Succeeding at Weight Loss

Here are some tips that will help you succeed at weight loss

1. Avoid getting too hungry

To keep hunger from derailing your diet, eat smaller, more frequent meals and try to include a little fat and or protein in every meal or snack. Both are digested slowly, which will keep you from getting hungry again as quickly.

2. Pay attention to "liquid" calories

When you're counting calories, remember to pay attention to calories you drink as well as calories you eat. Sodas, fruit juice, sports drinks, and vitamin water can be a significant source of sugar and calories.  Alcoholic beverages can also add a lot of calories to your day.

3. Limit your use of artificial sweeteners

Artificially sweetened beverages can help cut calories but don't overdo it. Studies suggest that drinking a lot of diet soda may actually work against weight loss by increasing your cravings for sweets and promoting fat storage.

4.  Be smart about condiments and toppings

Butter, mayonnaise, and a lot of the "special sauces" used by restaurants are very concentrated sources of calories. If you want to add flavor to your food, try using lemon juice, soy sauce, salsa, or spices instead.

5. Add exercise to your plan

Regular exercise burns calories but also increases in your basal metabolic rate, so you'll burn more calories even at rest. Pick exercises, such as sports activities, that you enjoy and want to incorporate into your daily routine.

6.  Don't mix food and entertainment

It's easy to mindlessly eat a tub of popcorn, a whole bag of chips, or a carton of ice cream while you're watching TV. Make eating a separate activity, and you'll consume less.

7. Don't use food as a stress-reliever

Find other ways to manage stress, such as exercising, listening to music, spending times with friends or meditating, rather than eating.

8. Avoid eating on the run

Fast foods are convenient but they are the enemy of weight loss.  The more often you eat fast food, the more likely you are to be overweight.  Plan your schedule to include enough time to prepare and enjoy wholesome meals without the rush.

9. Record everything you eat

Buy an inexpensive spiral notebook and simply write down everything you eat during the day. If possible, keep your food diary with you and make your entries soon after you've eaten. Keeping a food diary forces you to give conscious thought to everything you eat. It may be a tedious task at first, but it will help you more quickly develop better eating habits. Your food record also allows you to calculate how many calories and nutrients you are taking in, using Nutrition Data's tracking tools.

10. Stick with it

Remember that short-term diets produce only short-term results. The only successful way to keep the weight off is to make small but permanent changes in your lifestyle. If you do temporarily slip back into old habits, don't give up!  Recommit to your healthier lifestyle--as often as it takes.

"Fall seven times, stand up eight." -Japanese proverb

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