The No Restrictions meal plan is designed for any individual looking to maintain a healthy and balanced diet. No Restrictions is best suited for you if you do not have specific dietary concerns or preferences.
		The Reduced Carbohydrate meal plan limits carbohydrate intake to 40% of total calories. This plan is not to be confused with low carbohydrate diets (e.g., Atkins, Protein Power, etc.) because the carbohydrate restriction does not put the body in a state of ketosis.
		This meal plan is designed for individuals who are looking for a heart-healthy diet with Mediterranean characteristics. It focuses on incorporating healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats while limiting intake of saturated and trans fat.
		The Vegetarian meal plan is a lacto-ovo vegetarian plan, meaning that eggs and dairy are included. This plan is designed for individuals who do not consume meat, chicken, or fish, and the menus include a variety of soy foods and meat substitutes.

Easy Ways to Lose Weight in 2 Weeks

1. Beware scale obsession - weight should come off slowly - a half pound to one pound a week - as a result of cutting junk calories while fueling your body properly for the next workout and recovery. Think of your body as a high performance engine - raise the octane of the fuel you use and stop filling when the tank is full.

2. To lose weight in 2 weeks, you have to cut down on the junk foods (not completely), stop eating out and drink less sugary drinks, including the diet kinds.

3. Eat more fresh wholesome foods and whole grain products. It's simply the best and loaded with the essential fiber to keep you satisfied longer. The simple rule is, try to get in 2 serves of fruits and 5 serves of veggies a day.

4. Make it a point each day to include a good habit like drinking one less can of coke or eating one more serve of fruit.

5. Eat 6 healthy mini meals a day to keep your stomach satisfied. The key here is eat in controlled portions and never go for that second serve or a super size meal. Stick to the 1 plate rule to keep your calorie intake at bay.

6. Even 'bad foods' can be good, in 'moderation'. The keys are portion size and cooking method. Juicy, tender cuts of steak are fatty, but are fine to eat if you trim the lard before cooking, or grill it so excess fat can drip away. As for easy guideline on portions, always eat less steak than you would chicken.

7. No matter what you've eaten, take note of how your body feels after a meal, rather than how you think you should feel. If you're still hungry later in the day, treat yourself to a piece of sweet in season fruit rather than a sugar filled snack or dessert. Then go ahead and pat yourself on the back.

8. Food is not the enemy. Food powers your brain and your muscles; without it, you'll lose your energy soon. If you missed a midday meal, eat a piece of fresh fruit or a handful of whole wheat crackers before you head for the gym.

9. How many of us slip chips and chocolate into our trolley for emergencies? It's vital to stop buying junk if you want to stop eating junk! Be strong and avoid purchasing extra snacks. You'll notice that both your grocery bill and snacking habits will start decreasing. If the foods aren't there, you can't eat them!

10. Your favorite exercise - only better - daily walker? Seasoned swimmer? You get kudos for your commitment, but you maybe short changing yourself. As you become more accustomed to your favorite activity, you burn fewer calories. This doesn't mean you have to ditch your go to exercise - just mix it up. As your fitness improves, increase the intensity levels to challenge your body (but train with in your limits). Look at jogging 100 yards followed by another hundred yards of walking, rinse and repeat. It's a great way to jolt the body's metabolism.

Alternatively, look at a combination of interval training and strength training like Turbulence Training to get the maximum output from your body - And when combined with good nutrition, it is one of the easy ways to lose weight with.

Ladies, strength training is good for you too - you will not bulk up and with muscles, you will burn more calories.

11. Use your lunch break wisely - spend half your lunch break walking. Taking a midday walk or a run can boost your energy, and reduce stress. Best yet, it gives you more time after work with family or friends.

Introduction to weight loss

Whether you are trying to lose 5 pounds or more than 50, the same simple laws of physics determine whether or not you will lose weight and how fast your weight loss will occur. Remembering these simple guidelines and putting them into practice can lead to weight loss without the aid of any special diet plans, books, or medications.

Our weight is determined by the amount of energy that we take in as food and the amount of energy we expend in the activities of our day.Energy is measured in calories. If your weight remains constant, you are probably taking in the same amount of calories you burn each day. If you're slowly gaining weight over time, it is likely that your caloric intake is greater than the number of calories you burn through your daily activities.

Everyone is in control of the amount of food he or she consumes each day, so our intake of calories is something we can control. To a major degree, we can also control our output of energy, or the number of calories we burn each day. The number of calories we burn each day is dependent upon

• our basal metabolic rate (BMR), the number of calories we burn per hour simply by being alive and maintaining body functions and



• our level of physical activity.

For some people, due to genetic (inherited) factors or other conditions, the resting metabolic rate (BMR) can be slightly higher or lower than average. Our weight also plays a role in determining how many calories we burn at rest -- more calories are required to maintain your body in its present state, the greater your body weight. A 100-pound person requires less energy (food) to maintain body weight than a person who weighs 200 pounds.

Lifestyle and work habits partially determine how many calories we need each day. Someone whose job involves heavy physical labor will naturally burn more calories in a day than someone who sits at a desk most of the day (a sedentary job). For people who do not have jobs that require intense physical activity, exercise or increased physical activity can increase the number of calories burned.

As a rough estimate, an average woman 31-50 years of age who leads a sedentary lifestyle needs about 1,800 calories per day to maintain a normal weight. A man of the same age requires about 2,200 calories. Participating in a moderate level of physical activity (exercising three to five days per week) requires about 200 additional calories per day.

How to Lose Weight in a Week – Easy Diets That Work

Calorie shifting diet is a very popular diet plan that has caught the fancy of various people around the globe and is the current favorite of health conscious people and weight watchers who are always aiming at how to lose weight in a week. The calorie shifting diet is also known as a calorie shifting meal plan. As the name suggests, it is a sort of diet plan which aims at shifting of calories by trying out different diets. This is one of the best fat loss easy diets that work by increasing the metabolism of the body and a body with a high metabolic rate is more prone to burning calories and is the perfect answer for how to lose weight in a week. The major plus point of the calorie shifting diet is that you do not have to cut down on the quantity of food that you are consuming. You can eat as much as you want, but you have to eat in accordance to combining calories that are most conducive to helping you lose weight.

It implies that though you can eat from all the four food groups, you just have to gather the calories constructively for triggering weight loss in your body. These are not baseless claims, but it has been proved that every person of any body type can reduce about 6 pounds in a week by using the calorie shifting diet and it does not involve hours of staying hungry or eating tasteless boiled food or green veggies. At all times we are unknowingly following a calorie shifting diet, though it may not be the perfect calorie intake for the induction of weight loss.

How to Lose Weight in a Week With Fat Loss Easy Diets?

Following these steps will be highly beneficial for easy and well defined weight loss without compromising on food or health.

1. Consume food until you are satisfied. Not until you are full or out of breath. The key for this is eating slowly, eating and chewing the food properly. It takes 20 minutes for the food to reach the 1st stage of digestion and hence the brain receives the signal also after 20 minutes. So, it is advised to take a break before taking a second helping, lest you feel stuffed later.
2. Do some form of exercise daily. However cliched this may sound, exercise increases the metabolism of the body. You are not required to do strength exercises that build muscle, just brisk walking will do.
3. Calorie shifting diet plans are drawn for each person individually based on their body mass index. So, there is a customized menu for individuals to help you lose all the fats without compromising quality of foods and health.
4. The calorie shifting diet requires the consumption of four meals a day and this should neither go down or up. Follow this customized meal plan and you are ready to see the new figure in just weeks.

The four meals can be eaten in any order depending on your work load and daily pattern. These things can come in to play when one talks about how to lose weight in a week.

A sample of four meals can be chicken, a fish fillet, a banana milk shake and fruit salad. How to lose weight in a week is no longer a worry!

How to Lose Weight in a Week – Easy Diets That Work

Calorie shifting diet is a very popular diet plan that has caught the fancy of various people around the globe and is the current favorite of health conscious people and weight watchers who are always aiming at how to lose weight in a week. The calorie shifting diet is also known as a calorie shifting meal plan. As the name suggests, it is a sort of diet plan which aims at shifting of calories by trying out different diets. This is one of the best fat loss easy diets that work by increasing the metabolism of the body and a body with a high metabolic rate is more prone to burning calories and is the perfect answer for how to lose weight in a week. The major plus point of the calorie shifting diet is that you do not have to cut down on the quantity of food that you are consuming. You can eat as much as you want, but you have to eat in accordance to combining calories that are most conducive to helping you lose weight.

It implies that though you can eat from all the four food groups, you just have to gather the calories constructively for triggering weight loss in your body. These are not baseless claims, but it has been proved that every person of any body type can reduce about 6 pounds in a week by using the calorie shifting diet and it does not involve hours of staying hungry or eating tasteless boiled food or green veggies. At all times we are unknowingly following a calorie shifting diet, though it may not be the perfect calorie intake for the induction of weight loss.

How to Lose Weight in a Week With Fat Loss Easy Diets?

Following these steps will be highly beneficial for easy and well defined weight loss without compromising on food or health.

1. Consume food until you are satisfied. Not until you are full or out of breath. The key for this is eating slowly, eating and chewing the food properly. It takes 20 minutes for the food to reach the 1st stage of digestion and hence the brain receives the signal also after 20 minutes. So, it is advised to take a break before taking a second helping, lest you feel stuffed later.
2. Do some form of exercise daily. However cliched this may sound, exercise increases the metabolism of the body. You are not required to do strength exercises that build muscle, just brisk walking will do.
3. Calorie shifting diet plans are drawn for each person individually based on their body mass index. So, there is a customized menu for individuals to help you lose all the fats without compromising quality of foods and health.
4. The calorie shifting diet requires the consumption of four meals a day and this should neither go down or up. Follow this customized meal plan and you are ready to see the new figure in just weeks.

The four meals can be eaten in any order depending on your work load and daily pattern. These things can come in to play when one talks about how to lose weight in a week.

A sample of four meals can be chicken, a fish fillet, a banana milk shake and fruit salad. How to lose weight in a week is no longer a worry!

How to lose weight the healthy way

The healthiest way to lose weight is neither crash diets nor bursts of exercise. The body likes slow changes in terms of food and exercise.

For example, someone who hasn't exercised for years shouldn't rush into running miles a day or pounding the treadmill. Not only will the struggle to do so leave you feeling disheartened and demotivated, you're also far more likely to injure yourself and set your fitness levels back further.

The same goes for people who suddenly start starving themselves. Diets that severely restrict calories or the types of food 'allowed' can lead you to be deficient in the nutrients and vitamins that your body needs.

So, if you need to lose weight, what should you do?

Energy needs and weight loss

Your body uses food for energy. It stores any excess energy as fat. This means if you eat more food than your body needs for daily activities and cell maintenance, you'll gain weight.

To lose weight, you need to get your body to use up these stores of fat. The most effective way to do this is to:

• reduce the amount of calories you eat
• increase your levels of activity.

This is why experts talk about weight loss in terms of diet and exercise.

Introduce changes gradually

Small changes can make a big difference. One extra biscuit a week can lead you to gain 5lb a year – cut that biscuit out of your diet and you'll lose the same amount.

You're also more likely to stick to, say, swapping full-fat milk for semi-skimmed or making time for breakfast each morning than a diet that sets rules for all foods.

You should think of weight loss in terms of permanently changing your eating habits. While weight-loss goals are usually set in term of weeks, the end game is to sustain these changes over months and years, ie lifestyle change for life.

Increase your activity levels

Someone who increases the amount they exercise, but maintains the same diet and calorie intake, will almost certainly lose weight.

No matter if you hate gyms – even light exercise, such as a short 20 minute walk, will be beneficial if done most days of the week.

Every single time you exercise more than usual, you burn calories and fat.

There are lots of ways to increase the amount of activity you do. Team sports, racket sports, aerobics classes, running, walking, swimming and cycling will all improve your fitness levels.

Find something you enjoy that's easy for you to do in terms of location and cost. You're then more likely to build it into your routine and continue to exercise, despite inevitably missing the odd session through holidays, family commitments, etc.

• Get out and about at the weekend. Leave your car on the drive and walk to the shops. Try to incorporate longer walks into outings to the park, coast or countryside and take a picnic, so you're in control of what you are going to eat that day.
• Every extra step you take helps. Always use the stairs instead of the lift, or get off the bus a stop before the usual one and walk the rest of the way.
• Use commercial breaks between TV-programmes to stand up and do exercise, or consider using an exercise bicycle in the living room while watching your favourite programme.

Reduce your calorie intake

What is overweight?

Doctors use BMI to assess weight.

A BMI of 18.5 to 25 is healthy.

If you have a BMI of more than 25, you're overweight.

Over 30 is obese.

Over 40 is morbidly obese.

To calculate your BMI, you'll need to know your weight in kilos and your height in metres, then follow the example below.

1. Multiply your height by itself, eg 1.7x1.7= 2.89.

2. Divide your weight (eg 80kg) by this figure.

3. 80 ÷ 2.89= 27.7.

27.7 is the BMI.

If you're overweight, you can't continue with your current eating habits if you really want to lose weight.

It's not possible to reduce body fat while eating lots of food, cakes and sweets. This doesn't mean you can never have any treats, but you need to learn how to limit these foods to small quantities – say, for special occasions.

In terms of weight-loss, you can get your body to use up existing stores of fat by eating less and making healthier choices.

This doesn't mean crash diet (anything less than 1500 calories), which usually ends up with you either getting weaker or giving up in desperation. Quick-fix diets can lead to a yo-yoing effect of drastic weight loss followed by weight gain, resulting in a vicious cycle.

There are no shortcuts to losing weight in a healthy and reasonable way.

Eating 300 to 500 calories less per day should lead to a loss of between one and two pounds per week. This is a realistic target. It may seem slow, but it would add up to a weight loss of more than three stone in a year.

Fat contains the most amount of calories out of all the food types (protein, carbohydrates), so a good way to achieve this is to cut down on fatty foods and eat more wholegrain bread, fruit and vegetables.

Below are ways to reduce calorie intake without having to alter your diet significantly.

• Replace fizzy drinks and fruit cordials with water.
• Swap whole milk for semi-skimmed, or semi-skimmed for skimmed.
• Eat less lunch than usual. For example, make your own sandwich and limit the use of margarine or butter and full-fat mayonnaise (store-bought sandwiches often contain both).
• Stop taking sugar in tea and coffee.
• Have smaller portions of the food you enjoy.
• Avoid having a second helping at dinner.
• Cut out unhealthy treats – such as confectionary, sugary biscuits and crisps between meals.
• Cut down on alcohol intake.

All these things will influence your health in a positive way.

Finally, don't be tempted to skip breakfast – or any meal to lose weight. While skipping a meal will reduce your calorie intake for that hour, it will leave you much hungrier later on.

Not only are you likely to overeat to compensate, but you'll often make bad choices to fill the gap: a cereal bar is not as healthy as a bowl of cereal or as filling, leading you to 'need' something extra for lunch.

Irregular eating habits also disrupt your body's metabolism, which makes it harder to lose weight in the first place.

Write down your plan

Food diary

If you're not sure what's wrong with your diet, try keeping a daily diary of everything you eat and drink.

You can use a notebook or an online diary.

At the end of the week, review your entries for problem areas.

Look out for processed foods, alcohol, fast food, roasts, creamy sauces and fried foods.

If your diet seems largely healthy, look at portion sizes.

If you're not sure what's meant by 'healthy diet', read our series on nutrition.

Once you've decided on what changes you're going to make, write them down. For example:

Week 1

• Exercise: one 20 minute walk every lunch hour.
• Alcohol: none in the week, two small glasses of wine on Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
• Food: no chocolate or biscuits in the week, choose healthy snacks such as fruit, trim all fat from meat, eat no fried or fast food.

Once you start your plan, weigh yourself once a week before breakfast. Keep a record of this weight and see if a pattern develops.

You could use a table like the one below to keep track of your goals, marking your progress for each day with a tick or a cross.