No fancy diet

[kellykatt]

I was wondering if I could lose weight without changing my diet but simply reducing the number of calories I eat in a day. I really enjoy food and I know that if I have to start eliminating a bunch of what I love out of my diet, I'll find that really depressing and it's really not likely that I'll stick to it. So, can I just eat less but eat the same stuff and still get slimmer?

[tara]

You can certainly lose weight if you reduce the number of calories you eat, even if you don't change your diet. If you add exercise to your reduced calorie diet, this can help you lose even more weight. The only time I would consider altering your diet in terms of what you eat is if you want to be healthier...that and you might find that once you reduce the calories of your normal diet that you feel hungry because you might not be eating enough fiber and protein to help fill you up and give you the energy you need to keep going. Just something to think about :)

[Kyra]

I agree with Tara, you can lose weight by doing this but you might find that it really is a lot easier said than done if you don't make any changes to your diet at all. I definitely think you should give it a try, but don't be too discouraged if you find you need to make a few amendments here and there. For instance, if you get a case of the munchies, celery and cucumber may become your new best friend. :)

[antoniojones1968]

It's possible, but you need to remember that just because something is possible it doesn't mean that it's easy or a practical option for your particular lifestyle and goals. It may sound like it won't be difficult to simply limit the amount that you eat without changing what you eat, but if you aren't eating a lot of fiber and protein naturally, than you might find yourself getting hungry. Equally, if you're used to eating three meals per day but you cut out food, you might want to consider eating smaller portioned meals more frequently (e.g. 5 or 6 small meals per day instead of 3 larges ones).

I would also strongly recommend that if you don't want to alter your diet, you should track your calories daily with a calorie counter, to make sure you aren't going over your limit.

[CuJo1992]

You can but it's really a lot easier said than done. Regardless of whether you change the foods you eat or not, the real struggle will be in eating less. Any time you suddenly have to adopt a new habit, there will be times when you won't want to stick to it, especially if you are accustomed to eating a certain way and never having to monitor yourself before. This is why people typically change their diets when they want to lose weight because there's a good chance that what you are naturally eating isn't enough to sustain you in a healthful and lasting way to be able to reduce your caloric intake without feel hungry, cranky, tired, etc.