Cookie-cutter diets don’t work. If you’ve been trying to lose weight for a while, you should already know that. However, you still need a plan to slim down and torch stubborn fat. The key to success is to follow a diet that has been tailored to your needs. With some planning, you can create your own menus and prep healthy meals that support your goals.
Follow these steps to build your own diet and make it work:
Do Some Math
An effective diet should allow you to eat as many calories as you can get away with while still losing weight. If you drastically lower your calorie intake, you’ll hit a plateau and stop making progress. Additionally, your metabolism will slow down and you’ll burn fewer calories throughout the day.
Before starting a new diet, do some math. Determine how many calories are needed to maintain your weight, how much energy you burn at rest, and how much protein, fat, and carbs you should eat daily. There are plenty of apps and online calculators that you can use in order to figure out these numbers.
Add Calories Back In
After a few weeks of dieting, you’ll hit a weight loss plateau unless you keep cutting down on calories. However, you can’t stay on a low calorie diet forever because your body will eventually adapt. The key to preventing plateaus is to gradually add calories back in. This way, you’ll rev up your metabolism and maintain a healthy weight. Later on, you can reduce your calorie intake again.
Make Change Work for You
A perfect diet should suit your preferences and fit into your schedule. For instance, if you have a sweet tooth, you might not be able to follow a low-carb, high-protein diet for too long. Why not simply bump up your carbs and lower your fat intake? At the end of the day, it’s all about calories in versus calories out. Tweak your diet so you can find a way to make it work for you.
