When striving to lose weight, there are a variety of dietary plans that often helps individuals achieve efficient and safe weight loss success. Many of the popular dietary plans often require individuals to restrict their calorie consumption or food choices.

Calorie Restriction Diets

Reducing one’s caloric intake is one of the most commonly practiced methods for weight loss. Essentially, by counting and restricting calories, a dieter is able to clearly monitor how much is needed to successfully lose weight. To follow a calorie counting diet, dieters essentially must engage in the following steps:

• Step 1: Calculate your BMR. The BMR stands for the body’s Basal Metabolic Rate. The BMR will inform an individual how many calories you burn during your daily activities and regimens.
• Step 2: Once you are aware of your BMR, you should strive to eat fewer calories than your BMR. For example, if a dieter’s BMR is 1500, then he or she should strive to eat less than 1500 calories each day. By eating fewer calories, the body begins to burn off extra body fat in order to receive enough energy to function throughout the day.
• Step 3: While counting calories, dieters can also add exercise to increase and expedite weight loss. For example, with a BMR of 1500, and a dietary caloric consumption of only 1200, the body has burned 300 calories in a day. By adding exercise, however, the body burns more! For example, if the dieter engages in a 30 minute jog, and burns approximately 350 calories, then the total daily loss of calories equals 630.
• Step 4: To lose one pound of body fat, dieters must burn off 3500 calories. By monitoring calorie intake and consumption, dieters can effectively and strategically lose weight.

No Carb and Low Carb Restriction Diets

As dieters are often seeking fast and efficient weight loss methods, no carb and low carb diets have become a popular weight loss method for dieters around the world. One of the most famous no carb diets is the Atkins Diet, which was developed over 30 years ago.

According to reports, the Atkins Diet provides individuals with quick and efficient weight loss; however, some dietitians argue that a no carb diet deprives the body from receiving essential nutrients and vitamins, which can be received from natural carb-based foods, such as fruit and vegetables.

How Does Carb Restriction Work?

According to information from the Atkins Diet, a no carb diet promotes weight loss for a variety of reasons:

• As carbohydrates are processed by the body, they turn into sugars.
• Once turned into sugars, carbs are stored as fat, which leads to weight gain.
• By cutting carbs out of one’s diet, you are effectively avoiding added sugar and fat storage by the body, while also stabilizing the body’s blood sugar and energy levels.
• Instead of carbs, no-carb dieters increase their intake of high-protein foods, such as meat, eggs, and fish.

In the end, the best way to lose weight is to balance your eating and exercise. Cutting out fatty foods or high-calorie snacks can reduce your daily calorie intake, but you should compliment your dieting with exercise to rev up your metabolism – helping you shed those pounds even faster.