I lost 90 pounds by following low calorie diet plans and I am willing to share my experience with you. Like many people I have been a career dieter, and my weight has gone up and down over the years. My closet used to have sizes ranging from 8 all the way to size 24, but not any more. I have learned to live on a low calorie diet and you can too.

As a woman, my plan consisted of 1,200 calories a day. Men's low calorie diets allow 1,500 calories. The most important part of eating a low calorie diet is to have a variety of foods. You will become bored if you eat the same thing every day. Make up a shopping list each week and do not buy anything in the store that is not on your list. So many of the purchases we make while shopping are impulse buys and they are usually not the healthiest choices.

Everything is allowed, but in moderation. That means that you can eat a slice of cake when you go visit your grandmother, but it has to be a skinny slice and you can't do it every day. I found that when I denied myself a piece of chocolate that I was chasing that chocolate the entire week and I was miserable. I tiny piece of chocolate was enough to satisfy my urge, but if I didn't eat it I was more likely to grab a king sized Snickers bar from the vending machine a day later.

I still buy large bags of pretzels, but when I get home I open the bag and portion out the pretzels into small plastic bags. This way when I want some pretzels I can just grab my portion controlled bag and have a snack that fits into my low calorie diet plan. You can buy snacks that are individually portioned already, but they are a lot more expensive than doing it yourself.

I am not the type of person to measure servings. However, the first week on my low calorie diet plan I did measure everything and I read every package to learn how much was in one serving. In retrospect I think that is why I have been so successful in my weight loss. Did you know that a one-pound box of pasta contains 8 servings? I was shocked to learn that too! The first week of measuring and weighing made me learn what quantities of food I should be eating.

Trust me, I know how hard it is to go from eating 2,000 calories a day to eating a low calorie diet of 1,200 per day, but you can do it. I agree that a 1/2 cup of pasta in your dish looks pretty paltry, but bulk it up by adding plenty of fresh veggies. The fiber in the vegetables will fill you up too. Another tip is to use smaller bowls. This will make your portions appear bigger. After two weeks you will see the results that will make you want to continue on your low calorie diet.