Easy-To-Follow Weight Loss Diet Plan: Week 1

Welcome to Week 1 of your weight loss diet plan and well done for taking the first steps to a healthier lifestyle.
Over the next 12 weeks this plan is going to help you make healthier choices to help you lose weight and keep it off.
From today, it’ll help you stick to a daily calorie intake: 1,900kcal for men and 1,400kcal for women.

You may have been on all sorts of diets and have learned there’s no miracle cure. But losing weight doesn’t need to be complicated. If you learn to keep an eye on the calories you’re eating and those you burn off during physical activity you’re halfway there.

Don’t forget to track your food and drink using our calorie counter. Spend some time thinking about your meals in advance. If you know what you’re having each day you’ll spend less time thinking about food and you’re less likely to snack on impulse buys.

Did you know?
Research shows that it takes about 12 weeks on average to form new habits. By sticking to this routine for three months, healthy eating and regular exercise will become habits, which  are key to losing weight and  keeping it off.

Your actions for Week 1
•    Record your weight and waist size in the food and activity chart
•    Stick this week’s chart on your fridge and update it at the end of each day
•    Plan your meals
•    Use calorie counter to track your calories

Fill up with fiber

Eating food with lots of fiber will help you feel full for longer, so you’re more likely to stick to your calorie limit.
Fiber keeps your bowels healthy and can help reduce cholesterol. Most people in eat only about 18g of fiber a day, but should aim to eat at least 30g.
Increase your fiber intake gradually, though, as a sudden increase can cause cramp and constipation.
And make sure to drink plenty of water - aim for 1.2 liters a day - to avoid cramp and constipation.

Here are some easy ways to boost the fiber in your snacks and meals:

Breakfast
Adding some fiber to your breakfast can help you stay feeling full until lunch and reduce the urge for a mid-morning snack.

• Swap white bread for wholemeal or wholegrain varieties.
• Swap sugary cereals for high-fiber cereals such as wholegrain wheat cereals, unsweetened muesli, or porridge oats, and don’t forget to check the salt content.

Lunch and dinner
Vegetables are a good source of fiber, so try swapping some of the things on your plate for more veg. Aim for two portions of veg on your plate at dinner.

• Swap white rice and pasta for wholemeal versions – simply doing  this can double the amount of fiber you’ve eaten.
• Add pulses – beans, lentils and peas – into your meals. They’re  a cheap, low-fat source of fiber,  protein, vitamins and minerals. Add pulses to soups, casseroles, rice and pasta, or serve baked beans (choose reduced-salt and sugar varieties) on wholemeal toast.

Snacks
Stock up on healthier snacks containing fiber such as:

• Fruit – fresh, canned or frozen. Don’t forget to eat the skin on fruits such as apples and pears.
• Veg sticks – carrot, celery or cucumber sticks or a packet of sugar snap peas. You can enjoy these low-calorie snacks if you feel hungry in between your meals.
• Reduced-fat hummus. For a bit of variety, dip your veg sticks, wholegrain crispbreads or pitta bread in a tub of reduced-fat hummus. You’ll get the fiber from both the veg and the bread.
• Air-popped, plain popcorn. Homemade is best, to avoid the high fat, sugar or salt content in some commercial brands. Don’t add any sugar or butter.

Food with fiber
6 apricots: 4g
1 medium orange: 3g
1 medium apple: 2g
2 slices of wholemeal bread: 4.2g
1 medium jacket potato: 5g
90g of peas: 4g
90g of spinach: 2g
200g of new potatoes: 3g
30g of chickpeas: 1.5g 135g of sweetcorn: 2g
165g of baked beans: 5g
220g of brown spaghetti: 8g
180g of brown rice: 1.5g
1 large wholemeal pitta bread: 5g

Protein sources
Protein can also help you feel fuller for longer. Choose low-fat protein sources, such as:
- beans, peas and lentils
- fish
- lean cuts of meat
- skinless white-meat poultry
- lower-fat dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt)
- eggs
- tofu
- quorn

Portion distortion

No matter how healthily you eat, you can still put on weight if you’re eating too much.
Food portion sizes today are far bigger than they were 30 years ago, which means we’re consuming a lot more calories than we realize.
In fact, many of us no longer know what makes a normal portion – a problem known as portion distortion.

Regain some portion control with these six simple tips:

• Eat with smaller plates and bowls. You’ll have a smaller portion and still feel satisfied. 
• Aim for two portions of veg on your plate. This helps to cover your plate with low-calorie filling food, leaving less room for higher-calorie ingredients.  
• Eat slowly. It takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain you’re full. When you eat fast, it’s easy to overeat. 
• Turn off the TV. Eating in front of the TV can mean you eat more without noticing or enjoying your food. 
• Weigh your food. Use kitchen scales to weigh your ingredients before you cook. This will help you stick to the suggested serving sizes

Weight loss diet plan: Meal guide

You need to keep an eye on your portions to help you meet the calorie target for your day’s meals.
Women (allowance 1,400kcal)
•    Breakfast: 280kcal
•    Lunch: 420kcal
•    Dinner: 420kcal
•    Other food and drink: 280kcal
Men (allowance 1,900kcal)
•    Breakfast: 380kcal
•    Lunch: 570kcal
•    Dinner: 570kcal
•    Other food and drink: 380kcal

The calorie allowance at meal times includes any drinks or desserts you have.
If you eat more for your breakfast, lunch or evening meal, you may need to drop a snack later in the day to stay on track.

Eating out

• Avoid appetisers including bread, nuts or olives
• Stay clear of ‘supersize’ or ‘go large’ options
• If you’re having dessert, share it and go for fruit-based options 
• Choose a starter instead of a main course 
• Stop eating before you feel full

Read also Five diet rules for weight loss success

Five Diet Rules for Weight Loss Success

Are you on a weight loss mission?

If you are, then there's a few diet rules that you need to stick on to in order to get the best result from your chosen diet plan.
These shall be your golden rules, and do not cheat, if you expecting significant result that will motivate you to work more.

Take these rules seriously as if you would skip out even one, it will caused your weight loss mission to fail.

Do you know what these diet rules are?
If you want to know more, then, continue reading...

Eat More Protein
 

If you're on fat loss diet, protein intake plays important role in most of the foods you eat.
High protein foods helps you fight hunger, it can control the spike in blood glucose levels, and it helps prevent lean muscle mass loss.
This in turn boosting metabolism level and accelerates fat burning.
Don’t let your diet intake fall short. Aim to eat some protein in each and every meal and snack that you consume.

Eat Regularly
 

While the concept that your metabolism will increase the more often you eat is not entirely accurate — as the boost you get after a meal is directly related to the size of that meal — eating regularly does help to keep hunger at bay.
By feeding your body frequently throughout the day, you’ll help avoid food cravings, energy lows, and make it that much easier to stick to your weight loss diet plan.

Always goes for fresh foods.
 

Your foods selection is important to as eating fresh will help you get fast result out of your diet plan.
Set in your mind to always go for fresh foods. You may choose to prepare your own food, it's even better, if you have no difficulties in doing so.
Although there's no objection on processed foods, you should say 'no' to processed foods no matter how much conveniences they offered.
Processed foods are not bad but most of its low in nutrients and easily increase body weight. Thus, if you want to lose more weight, just say 'no' to processed foods.
When selecting your foods, eating fresh is a must. We live in a world where processed foods are around every corner and just waiting to cause we weight gain.

Set short term goals
 

Make your weight loss diet plan achievable. Set a short term goal first, do it this way you find it easy to follow. That's what matter the most, to be able to go with the flow.
Put in your mind what you can do in those short time and make it work. There is nothing wrong about setting up long term goal, it's just that most dieters find it easy to fall into relapse and caused a long pause.

Focus on your short term goal, example make a list what you could achieve in three-week time. Three weeks’ time considered to be reasonable for good habits to form, so you can follow your diet plan at ease. Easy to follow diet will keep you motivated and stay on track, and soon you see the result.
There's no point to go on a goal that you knew almost impossible to achieve, no matter how much you need fast weight-loss.

Always feel good about yourself
 

It's important to have self-confident. Never compare your result to others. Instead, start comparing what have you achieved today to yesterday's achievement.
If there's any improvement on each day, even a spike, you should feel good because you're moving toward success on your weight loss journey.
This is what you have been working hard for, thus, be proud of yourself.

Thus, keep these five golden diet's rules in mind if you want to succeed in losing weight.