The Calorie Reduction Diet

There are so many diets out there, it isn't even funny, and new ones are being thrust upon an unsuspecting and weight-conscious public all the time. No matter what their claims are, no matter how they package it, the ones that work all have the same thing in common. In fact, it's the only way to lose weight. What is it? You have to burn more calories than you take in. That's why so many weight loss programs revolve around a calorie reduction diet.

Our weight goes up when we take in more energy (in the form of calories found in our food) than we use up. Early in our history, this body mechanism served to keep us alive. Our ancestors couldn't always be sure when they would eat next, so their bodies stored extra calories as fat. This was fine back then, but it leads to obesity in modern cultures where food is plentiful.

If you need to lose weight, then there are only two things you can do. You have to burn more energy in the form of exercise, or you have to eat a reduced calorie diet. The first step is to determine exactly how many calories you need per day. There are plenty of online calorie calculators that can help you determine what your caloric intake should be. If you are seeing a doctor to help lose weight then follow any and all of their recommendations.

Everybody is different, so you need to do what's best for you. That being said, you should try to avoid a diet that restricts you to fewer than 1200 calories per day. That is the amount the World Health Organization says adults should have. Besides if you go too low on a calorie reduction diet, then your body will get the message that you are starving, and store a higher percentage of your calories as fat. That means you could actually gain weight by eating less!

A good rule of thumb is to lose no more than one to two pounds per week. This may seem slow, and flies in the face of fad diets that promise big weight loss in a few days, but it is a much better way to lose weight. Losing weight slowly and steadily will prevent your body from going into starvation mode, and it will also prevent you from feeling deprived.

There is another aspect of a calorie reduction diet that you have to be aware of: eating boosts metabolism. That's right! You can boost how many calories you burn by eating enough. Your brain gets the signal that there is new energy to burn, and it starts up the fat burning furnace to help you use up the energy you are taking in. It may help to think of it as the reverse of starvation mode.

Other than that, a calorie reduction diet comes down to common sense. Make healthy food choices--fruits, vegetables, lean protein, whole grains--and keep your portions under control. Doing those things will give you your best chance at weight loss success.