How to Lose Weight With a Healthy Diet Daily Plan

Any goal that doesn't involve a clear plan can be very difficult to achieve. In fact, that's why many people fail at resolving to lose weight, but if shedding some pounds is your goal, you can achieve it with the right plan of action. A healthy daily diet plan is a great way to stay on the track to lose weight. Knowing exactly what you're going to eat (and making sure it's healthy) will take the guess work out of weight loss.

Tips For You

1. • 1
     Get educated. In order to create a healthy daily diet plan to lose weight, you need to know exactly what the term "healthy foods" means. Many resolutions to "get healthy" fail because the term is too generic. Do your research. The internet is a great resource for finding healthy food recommendations, unique recipes and support blogs. Use Healthy Holistic Living (see resources) or something similar to expand your knowledge on healthy eating.
   • 2
     Choose your foods. Once you have researched healthy foods, take out your notebook and write down your favorites. If you don't like what you're eating, you'll lose motivation, so be sure to choose foods you'll enjoy eating. If you're always on the go, pick foods that are easy to prepare.
   • 3
     Determine your daily calories. Even eating the healthiest foods won't necessarily result in weight loss if you are consuming a large amount of calories each day. To figure out your daily caloric limit, calculate the calories you are currently eating and subtract 500. Since 3,500 calories makes a pound, a deficit of 500 calories per day should create a weight loss of one pound per week.
   • 4
     Create your meal plan. Once a week (or once a day), create your meal plans. Using your list of healthy foods, write down three meals and two snacks per day, along with their caloric value. You can find out the caloric value of most foods at Calorie King. One meal and snack might look like this:

     Breakfast:

     1/2 cup cottage cheese

     1 light yogurt

     1/2 cup blackberries

     coffee

     Calories: 250

     Snack: 1 apple

     Calories: 90
   • 5
     Prepare your foods. Each night, map out your foods for the next day using your daily plan. If your foods are ready to be eaten or taken with you to work, it will be far easier to stick to your plan. Slice your fruits and vegetables, or prepare your wraps and sandwiches so you have easy access when it comes time to eat.
   • 6
     Get creative! Healthy eating doesn't have to be boring. Be creative with your food preparations. If you are an avid cook or baker, look for new inventive ways to make your old favorite healthier. For instance, if you love spaghetti, make it homemade using whole wheat flour, fresh tomatoes and chicken sausage.
   • 7
     Get active. Healthy, whole foods will give you more energy than their processed counterparts. Take advantage of this by adding in an exercise routine. Not only will it help you burn more calories, but it will raise your metabolism so you burn more calories even when you're not working out.