Here are some tips that may help you in achieve your weight loss goals. Remember to always visit a health professional to confirm your diet plan before starting out on any regimen and always ensure that you are getting adequate nutrition while dieting.
- Find foods that are low in fat and calories, but high on nutrition. Vegetables, fruit, grains and lean meats are always good choices. Speak with a nutritionist, general doctor or other health professional for ideas that suit you the best.
- Eat the foods you have selected, and plan meals ahead if possible. Do not skip meals (see reasons below). A plan makes sticking to a diet much easier, especially if you have a busy life and tend to “eat on the run” and grab anything at hand.
- Drink lots of water during the day, aiming to drink at least ten cups. Water nourishes your skin, your body and gives you a sense of being full for a short period of time.
- Keep track of everything that you eat in a food diary, including calories for each item. It is amazing how quickly calories add up, and tracking them is the only way to be sure you know exactly how many you ate. You can look up calories for various foods on sites like Calorie King.
- Decide on what method of eating suits your needs best. Eat “normally” with three usual-sized meal portions if you like consistency and have the ability to sit down at a table three times a day. Or, you could try eating a full breakfast, then eating several small snacks the rest of the day (known as “grazing”). Ask a nutritionist or health professional to advise you on which method is best for your needs.
- Exercise. Always make exercise a part of any diet. Exercise is the part that firms and tones you; it is also the part that helps to ensure that your metabolism can cope with the dietary changes.
- Brush your teeth early so that you won’t be as tempted to eat anything else at night. If you must nibble, have small slices of apple, carrot sticks or similar until your body learns to not crave food later at night.
- If you need some extra motivation, consider joining an organized diet program like Jenny Craig, or Weight Watchers. They have worked for many people, and the support/advice they provide can be very helpful, especially for new dieters.
- Think lifestyle eating. Diets come to an end, which is a good thing because we should not spend out life feeling “deprived”.
Instead, once you have reached your goal, focus on good eating habits and exercise as part of your lifestyle. Lifestyle eating is about embracing a permanent change in the way you eat and the things you eat and keeping this up. Done properly, it will usually eliminate the need for dieting again.
