keep yourself motivated. The simple act of getting off the couch will vastly improve your overall fitness and health, and increase the number of calories you burn and the amount of weight you lose.

That’s it! It couldn’t be more simple, could it?