Seven Weight Loss Tips to Think About

1. Portions. Portion size needs to be accurate and consistent. This may require measuring food for a week or so.
2. Eating out more frequently. Even if portions are correct, eating out can add a lot of "hidden fat" which could be impeding your progress. Chef’s frequently use oil or butter in cooking preparation. Because the amount is unknown, it is generally referred to as "hidden fat."
3. Alcohol. Drinking slows fat metabolism and adds extra calories to your day. Do you know how much you are drinking? How much you can drink without it affecting your weight loss is very individual. When in doubt, decrease and see what happens.
4. Repetition. Our body can recognize repetitious eating and begin adjusting so your loss is not the same as is was in the beginning. Try a little variety; look at menus if you need ideas.
5. Unconscious eating. Many times we can pick up food or try a bite of something and not even realize we have done it. Pay attention to yourself during the day and make sure every bite is accounted for.
6. Emotional Eating. Many of us can let our emotions lead us to food. Start addressing these behaviors and channeling them in a more positive manner. The longer you delay conquering emotional eating the slower your progress will be.
7. Keeping a diary. Not doing so means you do not have an accurate record of your intake. Relying on memory does not allow for true assessment. Keep your diary and make your entry as soon as you eat something. IF YOU BITE IT, WRITE IT!

Analyze your recipes accurately

Here are some tips that can help you make your diet and recipe analysis more accurate.

Choose ingredients and quantities carefully

A recipe calls for 1 pound of ground beef. The meat is browned, the fat is drained off, and the meat is added to the recipe. For your analysis, should you input one pound of raw ground beef or one pound of cooked ground beef?  Neither. 

Selecting one pound of raw ground beef will overestimate the fat content of the recipe because it includes the fat which is drained off and not consumed.  But entering one pound of browned beef will overestimate the amount of protein in the finished recipe.  Why?  Because one pound of raw ground beef only yields 2/3 of a pound of cooked beef.  The most accurate entry for this example would be 2/3 of a pound (280g) of browned beef.

Next, the recipe calls for a 15-ounce can of kidney beans, drained.  So you find the listing for kidney beans and click "15 ounces."  But if you take a 15-ounce can of kidney beans and drain it, you only have 10 ounces of beans.  Your analysis will be overstating the amount of protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and calories in the dish.

Be careful converting volume to weight

Most recipes give ingredients in volume measurements (cups, teaspoons, etc.) but most ingredients are analyzed by weight (ounces or grams).  In order to get an accurate analysis, you have to be able to accurately convert volume to weight, and the equation changes from food to food.  One cup of water weighs almost twice as much (237g) as one cup of flour (125g).

For example, I was recently reviewing a professional analysis of a recipe calling for 1/4 cup of chopped peanuts.  One cup equals 8 fluid ounces, so the analyst calculated that 1/4 cup  of peanuts would equal 2 ounces. But peanuts are not fluid and, in fact, a quarter cup of peanuts weighs only 1 ounce.  As a result of this error,  the analysis significantly overstated the fat and calorie content of the recipe.

All of the nutrient info here on Nutrition Data is based on weight measures, but volume equivalents are provided for many ingredients.  A good kitchen scale is also a big help.

Next Step: Analyze a Recipe

Related Content: Improving the accuracy of your recipe analysis.

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Identify foods that will help you lose weight

When you look at the nutrition information for a food or recipe on NutritionData.com, you'll see a box labeled "ND's Opinion." Foods and recipes are awarded 0 to 5 stars in each of three categories, based on their nutritional value and their ability to fill you up.

Weight loss: Foods that are both nutritious and filling are considered better choices for weight loss because they keep you feeling satisfied with fewer calories. 

Optimum Health: Foods that have more essential nutrients per calorie are considered better choices for optimum health because they maximize your nutrient intake.

Weight Gain: Foods that are nutritious without being overly filling are considered better choices for healthy weight gain because you can eat more high-quality calories without feeling too full.

Using the star ratings can help you zero in on foods that will make weight loss easier. Another useful tool is the Nutritional Target Map.  Foods that fall in the upper right hand corner of the map get more stars for weight loss.

Tip: You can use the Food Category Explorer to search for foods that are better for weight loss.

Next Step: Go to the Food Category Explorer

Related Content:  Nutrition Target Map Help Page

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Track and analyze what you eat

One of the best ways to get a handle on your diet is to analyze the total of all nutrients that you consume over the course of an entire day. This is very easy to do with My Tracking.

More powerful than a simple "calorie counter," My Tracking gives you a detailed analysis of your diet, including information about over 140 nutrients and dietary factors. My Tracking can help you monitor your calories, fats, carbohydrates, glycemic load, inflammation factor, protein quality, fullness factor, nutritional balance, and individual vitamins and minerals.

If you've set your own customized Individual Daily Values in My Preferences, My Tracking will compare your intake against your customized target values and tell you how your diet measures up. (If you haven't customized your nutrient targets, My Tracking will compare your intake against the standard Daily Values.)

   

If you find that you're falling short on a particular nutrient, just click on that nutrient for a list of foods that are good sources.

Share or save your report

At the top of the report, click on the "e-mail a friend" link to send a copy of the report to someone else, such as your dietitian or personal trainer. You can also download the report as a CSV file.

Next Step: Go to My Tracking

Related Content:
How can NutritionData be personalized for your goals?
My Tracking Help Page

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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

Next Step: Go to My Tracking

Related Content: Lose weight without being hungry

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