**NOTE: This post is part of the Low-Calorie Diet Introduction Series. This series is designed to give dieters a basic understanding of the principals of a low-calorie diet and to help answer any basic questions a beginner might have. This series lays the foundation and provides some basic information to jump right in and start losing fat with your next meal.
A low-calorie diet is essentially just that, a diet regimen that consists of a caloric restriction. Most importantly, the main ingredient of a successful low-calorie diet, or any diet for that matter, is to take in less calories than you burn in a day. But that’s where it starts to get tricky; if you don’t lower your calories enough you won’t see the pounds come off, but lower them too much and you risk losing muscle mass, lowering your metabolism and possibly other complications (later in this series we will discuss the proper amount of calories to cut).
As important as slightly reducing your caloric intake are the types of foods you eat. Here’s an excerpt taken from the book The Simple, Proven Plan For Weight Loss And Control:
Not all foods are created equal. You could eat just 500 calories of cheesecake a day and you would lose weight, but would it be healthy? Unfortunately for you cheesecake lovers, the answer is no. When on a low-calorie diet it’s extremely important to eat healthy, nutrient rich foods for this reason:
Eating highly processed, unhealthy foods leads to hunger, poor nutrition and people tend fall off the diet wagon pretty quickly because they never feel satisfied.
Of course, by eating nutrient rich, whole foods you will feel full longer and be satisfied from eating fewer calories.
What a low calorie diet isn’t
- A low calorie diet isn’t starving yourself. In fact, by eating the right low calorie foods that help you feel satisfied, you can eat more food but still lose weight.
- It isn’t to be confused with a very low calorie diet (VLCD), which is a short term weight loss program mostly considered for those who are severely obese. VLCD’s only allow 800 calories or less and often involve consuming prepped drinks (Medifast Diet) and/or rely on eating the same low calorie foods (the Grapefruit Diet).
So, what exactly does a low-calorie diet involve:
- A diet that consists of a caloric restriction
- Consuming healthy, whole foods
Unlike most diets out there, a low-calorie diet is NOT a fad diet. There’s no magic pills involved and no need to cut out specific types of foods. And most importantly, it’s a proven way to effectively lose weight.
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