Low Calorie Dieting - Beginner's Guide

A low calorie diet can take different forms for different people, but the one thing common to all successful low calorie diets is commitment. In the following sections, I explain how you can personalize your low calorie diet while maintaining a full commitment to your new lifestyle.

On first glance, a low calorie diet may seem very rigid, but cutting calories may not be as hard as you think. Sure, you’re limited to a rather exact number of calories, which can limit the amount of food you’re allowed to eat. But actually, if you choose to eat mostly low calorie foods, you can eat plenty of them! If you choose to eat higher calorie foods, you have the flexibility of eating whatever type of food you want. You may have to eat smaller portions than you’re used to, but no one’s going to tell you that you can’t have a bagel, a bowl of pasta, or a chocolate cookie.

Most weight loss experts believe that some rigidity is good when you really want to lose weight because the closer you follow a strict diet, the better chance you have of mastering new eating habits and seeing quicker results. Don’t worry; you don’t have to eat exactly the same number of calories each day or include any foods in your diet that you don’t like, just because you think they’re good for you. It simply means that the more committed you are to your low calorie lifestyle, the better it will work for you.

Even though this guide contains one, straightforward, low calorie diet plan, it’s a flexible plan. This plan has plenty of room for personalization because I know that no one-size-fits-all diet plan can work for everyone who wants to lose weight. You have to be happy with your diet or you’ll never stick to it.

No matter if you like to cook most of your meals from scratch, if you prefer stopping at a deli or restaurant for take-out on your way home from work each day, or if you keep your cupboard and freezer stocked with convenience foods, you can work any of these eating styles into a low calorie diet plan that suits your particular lifestyle.

The concept of “going on a diet” fell out of fashion years ago, when both weight control experts and those who struggle with their weight began to agree that weight loss diets don’t work because they don’t keep the weight off in the long run. Diet was recognized for what it had become to so many overweight people: a four letter word.

The reason is simple. If you “go on a diet,” the implication is that, at some point, you’ll go off the diet. And that’s what most people do. As soon as they’re off the diet, their excess weight usually returns because they’re no longer doing what they did to keep it off.

The new way to diet is to adopt a dietary lifestyle and embrace it as your own. Instead of going on a diet, practice healthier living by eating better, eating less, making sure you get enough physical activity, and reprogramming your thinking so that you can continue these healthier habits for a lifetime.

If ever there was a commitment you need to take seriously, it’s the commitment you’re making when you follow this low calorie diet plan. Let it lead you into a healthier lifestyle that can keep you at a healthy weight for the rest of your life. This “diet” is a commitment to never give up on yourself.