A healthy diet for quick fat loss emphasizes a wide variety of low-calories foods that are easy to obtain. As with all diets, controlling calorie intake and increasing exercise are the keys to fat loss. Beyond that, what works for one person may not work for someone else.
While having too much fat and being overweight are not the same, they generally accompany one another. Body fat can range from 2 percent to 70 percent of body weight. Desirable amounts of body fat range from 8 to 24 percent for men and from 21 to 35 percent for women. Women need more body fat than men because of their reproductive functions.
For most people a goal of losing one pound of fat a week is reasonable. To lose a pound of body fat a week requires energy output that exceeds caloric intake by about 500 calories a day. For most men, that generally requires limiting caloric intake to 1500 calories per day; for women the limit is 1200. (Very active people may have a higher calorie allowance for losing weight.) Some dietary experts recommend accomplishing this by eating less fat, especially saturated fat and trans fat, while others recommend consuming fewer carbohydrates. Still others emphasize increasing protein. The right diet for you may include a combination of these dietary approaches.
There are good reasons for losing extra body fat. Excess body fat is associated with type 2 diabetes, hypertension, gallstones, pregnancy risks, vision problems, erectile dysfunction, liver damage and failure, bone and joint disorders, menstrual irregularities, infertility, skin disorders, shorter stature, and other serious health problems. The risks are greater for people with upper body fat storage as measured by a waist of more than 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men.
Substitutes for Fewer Calories
Most people are more successful with diets that include familiar foods they enjoy than with highly restrictive diets. You can make simple substitutions to save calories and continue to eat foods you like. Here are some ideas to get you thinking:
- For dinner, broil your fish or chicken instead of batter frying it. Instead of well-marbled beef such as prime rib, choose eye of round or other lean meat. Or, try three ounces of lean roast beef in place of half a cup of beef stroganoff.
- Replace half a cup of potato salad with one cup of raw vegetable salad. And use low calories dressing on the salad.
- Make gravy with water or broth instead of cream.
- Eat and cook with low fat yogurt instead of sour cream.
- Save calories just by buying pineapple chunks canned in juice rather than heavy syrup.
- Snack on plain popcorn instead of potato chips. Try nutritional yeast or herbs and spices on your popcorn in place of butter and salt.
- For dessert, enjoy one cookie instead of three. Treat yourself to ice milk or frozen yogurt instead of ice cream. Savor angel food cake instead of layer cake with chocolate frosting.
- At breakfast try plain corn flakes instead of sugar coated flakes. Top your cereal with one percent milk instead of whole milk. Enjoy an English muffin instead of a Danish pastry.
- You can enjoy your alcohol; just make it a light beer instead of a regular beer. Drink a wine cooler made with sparking water rather than a gin and tonic.
One way to choose lower calorie foods is by reading product labels. Take time in the supermarket to read the labels. You might be surprised at what you learn and how easy it is to make lower calories choices as part of your diet for quick fat loss.
Changing Your Food Habits
Many people who are overweight have habits or behaviors that encourage overeating. Snacking while watching television is a good example. Changing these behaviors is an important part of losing weight. Maybe it’s as simple as not keeping “goodies” in the house or taking a walk during breaks from work instead of eating a candy bar. You might need to discipline yourself to sit down and eat at a table and not while standing up, sitting on the couch, or riding in the car. Some people decide to eat slower or chew their food thoroughly before taking the next bite. Take a look at your eating habits to see if there is anything you can change to support your weight loss.
And don’t forget to exercise. Any reasonable weight loss and fat loss program includes regular physical activity.
Good Diet or Not?
How can you tell a healthy weight loss or fat loss diet from a questionable one? Most questionable diets have these characteristics in common:
- They promote quick weight loss.
- They limit foot selections to specific foods, often to be eaten at certain times of the day. The food selection is so limited or the foods so hard to find that most people cannot stick to it.
- They claim to work for everyone. In reality, different people require different plans for losing fat and weight.
- They often recommend expensive supplements or foods, which they usually sell.
- They are not designed for permanent weight loss. They do not address changing eating habits for long-term weight control.
- They criticize medical and scientific diet recommendations that do not offer quick fixes.
- They use testimonials from famous people and/or refer to well-known cities.
Seek Professional Help
If you plan to start a diet for quick weight loss it is a good idea to consult your doctor first. Your physician can make diet recommendations based on your individual health conditions, concerns, and weight objectives. He or she may refer you to a registered dietician to help you design an individualized weight loss and fat loss program. You may also want to meet with an exercise physiologist, who can help you achieve your goals by advising you about appropriate physical activities for fat loss.