Total Common Sense but worth reminding ourselves of...
10 Diet Tips
There is plenty of advice about how to lose weight. However, the key is to lose weight, keep it off and feel satisfied about your food choices. Below are 10 diet tips to help you achieve long-lasting results. Your job is to implement them into your diet and fitness program and make them part of your daily behavior.
Eat
The only result of starving yourself is feeling hungrier than ever and eventually eating amounts of food above your calorie requirement. Eating four to five small meals a day keeps your metabolism running at its optimal level and you will not experience excessive hunger. It should be step one in your 10 diet tip program.
Plan
Planning your meals is critical to healthy, balanced eating. Moreover, by knowing ahead of time what you will eat, you will not be at the beck and call of fast food restaurants or the vending machines with their primarily high calorie, unhealthy selections.
Shop
Food shopping takes a commitment of time and focus. In the long run, you will save time and confusion by having healthy foods on hand. Also, since your environment directly affects your behaviors, having healthy food in reach is necessary for healthy eating. Make a list and stick to it when you shop. And, never shop when you are hungry or you may find some unplanned chips in your cart to deal with later.
Balance
Balancing your meals is not as difficult as it may sound. Think in terms of fractions: protein taking up 1/3 of your plate, vegetables 1/3 and complex carbohydrate the other 1/3. Fats are often part of the protein such as salmon or chicken or used to cook with as in sautéed vegetables. Fruits can replace the vegetable or be eaten as a snack. Without this type of combination, you will experience cravings and may not feel satisfied after a meal. This can lead you to consume more calories than is favorable for shedding the pounds.
Drink
Without adequate fluid intake, the fat cells can shrink, but the fluids continue to reside in your body and hence show up on the scale. The general recommendation is between six and eight glasses of pure water each day. In addition, a glass of water alleviates hunger for a brief period of time.
Move
Being active does not mean getting to the gym every day for two hours. However, the more you move, the more you will lose. Standing instead of sitting burns twice as many calories. Simple activities like taking the stairs, parking further from your destination, helping with lawn work or washing your car will add to the calorie deficit you need to get to your weight goal and is a key diet tip to faster weight reduction. Aim for sixty minutes of activity each day.
Seek Support with your 10 Diet Tips
When it comes to changing your eating behaviors, it is important to include all the people who affect how you eat. For example, if you are trying to lose weight, but co-workers do not know this, it will take twice as much effort to decline the doughnut box when it passes by your reach. It will be much easier to not eat the doughnut if the box did not come through your office in the first place.
Teaming up with others on the same mission of weight loss offers motivation and positive reinforcement. There are bound to be set-backs when dieting, but a friend can be the key to getting you back on track. And, what an asset you can be to someone who has hit a stone wall. Whether he or she may be a walking buddy, a shopping buddy or a cooking buddy, the benefits are endless.
Get Creative
Find new recipes online or in magazines, look for one new healthy food item each shopping trip, try a new exercise class or pick up a new healthy hobby. Any and all of these suggestions will reinforce your new healthy lifestyle.
Keep Track
Listing what you eat and your activities for the day is a powerful tool. First, by seeing in writing what you are eating makes it real. No more claiming it was “just a handful”. Handfuls add up. Also, it will be easier for you to ensure you are eating a balanced diet. Finally, physical activity can be improved upon or approved by you when it is kept in a log format.
Be Persistent and Consistent
If you eat an unplanned meal high on the calorie chart, do not dwell on it. Get on track immediately by planning your next meal or snack, getting some exercise and reminding yourself of your goals. These 10 diet tips, persistence and consistency will reward you in time.
Thanks for the great article Mal!
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