Best Diet Plan: 1,000 Calories a Day

Experimenting with diet plans can be very interesting. There's the low carb, uncooked, grape fruit, etc. diet plans out there. While they all seem to appear like they could work, it's difficult to keep a diet schedule that is so out of line with your normal everyday life. Where can you find time to pick up a grape fruit, peel it and enjoy in between work and soccer pick-up obligations? How will you cook pasta for your family, when you aren't allowed any carbs? Wheat pasta? What about their favorite garlic bread that always comes with the pasta? These are all very good questions, and while most people beginning a new diet plan, have an optimistic and idealistic attitude towards their new diet, it will only be so long before they cave in and start eating like a normal person.

This is why I suggest, the 1,000 calorie a day diet plan. That is about half the amount of calories that are considered normal in a full day. So, that number should be adjusted depending upon your normal calorie intake. If you normally eat about 3,000 calories a day, cut that down to 1,500. If you normally eat about 1,500 calories a day, well you shouldn't need to lose weight if you're only eating 1,500 calories a day, cut that down to 1,000. I wouldn't recommend going any lower than that, as you need to have some energy to burn you through the day. The key to the 1,000 calorie a day diet, is sticking with it!

Every type of food that you eat, has a calorie count associated with it. Whether it's on the side of the box, or it's a piece of fruit and you can research it online. Just make sure you pour yourself the exact amount of serving required for the calorie amount you want to intake. I'm sure you can think of numerous ways to eat only 1,000 calories a day, but here is the plan that I followed, and had a great time doing it!

Here's the count of calories for some of the foods I ate during on day on the 1,000 calorie diet:

1 slice of whole wheat bread: 65 calories
Mozzarella Cheese: 80 calories (Compared to American Cheddar, which has 106 calories. Hey, every calorie counts, it's just that much more you can eat of other food items!)
Turkey, Roasted, light, without skin (3 thin slices): approx. 120 calories
Light Ranch Dressing: Approx. 80 calories per serving
Cereal: Approx. 140 calories per serving
Skim Milk: 85 calories per serving
Baked Potato: 85 calories
Yogurt, low fat, plain: 140 calories
Margarine, 75% low fat: 90 calories per serving
Pretzels generic: 108 calories per serving

Now, here is a break down of a typical day on the diet plan:

Breakfast:
1 big glass of water: 0 calories
Cereal (3/4 serving): 110 calories
Skim Milk: 85 calories

Lunch:
(1 Turkey Sandwich)
2 slices of whole wheat bread: 130 calories
Mozzarella Cheese: 80 calories
Light Ranch Dressing: 80 calories
2 slices of turkey: 80 calories

Snack:
Pretzels: 108 calories

Dinner:
Baked Potato: 85 calories
Yogurt (instead of sour cream): 140 calories
Margarine: 90 calories

Total Calories: 988

Hey, you have 12 calories left, why not add them on to the next day? That's the beauty of the 1,000 calorie a day diet, you make all the rules. You can eat whatever you want, as long as it stays within your calorie count for the day.

Why does it work?

It works because you are not only eating less, you will by default simply want to eat better because that allows you more food intake for the day. So, you slowly train yourself to make connections between the amount of food you're eating, and the amount of nutritious (or non-nutritious) value those foods have. The 1,000 calorie a day diet plan also helps to stimulate some creativity when it comes to nutritious and low calorie foods. You will get excited when you find cookies that are only 20 calories or less, because you can eat them and still be able to eat other things!

Try it out, just for a day or two, and you will realize that your natural food intake will start being healthier and you will gradually begin to adjust to a full fledged, unobtrusive, low calorie diet.