Setting Up a Low Calorie Diet Meal Plan

To develop a low calorie diet meal plan you first need to get rid of all the junk food in your house... after which, you’ll need to restock in order to begin developing a better meal plan that helps you stay healthy and lose weight.

The secret to maintaining a low-calorie diet meal plan is to is to plan meals in advance and make a list of what you will eat. Planning a week’s worth of meals may seem like a chore, but it can save you time in the long run. Let's look at some of the food you can and should eat.

You should have a repertoire of at least five simple low calorie diet meal plan dinners that you can put together with little effort.

If you’re not a cook, try putting together a simple dinner using recipes you find. For example, you might have store-bought roasted chicken with a sweet potato and steamed broccoli, or baked or grilled salmon, brown rice, and roasted asparagus.

Cookbooks are a good source for menu-planning ideas. The upswing in the popularity of TV cooking shows over the past few years suggests that Americans may be more interested in making homecooked meals.

Some of these programs, especially those that emphasize healthy, lighter meals and/or kitchen shortcuts that minimize preparation and cooking times, are definitely worth checking out.

Also potentially helpful is the meal preparation franchise, such as Dream Dinners and Let’s Dish, which are now available in many cities across the United States. These companies provide all the food and equipment you need to assemble a set number of dinners, which you then store in your freezer and serve over the upcoming weeks. Some offer healthy, lower-calorie options, provide nutrition information, and can be a less-expensive alternative to take-out or restaurant meals.

If you don’t have such an establishment near you (or want to be even more cost-effective), consider teaming up with several friends to prepare large batches of healthy dinners, either together or on your own time, which you can then swap with one another. Once you’ve planned a week’s worth of meals, make your list.

No doubt you’ve heard the cardinal rule of food shopping: go to the store when you’re fed and rested so that you won’t be tempted to buy high-fat snacks or other treats. Another popular tip is to shop the perimeter, which is where you’ll find the freshest, healthiest foods: raw produce, low-fat dairy products, fresh lean meats and fish.

Venture into the interior aisles only when you’re after specific foods such as pasta and canned beans, to avoid the temptation of chips, soda, and sweets. And make sure you look high and low; the foods at eye level are often some of the less-healthful items.

In general, recipes that feature lots of vegetables (especially deeply colored ones such as broccoli, sweet potatoes, and peppers) are good bets, as well as those built around whole grains or beans. Cooking methods make a difference, too.

For recipes that include meat, poultry, or fish, look for baking, broiling, roasting, or grilling rather than frying or deep-frying. And seek out recipes that call for unsaturated oils, such as olive or canola, instead of butter, shortening, or margarine.

You can also modify your recipes to lower the fat and/or boost the fiber. For example:When sautéing onions, garlic, and vegetables, use half the recommended amount of oil in a nonstick skillet.

Substitute unsweetened applesauce or prune puree for part or all of the oil in recipes for baked goods, like muff ins or quick breads, cakes or cookies. Try swapping one-third of the oil for applesauce to start, and then try one-half the next time to see what works best.

Substitute up to half of the white flour with wholewheat f lour in recipes for baked goods (note that this may change the texture a bit).Remove the skin from poultry. Drain excess fat in the pan after cooking ground meat or after sautéing chicken, beef, or pork.

Substitute vegetables for part of the meat in recipes for stews, soups, and casseroles.Use low-fat dairy products in recipes, substituting small amounts of more strongly flavored, full-fat cheeses like Parmesan or Romano to boost flavor.

When you get home from the grocery store, set aside some ready-to-eat snack packs in small plastic bags or containers so that you can stave off hunger and avoid impulsive food purchases. Strategically place these snack packs in lunch boxes, in your purse, in your gym bag, in your car . . . wherever and whenever you think you might need a quick bite. Here is a list of low calorie snack food you can use:

• Whole fresh fruit (apples, pears, oranges, bananas) or small cups of grapes, berries, or cubed melon.
• Bell pepper slices, carrot sticks, or other veggies with prepared hummus dip or low-fat ranch dressing.
• Carrot sticks, celery sticks, or apple slices with peanut butter
• Low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese cups
• Low-fat string cheese
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Whole-wheat crackers with peanut butter or cheese
• 100-calorie mini-bags of crackers or cookies
• Unsweetened applesauce cups
• Half of a small sandwich
• Whole-grain cereal or granola bars
• Small handfuls of nuts, trail mix, or dried fruit

Incorporate these snacks along with healthy food into your low calorie diet meal plan and you should be on your way to losing weight in no time!