Low Calorie Diet

There are numerous options out there for weight loss and those who want to drop a few pounds quickly usually choose a low calorie diet plan. These diets allow you to have 800 to 1,500 calories each day. If a diet contains less than an 800 calorie allowance, it is a very low calorie diet. This is a drastic lowering of calories and should only be considered as an immediate weight loss plan such as when preparing for surgery or other medical procedure and should be supervised by a doctor.

There is a lot of difference in these two types of diet. A regular low calorie diet still offers your body the nutrition that it needs to function properly. The other type of diet with less than 800 calories is a starvation diet which provides little or no solid food and provides no nutrition values.

When you do choose a low calorie diet there are two ways of approaching the choice.

1. Counting calories but ignoring nutrition.

Many people feel that all calories are the same. They think that by cutting calories they can still indulge in their favorite foods as long as they eat a smaller amount of calories. Although weight loss may be your main focus, nutrition cannot be disregarded. The proper amount of protein, carbohydrates and fats that you consume are important to vital body functions. You also need a proper amount of fiber to keep your digestive tract clean and healthy.

If you think that you can eat a bunch of sweets and fats but still lose weight, then you are in for problems. This is not the way to choose a low calorie diet. Such sweets and junk foods contain empty calories which have no nutritional value.

2. Eating a Properly Healthy Low Calorie Diet.

You can eat an equal amount of calories with much healthier food choices and lose weight. Think about the fiber you will be providing your body with when you eat whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Not only does fiber help your body to digest food, but you will feel full quicker and you won’t eat as much of the other foods on your diet. These are the other types of foods that you need to eat to get the necessary vitamins and minerals that your body requires.

Other Things to Consider With a Low Calorie Diet

There are diet guides online that will tell how many calories you will need in order to lose weight successfully according to your own personal needs. You should use a guide that takes into consideration the amount of exercises that you will be doing. This is important since your calories will be giving you the energy that you need for your workouts.

The amount of fats, carbohydrates and proteins should be balanced. These may also shift depending on your activities. If you are doing strength training to increase muscle mass while you are trying to lose weight then you might need to increase your intake of protein which is necessary to build muscle.

Not all doctors think that a low calorie diet is the best avenue to pursue when trying to lose weight. However this is a personal choice.