Diet Plans Overview

There are loads of diet plans from Weightwatchers to Atkins. It is a matter of finding what suits you.

They basically either:

·         Calorie count

·         Carb count

·         Slimming Classes/Clubs

·         Food replacement diet plans

·         A combination of the above

Calorie counting is the classic diet. You work out the calorie of all food by with some good meal planning which involves weighing the food and counting the calorie value you usually restrict yourself to 1500 calories a day.

Considered safe, favoured by GPs and NHS.

Carb counting diets like Dukan and Atkins use carb counting. You have to cut out a lot of carbs from your diet, pasta, bread etc.So this could change your meal plans considerably.

Atkins in particular not really favoured by GPs and NHS but good for initial weight loss.

Classes like Weightwatchers, Slimming World, and Rosemary Conely are some of the classes you can attend. They give you various diet sheets and diet advice.

Although a diet club like Slimming World or Weight Watchers can be great support with weekly classes and diet advice they can be expensive with membership fees and not everyone can get to them or want to attend them and can sometimes get in the way of other plans.

Food Replacement Diets like Slimfast, and Lighterlife replace some of your meals with their products.

5:2 intermittent fasting diet you fast for 2 days and eat normaly for 5 days.

Link to diet plans

Exercise and Weight Loss

Exercise and Weight Loss

Exercise is great for your body. Weight training is great for your metabolism. Some ladies worry that they will get big bulky muscles if they weight train but you won’t we don’t have enough male hormone to do that. But we can achieve a toned slimmer looking body. Slim and toned equals a happy mind and a happy body.

If you think that you can eat as much you like and then exercise hard to burn off the calories, I am sorry to say it won’t work. A reducing diet combined with exercise will work. To lose one pound of fat you have to cut out 3500 calories nearly two days food! To exercise away a pound of fat you work have to walk for 6 hours!

Regular activity can help you lose weight. Everything you eat contains calories, and even if you eat a low fat diet, your body will store unused calories as fat. Exercise can help control your weight by allowing your body to burn the calories that it might otherwise store as fat.

Aerobic activities like swimming, walking, jogging, dancing and cycling can help if you're looking to control your weight. These simple exercises increase your rate of breathing, and allow your body to begin burning stored fat as fuel. Remember, for the first twenty minutes of any aerobic exercise, your body will be using energy made from food you ate that day. You won't start burning stored fat until you've exercised for over twenty minutes continuously.

Aerobic exercises can contribute to body fat loss, but you might still find that stubborn body fat won't disappear from problem areas such as the thighs, abdomen and buttocks. The bad news is, you can't lose body fat from just one area of the body at a time; fat loss has to occur from your entire body all at once. When fat deposits accumulate in one area, such as the belly, those fat deposits will be the last to go.

However, you can still tone the muscles of your body through strength training or anaerobic exercise. Also, since fat is burned within the muscles, building and maintaining muscle mass will allow you to burn calories more effectively, even while at rest. Muscle bulk increases your metabolic rate (the speed you burn energy).

You have nothing to lose but your fat!

Calorie Controlled Diet/ Low Calorie Diet

The idea behind following a low calorie diet is to burn more calories than you consume, a moderately active adult burns about 2,200 calories a day. To lose weight you need to eat less than this, between 1200 -1500 calories a day  Don’t be tempted to starve yourself. Going below 1200 calories a day will only lead to a slower metabolism rate, which makes it much harder to lose weight. You should lose between 1-2Ibs a week on a calorie controlled diet. Eat sensible portions of healthy low-calorie foods. Choose foods that will fill you up without filling you with excess salt, sugar or fat. Beware; lots of low calorie, low fat foods you can buy, are full of sugar. Make sure you weigh everything you plan to eat and work out the calories religiously.

There are lots of online calorie counters.

Examples include:

• My Meal Mate 
• MyFitnessPal
• Calorie counting
• FatSecret

Drink plenty of water, you can have 3 diet drinks a day, coke etc. Fruit/herbal tea is also a good choice; allow yourself ½ pint skimmed milk, 100 calories, to use in tea, coffee or your porridge.

In theory you can eat any food you like on a low calorie diet but you will quickly use up your daily allowance unless you choose wisely!:(

Here is healthy low-calorie diet menu suggestion: Approx 1400 calories.

Breakfast	Calories (approx)
1/2 cup oatmeal porridge whole oats, not instant oats, make with water or daily milk allowance.	150
2 slices wholemeal toast spread very thinly with jam	170
or
Boiled /poached egg	120
2 thin slices of wholemeal bread spread thinly with butter	170
Mid Morning Snack
Non-fat yogurt	90
or
fresh fruit or vegetable	100
Lunch
4 oz grilled chicken breast	120
Mixed salad with low- cal dressing	100
or
2 thin slices of whole-grain bread spread thinly with butter	170
2 slices low fat ham	100
Leaf of lettuce and 2 slices of tomato	15
Afternoon Snack
½ cup low-fat cottage cheese	100
or
fresh fruit or vegetable	100
or
Non-fat yogurt	90
Dinner
6-8 oz grilled steak	450
1 cup steamed vegetables or small salad with low-cal dressing	100
or
6oz salmon steak	350
1 baked potato with smear of butter	150
1 cup steamed vegetables or small salad with low-cal dressing	100
Dessert (if you have enough calories left!)
Fruit	100
or
Non-fat yogurt	90
Daily Milk allowance ½ pint skimmed	100