I know what you're saying: "The party is truly over. I've put on a few pounds over the holidays, and I've got to trim this waistline." While there seem to be as many diet fads as there are overweight Americans—Master Cleanse or Cookie Diet, anyone?—most post-holiday diets fail, despite good intentions, due to unsustainable food plans and exercise regimes. Years of studies have shown that, ultimately, the key to losing weight and keeping it off can be boiled down to four words: calories in, calories out.

Research indicates that to safely and effectively lose weight, a goal of one pound per week is optimal. To achieve this, one's daily intake must be reduced by 500 calories—either by cutting calories, burning them off through exercise, or a combination of the two. So what should be your target daily calorie intake?



• An active woman should consume about 2,000 calories each day, but if weight loss is your goal, your calorie ceiling should be about 1,500 calories.

• An active man should consume about 2,500 calories a day, but to lose a pound a week, your daily intake shouldn't exceed 2,000 calories.

To get you started, here are a week's worth of diet tips and menus. We've made it as easy as possible by providing a plan for three meals a day, none of which exceed 500 calories per meal. Feel free to mix and match meals from each day, and depending on your caloric needs and exercise routine, you can include one or two of our snack suggestions. Except where noted, all calorie counts are for one serving of each recipe.

Dana Lilienthal is a Registered Dietitian whose focus is educating people on a whole-body approach to nutrition in order to achieve a lifetime of health and wellness. In addition to being a Registered Dietitian credentialed by the American Dietetic Association, she is certified by the Institute of Integrative Nutrition as a Holistic Health Counselor. Lilienthal has contributed her recipe expertise and analysis to Epicurious.com, NutritionData.com, The Go Green East Harlem Cookbook, and Real Food for Healthy Kids.

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