What nutritional info should I be looking for on lables during a diet? What should I eat and not eat?

I too am dieting and trying to lose a bit of weight before my wedding, but this same method of dieting helped me lose 40 pounds in college. I want to help, so forgive my rather long answer.

What disturbs me about your question is that you are going to start you diet by limiting caloric intake to 800-1000 a day. I think that is perhaps very aggressive for someone of your build. I am 5’6″ with an average build. My intake is probably 1000-1200 on my diet, some days maybe a little less and I’m losing weight fine (and my metabolism is DEFINITELY not high lol). Generally people that are tall and have large builds require more calories for everyday metabolic function than smaller people. But for YOUR ideal caloric intake, you should probably consult a specialist. If you have a primary care doctor, he/she should be able to give you a contact. A good thing to do might be to calculate your approximate caloric intake BEFORE your diet and cut it by half. Then you can gradually decrease calories as you go; your metabolism WILL eventually slow due to calorie loss, and you may want extra pushes to keep up steady weight losses.

As for the calories to avoid, you want to watch calories from carbs and fats. I personally stay away from sugars and any complex carbs that will be broken down into sugars (rice, pasta, bread, etc.) But I don’t completely deprive myself. For example, if I want a sandwich, I use one slice of bread and cut it in half instead of 2 slices. That’s 100 calories right there. I also have not been able to cut sushi out of my diet. And if you do eat grains, make sure they are as unrefined as possible (stay away from white breads, white pasta, white rice). But keep in mind the most important thing is total calories, so if every once in a while you eat a low cal ice cream sandwich or have some sushi, it’s not the end of the world.

Generally I eat pretty much only fish, fruits/vegetables, eggs, and dairy. This was easy for me because these are the things I like eating the most, although I was sad cut back rice. Salads are great but a caveat: stay away from croûtons and be wary of salad
dressings. I would avoid fast food salads entirely and make them at home (these salads have a lot of calories and fat when taking into account the dressing, cheese, chicken tenders, whatever). Restaurants are the same deal; at a restaurant you’re really better off just getting some soup or a simple fish and side vegetable. As for fruits, the only fruits I avoid are grapes and bananas. Grapes are pretty caloric and I just don’t like bananas (I think they might be high in calories as well, but not sure). Apples and oranges are fine. Yes fruit has sugar and calories, but generally not much when you compare it to typical desserts or snacks. Yogurt is also great for a diet, just be careful of the calories, I’ve seen yogurt with 200 calories! I get yogurt between 60-80 and I think it tastes fine.

Also, if you’re a drinker, beware of alcohol. Mixed drinks and beer can pack a lot of calories. I’ve had to give up Bailey’s myself (sniff). If you’d like wine with dinner, which I usually do, dry, red wine is your best bet, it’s not very caloric. I’ve been drinking quite a lot of Cabernet and it doesn’t seem to affect my diet significantly. Maybe it’s not good for my liver though. Oh and if you are at a bar with friends, and you feel like a cocktail, I recommend a vodka with club soda.

Drinking lots of water is a good idea; it makes you feel full and it keeps you from feeling effects from dehydration during exercise. Which is another point: whatever you decide to do in terms of diet, exercise. If you burn several hundred calories everyday in exercise, your diet doesn’t have to be so painful. The larger you are, the more calories you will burn during exercise, everything is size-relative. Just be careful not to destroy your efforts by eating more, starting an exercise regimen can make you have the munchies at first. This passes, but some people eat what they burned, and get frustrated when they see little result. You would want to do cardio and weights; it’s really easy for men to lose muscle on a weight-loss plan and you want to avoid that (make sure you get plenty of protein, but also remember calories come from protein as well, so don’t go crazy with the shakes or energy bars). If you don’t mind paying, many gyms have resident trainers who can be very helpful in creating a regimen. Here’s what works for me: 10 min on treadmill, weights for various muscle groups, then 20-25 min again on the treadmill, then about 20 on the elliptical, and the some abdominal exercises. You don’t have to do it this way, what’s important is that you get at least 30 min of cardio, and that you do weights after at least part of the cardio. It’s not a big deal, just give yourself as good of a workout as you can and then see how much you can do the next time, and so on. Exercise at least every other day.

That’s it. But you should make sure of your health before you start your diet and exercise. It’s never a bad idea to see a physician before starting something new. And don’t become obsessive or inflexible in your diet, that’s how people fail. Good luck!