Starting a weight loss diet: Step 1

So now we're going to get started on building a healthy diet. In this step, it's all about the homework. You might have a picture in your head of what you want to look like, but it helps to have quantifiable goals you can attach to what your scale says. Plus you might be surprised by how you are classified in terms of your weight.

To start, get yourself a notebook. Nothing fancy, a nice spiral notebook will do. The first page is going to be devoted to just info. I've accumulated a list of calculators for important benchmarks. They may not be the best out there, but they were the first I came across from Google that I liked enough to recommend:

BMI Calculator:
http://www.halls.md/body-mass-index/av.htm

BMI (body mass index) is the ratio of weight to height to determine how much a square meter of you weighs. Sounds silly, but it's a helpful guide to determine obesity. I chose this calculator because it gives you a nice idea of not only your healthy BMI range, but also how fat you are compared to everybody else. Plug your stats in and record the data.

Body Fat Calculator:
http://www.linear-software.com/online.html

This one does exactly what it says. Don't worry about all the options, just use the tape measure method for a good idea. Record your body fat percentage.

Daily Calorie Needs Calculator:
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm#

Again, no mystery what this one does. Plug in your stats, and record the three amounts given.

Ideal Weight Calculator:
http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/body.htm

These things are not truly accurate, but I think this one is closest to accurate. Personally, I think it's a little on the heavy side, but it will do the job. Record the "People's Choice" amount.

Now take the weight from the last calculator, and plug it in to all the others, and record those as well. Now you know where you are versus where you should, ideally, be.

That's the easy homework. Now learn to love your little notebook. Carry it around with you for a week and record everything you eat and drink. EVERYTHING. And quantity, and calories consumed with each. If you go out to eat, you can find nutrition info on the restaurant's website. Otherwise, read it off the packaging. If the packaging is missing info, you can also find it on the manufacturer's website. As a last ditch effort, try looking at this website: http://www.thecaloriecounter.com/

Keep each day separate. At the end of the week, tally your calories for each day, and then total for the week. See how it compares to the calculators.

Because you are keeping track, you may cut some foods you would normally eat out to make yourself look good. If you're doing this, add the calories you would have eaten into your totals. You need a good idea of how you are really eating to see what kinds of honest cutbacks you can make.