Weight Loss Tips

Losing weight can be challenging. Many diet programs require avoidance of the very food groups most people crave. Since all people are different, what works for one individual might be of no help at all for someone else.

Diets only work while a person is actively dieting. As soon as the diet ends, too often all the weight that was lost comes back and brings a few friends with it. A more effective approach is to identify one unhealthy habit per week and change that habit.

Over time, making small sustainable changes like this can add up to far fewer calories eaten and significant weight loss, even without dieting.

The following weight loss tips have helped lots of people lose weight. Pick a handful and see if they can’t help you too:

• Replace sugary drinks with water or tea. A 12-ounce can of pop contains about 130 calories and is also packed with acids and preservatives that are bad for your health. Many fast food drinks contain 20-ounces or even more, which takes that number up to around 200 calories. Drink three or four of those in a day and you’ve already wasted as many as 800 calories and gotten no nutrition at all. Try drinking water or green tea instead.
• Eat your biggest meal at breakfast. Many people don’t eat breakfast at all, but studies have shown again and again that people who eat breakfast weigh less than people who don’t. Breakfast revs up your metabolism so you burn more calories throughout the day even while resting, and breakfast also makes you less hungry at other meals.
• Aim for five or more servings of vegetables per day. Most people don’t eat anything close to enough vegetables. A half-cup is a serving, so getting five servings is not that hard. A large salad and a green vegetable with dinner will do it. Eat more than five if you can, without butter or oil. The more vegetables you eat, the less sugar and fat you’ll crave, and the less room you’ll have for it.
• Eat high quality protein at every meal. Lean fish, chicken, beef, eggs, nuts, and low-fat cheeses are good. Smoked meats, hot dogs, luncheon meats, fried foods, canned meats, and processed cheese foods are all low in nutrients and high in unhealthy additives. Eating a little protein at each meal helps you stay full and reduces cravings.
• Substitute olive oil for butter. Saturated fat tastes great but it’s also a major cause of heart disease. Olive oil, on the other hand, tastes great too and is actually good for your heart. Other good oils include canola oil, flaxseed oil (better for dressings than cooking), and walnut oil.
• Snack on nuts. Walnuts, almonds, pecans, Brazil nuts, filberts, and cashews all contain trace minerals and cancer-fighting fatty acids, plus they reduce hunger and guard against belly fat. Nuts are high in calories however so don’t overdo it. A handful is plenty.
• Take the stairs, park at the back of the lot. Get into the habit of making the more active choice: Take the stairs, park far from the door, walk to the grocery store, keep hand weights at your desk and do a set of curls every two hours.

Losing weight is hard if you want to lose lots of weight fast. But if you have patience and can learn to make permanent lifestyle changes, then taking advantage of basic weight loss tips will reward you with weight that comes off and stays off. Slow and easy wins the race, and small sustainable changes take off the weight!