Check this out: Live Strong reports that at least 62% of grownup Americans are obese, and around nine million kids and teenagers have the same issue. Obesity is a real hazard to your health, both physical and mental. And if it is a thing you secretly dread, we have a solution for you.
If you are looking for ways to improve your health and lose weight especially now ahead of beach season, the first thing your dietician would recommend you to opt for is creating a personalized diet plan accompanied by regular physical exercise. A diet plan can be a useful solution because it can help you keep your calories intake under control and learn what portion sizes you should stick to.
However, if you do not have any prior experience in creating a personalized diet plan, it can be a tricky task. There is no one-size-fits-all diet you can choose. You have to choose a menu that works best for you.
For that, you have to take lots of parameters into account when developing a plan. And to help you out with this task (and keep you sane along the way), we will guide you through the process of writing your first personalized diet plan.
Meet a full list of steps to take on the way to a quality diet plan.
How to create a diet plan nine steps:
1. Identify the calories intake per each meal.
First of all, remember that the calorie intake depends on your weight goals. If you are determined to lose weight, then you should decrease the number of calories you consume right now.
If you hope to maintain your weight while improving your overall health condition with a better diet, then do not decrease the number of calories you are eating right now but choose healthier food instead of what you consume daily at the moment.
Second of all, the calorie intake also depends on how active you are physically. If you go jogging every morning and try to lift weights every other night in the gym, then you need more calories for your body to gain back the energy.
However, if you are not into sports and do not work out on a regular basis, you can decrease or maintain the number of calories.
2. Learn what food you should eat at each meal.
Depending on the method, scholars recommend eating various foods at each meal to mix up carbs, fats, and proteins.
For instance, one source recommends eating:
* one piece of protein and one fruit for breakfast,
* one piece of protein, one vegetable, and some leafy greens for lunch;
* one piece of protein, some grains, two vegetables and some leafy greens for dinner;
* several fruit or vegetables or a snack bar in between meals.
However, depending on the calories intake you can increase the portion sizes
3. Determine how many times a day you will have a meal.
If you are more comfortable having smaller portions but more frequently, then you can split the essential calorie intake into five, six or even eight parts and have a meal as many times as you need.
This requires some thinking, but you can deal with it: it is not as hard as it sounds.
After some time, creating your weekly diet will be a fun task to do: you will organize your personalized meals in no time.
It will be easier than college math or сomparison contrast essay topics. So, get ready to polish your skills first. And we promise it will get easier soon.
4. Set a goal.
To see the effect of your dieting, you need to set clear goals. If you want to lose 10 pounds in two months, adjust your menu to this goal. Alternatively, if you want to improve your health, consider paying more attention to the quality of the foods you are consuming.
5. Choose your fats, carbs, and proteins wisely.
Everything is good and healthy in moderation. Your primary goal is to stay within the healthy terms determined by the USDA. They state that for an adult, a proportion of carbohydrate should be between 45-65%, while that of protein should not exceed 10-35% and fats should stay within 20-35%.
Calculate your fats, carbs, and proteins intake and strive to adjust it properly to the standards we mentioned above.
Besides, there are different types of fats, so pick your wisely not to fall victim to poor nutrition choices.
6. Choose your menus.
Now that you understand the basics is the perfect time to start choosing the menu. Consider what foods you actually like. Dieting can be much easier if you opt for healthy meals with foods you enjoy. So, let them be your first choice.
Then spread out the carbs, fats, and proteins evenly throughout your daily meals by choosing different products.
7. Mix various foods.
To make dieting more comfortable, try eating different foods each day. This way you won’t hate the whole idea and won’t quit as soon as a legitimate excuse comes your way. So, do not eat sweet potatoes every day. Mix it up with carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, or zucchini for every new meal.
8. Choose fresh fruit and vegetables.
Fresh fruit and vegetables are at the core of any good diet plan. But not just any fruit. The fresh ones.
Find a farmer market in your neighborhood or visit one during the weekend to buy only fresh products. It is not a problem to purchase them at the local store too. But surely, farmers’ markets offer a variety of healthy choices. It might be a bit more expensive, but the quality is worth to pay for.
9. Track your progress.
Write your menus down to make it easier to cook and buy foods for the whole week. And remember to take notes of all the progress you make along the way.
Write down how much weight you lost during this week, or note whether you feel better or not. If you see that more changes are needed, look over your diet plan and fine-tune it to your needs.
Creating a personalized diet can be quite tricky. But do not fret: you are not the first one to deal with this task. And according to what we know, this method can do wonders for your overall health condition or weight loss.
If you are not sure whether you can really write your own personalized plan all by yourself even after reading our post, you can always seek the assistance of a professional dietician. However, we are sure that you can tackle this task yourself. So, have we got that straight?
Should you know more recommendations on how to write a personalized diet plan, do not hesitate to share them with us in the comments. We would love to hear about your experience in this area!