Searching for a fast and effortless way to lose a few pounds so that you can fit into that fitting red dress of your dreams or just to regain your pre-pregnancy figure? Many diets are claiming to have remarkable weight loss effects. As a trained dietitian and nutritionist, I feel compelled to shoot down such outlandish claims. If you wish to shed some body fat in a controlled and healthy manner, I would strongly propose the low calorie diet plan. This is one of the most well-studied and relatively easy diets that work.

Let’s get the basics right before I proceed on with the low calorie diet plan. The energy that we require for our daily bodily functions come from the food we eat and this can be determined in calories(kcal). Why do calories play such an vital role in a diet? The issue arises when people eat more calories than required.

Calorie in > Calorie out = Weight gain

Here is a 3 step process to the low calorie diet plan to make it work well for you.

Step 1: How much is your daily calorie intake

This would depend on factors like your basic metabolic rate (BMR) and activity level. You can calculate your BMR based on the following equations.

Women:
BMR = 655 + (9.6 X weight in kilos) + (1.8 X height in cm) - (4.7 X age in years)

Men:
BMR = 66 + (13.7 X weight in kilos) + (5 X height in cm) - (6.8 X age in years)

You can then do a rough evaluation of your daily calorie needs by using these formulas:

Sedentary (Your only exercise is typing on the keyboard)
(BMR x 20 percent) + BMR

Lightly active (You exercise 1-3 times a week)
(BMR x 30 percent) + BMR

Moderately active (You exercise 3-5 times a week)
(BMR x 40 percent) + BMR

Very active (You exercise intensely on a daily basis)
(BMR x 50 percent) + BMR

Extra active (You do hard labor or are in athletic training)
(BMR x 60 percent) + BMR

Let’s us be realistic. Majority of us will be in the category of lightly active. Here’s how you can calculate your required calorie intake. The calculated calorie requirement for a 47 year old sedentary woman who is 68kg and 163cm tall will be:

BMR = 655 + (9.6 X 68) + (1.8 X 163) - (4.7 X 47) = 1380 kcal

Total daily calorie requirement = (1380 x 0.2) + 1380 = 1656 kcal

Just so you know, a typical western diet consists of 3000-3500kcals and that is twice what an average female requires. It comes as no surprise as to why the obesity rate is escalating at such an alarming rate.

Step 2: Determine how many calories you will cut out from your diet

If you consume fewer calories than needed, you will lose weight. In general, if you are eating 500kcal calories less than what you need daily, you are creating a 3500 kcal deficit per week.

A female that is eating 1150kcal daily as opposed to her required 1656kcal will lose about 1 pound after a week . This is in theory. Try to keep your daily calorie intake to more than 1200kcal or your body will respond by holding on to the fat cells more stubbornly.

3500kcal deficit = 1 pound of weight loss

You will need to cut off 70000kcal from your diet if you plan to lose 20 pounds. Remember, slow and steady wins the race.

You should aim to lose 1-3 pounds a week. Anything more is too much

Step 3: Keep a food diary and determine what needs to be cut out

You will get better results from your diet if you note down what you eat. You will find that you are actually consuming a lot more than you imagined (assuming you do not cheat).

For 3 days, make sure you record down every single little thing that you swallow. Include as much details about what you eat. .

There are a couple of resources you can find on the internet to help compute the calories you are getting from your meals.

Go through your list and see what are the items that have been contributing mostly ‘useless calories’. You will also be able to identify what you can easily eliminate from your diet to create the calorie deficit I was explaining about above.

As with all dietitians, I love to write meal plans. Here is a sample of a healthylow-calorie meal plan.

Breakfast:

Half a wholegrain bagel with a thin spread of light cream cheese (300kcal)

1 glass of low fat milk (90kcal)

Mid-morning snack:

1 cup of Low-fat yoghurt (130kcal)

Lunch:

Wholegrain sandwich bread, with a spread of mustard, salad veggies and lean meat (chicken/beef) (350kcal)

1 serving Minestrone soup (150 kcal)

Afternoon snack:

1 serving of fresh fruit (70 kcal)

Dinner:

Half cup of pasta with tomato sauce + 1 palm size grilled meat/fish or chicken OR half cup of lean mince (400kcal)

Side salad with fat-free dressing (70 kcal)

1 serving of fresh fruit (70 kcal)

Total Calories: 1630 kcal

From the above meal plan it should give you a rough idea as to how to construct your own diet plan. If you follow through with the food diary activity and get yourself familiarized with the general calorie content of foods, you would have already known by now what are the high calorie foods that you need to reduce your intake of.

Here are several tips which you can employ to create a calorie deficit

1) Substitute your regular soda with the diet/light version

2) Use fat-free salad dressing and low fat mayonnaise

3) Have 2 servings of fresh fruit instead of 2 cups of processed fruit juice

4) Use a spray oil bottle instead of pouring it into the pan

5) Do away with fatty meat

6) Reduce the food portions you usually eat

7) Drastically reduce your fried food intake

Changing to low fat dairy products

9) Reduce your alcohol intake

Consistency is key for the low calorie diet plan to be successful. Remember to treat yourself to something delectable if you’ve been consistent with your diet for a couple of weeks. Don’t be disappointed if you ate more than intended for the day. It isn’t what you consume in a day but the cumulative efforts over a period of time that really matters in the battle against the bulges.

Kelly Kims is an accredited dietitian and nutritionist with years of experience in both clinical and private settings. She has strong interests in weight management with focus on bariatric surgery, pregnancy and dieting post pregnancy as well as a range of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Also a certified performance dietitian, she counsels sportsmen and athletes to help them achieve their fitness outcomes through good wholesome nutrition. Kims runs a site on easy diets that work with her partner.