losing weight -- take in fewer calories,
burn more calories. But you also know
that most diets and quick weight-loss
plans have about as much substance
as a politician's campaign pledges.
Here are more than 50 easy ways for
you to finally lose the weight.
If you're trying to drop a few pounds, don't start
off by trying to overhaul all your eating and
exercise habits. You're better off finding several
simple things you can do on a daily basis—along
with following the cardinal rules of eating more
vegetables and less fat and getting more physical
activity. Together, they should send the scale
numbers in the right direction: down.
1. Indulge in fat releasing foods. They should
help keep you from feeling deprived and binging
on higher-calorie foods. For instance:
Honey. Just 64 fat releasing calories in one
tablespoon. Drizzle on fresh fruit.
Eggs. Just 70 calories in one hard-boiled egg,
loaded with fat releasing protein. Sprinkle with
chives for an even more elegant treat.
Part-skim ricotta cheese. Just 39 calories in
one ounce of this food, packed with fat releasing
calcium. Dollop over a bowl of fresh fruit for
dessert.
Dark chocolate. About 168 calories in a one-
ounce square, but it's packed with fat releasing
fiber.
Shrimp. Just 60 calories in 12 large.
MORE: 13 fat releasing foods »
2. Treat high-calorie foods as jewels in the
crown. Make a spoonful of ice cream the jewel
and a bowl of fruit the crown. Cut down on the
chips by pairing each bite with lots of chunky,
filling fresh salsa, suggests Jeff Novick, director of
nutrition at the Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa in
Florida. Balance a little cheese with a lot of salad.
3. After breakfast, make water your primary
drink. At breakfast, go ahead and drink orange
juice. But throughout the rest of the day, focus
on water instead of juice or soda. The average
American consumes an extra 245 calories a day
from soft drinks. That's nearly 90,000 calories a
year — or 25 pounds! And research shows that
despite the calories, sugary drinks don't trigger a
sense of fullness the way that food does.
4. Carry a palm-size notebook everywhere
you go for one week. Write down every single
morsel that enters your lips—even water. Studies
have found that people who maintain food diaries
wind up eating about 15 percent less food than
those who don't.
5. Buy a pedometer, clip it to your belt, and
aim for an extra 1,000 steps a day. On
average, sedentary people take only 2,000 to
3,000 steps a day. Adding 2,000 steps will help
you maintain your current weight and stop
gaining weight; adding more than that will help
you lose weight.
6. Add 10 percent to the amount of daily
calories you think you're eating , then adjust
your eating habits accordingly. If you think you're
consuming 1,700 calories a day and don't
understand why you're not losing weight, add
another 170 calories to your guesstimate.
Chances are, the new number is more accurate.
7. Eat five or six small meals or snacks a day
instead of three large meals. A 1999 South
African study found that when men ate parts of
their morning meal at intervals over five hours,
they consumed almost 30 percent fewer calories
at lunch than when they ate a single breakfast.
Other studies show that even if you eat the same
number of calories distributed this way, your
body releases less insulin, which keeps blood
sugar steady and helps control hunger.
8. Walk for 45 minutes a day. The reason
we're suggesting 45 minutes instead of the
typical 30 is that a Duke University study found
that while 30 minutes of daily walking is enough
to prevent weight gain in most relatively
sedentary people, exercise beyond 30 minutes
results in weight and fat loss. Burning an
additional 300 calories a day with three miles of
brisk walking (45 minutes should do it) could help
you lose 30 pounds in a year without even
changing how much you're eating.
9. Find an online weight-loss buddy. A
University of Vermont study found that online
weight-loss buddies help you keep the weight off.
The researchers followed volunteers for 18
months. Those assigned to an Internet-based
weight maintenance program sustained their
weight loss better than those who met face-to-
face in a support group.
10. Bring the color blue into your life more
often. There's a good reason you won't see many
fast-food restaurants decorated in blue: Believe it
or not, the color blue functions as an appetite
suppressant. So serve up dinner on blue plates,
dress in blue while you eat, and cover your table
with a blue tablecloth. Conversely, avoid red,
yellow, and orange in your dining areas. Studies
find they encourage eating.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
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