How to Lose Weight and Keep It Off
In our eat-and-run,
massive-portion-sized culture, maintaining a healthy weight can be tough—and
losing weight, even tougher. If you’ve tried and failed to lose weight before,
you may believe that diets don’t work for you. You’re probably right:
traditional diets don’t work—at least not in the long term. However, there are
plenty of small but powerful ways to avoid common dieting pitfalls, achieve
lasting weight loss success, and develop a healthier relationship with food
In
This Article:
ü The key tosuccessful, healthy weight loss
ü Avoid common pitfalls
ü Put a stop to emotional eating
ü Tune in when you eat
ü Fill up with fruit, veggies,and fiber
ü Indulge without overindulging
ü Take charge of your foodenvironment
ü Make healthy lifestylechanges
Your weight is a balancing act, but the equation is simple: If you eat more calories than you burn then you gain weight. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you lose weight.
Since 3,500 calories equals about 1
pound of fat, if you cut 500 calories from your typical diet each day, you'll
lose approximately 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories). Simple, right? So why is weight loss so hard?
All too often, we make weight loss
much more difficult than it needs to be with extreme diets that leave us cranky
and starving, unhealthy lifestyle choices that undermine our dieting efforts,
and emotional eating habits that stop us before we get started. But there’s a
better way! You can lose weight without feeling miserable. By making smart
choices every day, you can develop new eating habits and preferences that will
leave you feeling satisfied—as well as winning the battle of the bulge.
Not
all body fat is the same
Where you carry your fat matters.
The health risks are greater if you tend to carry your weight around your
abdomen, as opposed to your hips and thighs. A lot of belly fat is stored deep
below the skin surrounding the abdominal organs and liver, and is closely
linked to insulin resistance and diabetes.
Getting
started with healthy weight loss
While there is no “one size fits
all” solution to permanent healthy weight loss, the following guidelines are a
great place to start:
§ Think lifestyle change, not short-term diet. Permanent weight loss is not
something that a “quick-fix” diet can achieve. Instead, think about weight loss
as a permanent lifestyle change—a commitment to your health for life. Various
popular diets can help to jumpstart your weight loss, but permanent changes in
your lifestyle and food choices are what will work in the long run.
§ Find a cheering section. Social support means a lot.
Programs like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers use group support to impact
weight loss and lifelong healthy eating. Seek out support—whether in the form
of family, friends, or a support group—so that you can get the encouragement
you need.
§ Slow and steady wins the race. Aim to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week to
ensure healthy weight loss. Losing weight too fast can take a toll on your mind
and body, making you feel sluggish, drained, and sick.
When you drop a lot of weight quickly, you’re actually losing mostly water and
muscle, rather than fat.
§ Set goals to keep you motivated. Short-term goals, like wanting to
fit into a bikini for the summer, usually don’t work as well as goals like
wanting to feel more confident or become healthier for your children’s sakes.
When frustration and temptation strike, concentrate on the many benefits you
will reap from being healthier and leaner.
§ Use tools that help you track your progress. Keep a food journal and weigh
yourself regularly, keeping track of each pound you lose and
inch of your waist lost. By keeping track of your weight loss efforts, you’ll
see the results in black and white, which will help you stay motivated.
Keep in mind it may take some
experimenting to find the right diet for your individual body. It’s important
that you feel satisfied so that you can stick with it on a long-term basis. If
one diet plan doesn’t work, then try another one. There are many ways to lose
weight. The key is to find what works for you.
Reducing
calorie intake promotes weight loss—type of diet isn’t important
A major study concluded that it
doesn’t matter which diet program you choose, as long as it is one that reduces
your calorie intake and is healthy for your heart (low in saturated fat and
cholesterol). In other words, the best diet is the one you’ll stick to, not
necessarily the one currently topping the bestseller list.
Healthy
dieting and weight loss tip #1:
Diets, especially fad diets or “quick-fix” pills and plans, often set you up for failure because:
§ You feel deprived. Diets that cut out entire groups of food, such as carbs or fat, are simply impractical, not to mention
unhealthy. The key is moderation. Eliminating entire food groups doesn’t allow
for a healthy, well-rounded diet and creates nutritional imbalances.
§ You lose weight, but can’t keep it off. Diets that severely cut
calories, restrict certain foods, or rely on ready-made meals might work in the
short term. However, once you meet your weight loss goal, you don’t have a plan
for maintaining your weight and the pounds quickly come back.
§ After your diet, you seem to put on weight more quickly. When you drastically restrict your
food intake, your metabolism will temporarily slow down. Once you start eating
normally, you’ll gain weight until your metabolism bounces back—another reason
why starvation or “fasting” diets are counterproductive.
§ You break your diet and feel too discouraged to try again. Just because you gave in to
temptation doesn’t mean all your hard work goes down the drain. Healthy eating
is about the big picture. An occasional splurge won’t kill your efforts. Diets
that are too restrictive are conducive to cheating—when you feel deprived, it’s
easy to fall off the wagon.
§ You lose money faster than you lose weight. Special shakes, meals, and
programs may be cost-prohibitive and less practical for long-term weight loss
and healthy weight maintenance.
§ You feel isolated and unable to enjoy social situations
revolving around food.
Without some practical, healthy diet strategies, you may feel lost when dining
out or attending events like cocktail parties or weddings. If the food served
isn’t on your specific diet plan, what can you do?
§ The person on the commercial lost 30 lbs. in 2 months—and
you haven’t.
Diet companies make a lot of grandiose promises. Most are simply not realistic.
Unfortunately, losing weight is not easy, and anyone who makes it seem that way
is doing you a disservice. Don’t get discouraged by setting unrealistic goals!
Healthy
dieting and weight loss tip #2:
We don’t always eat simply to satisfy hunger. If we did, no one would be overweight. All too often, we turn to food for comfort and stress relief. When this happens, we frequently pack on pounds.
Don’t underestimate the importance of putting a stop to emotional eating. Learning to recognize the emotional triggers that lead you to overeat and respond with healthier choices can make all the difference in your weight loss efforts.
To start, consider how and when you eat. Do you only eat when you are hungry, or do you reach for a snack while watching TV? Do you eat when you’re stressed or bored? When you’re lonely? To reward yourself?
Once you’ve identified your
emotional eating tendencies, you can work towards gradually changing the habits
and mental attitudes that have sabotaged your dieting efforts in the past.
Strategies
to combat emotional eating
§ If you turn to food at the end of a long day, find other soothing ways to reward
yourself and de-stress. Relax with a book and a
steaming cup of herbal tea, soak in a hot bath, or savor a beautiful view.
§ If you eat when you’re feeling low on energy, find other mid-afternoon
pick-me-ups. Try walking around the block, listening to energizing music, or
doing some quick stretches or jumping jacks. Another alternative is taking a
short nap—just keep it to 30 minutes or less.
§ If you eat when you’re lonely or bored, reach out to others instead of
reaching for the refrigerator. Call a friend who makes you laugh, take your dog
for a walk, find a fun activity to do, or go out in public (to the library, the
mall, or the grocery store—anywhere there’s people).
§ If you eat when you’re stressed, find healthier ways to calm
yourself. Try exercise, yoga, meditation, or breathing exercises. Better manage
stressful situations by either changing the situation or changing your
reaction. See related articles below to learn more about stress management.
Healthy
dieting and weight loss tip #3:
We live in a fast-paced world where eating has become mindless. We eat on the run, at our desk while we’re working, and in front of the TV screen. The result is that we consume much more than we need, often without realizing it or truly enjoying what we’re eating.
Counter this tendency by practicing
“mindful” eating: pay attention to what you eat, savor each bite, and choose
foods that are both nourishing and enjoyable. Mindful eating will help you lose
weight and maintain your results.
Mindful
eating weight loss tips
§ Pay attention while you’re eating. Be aware of your environment.
Eat slowly, savoring the smells and textures of your food. If your mind
wanders, gently return your attention to your food and how it tastes and feels
in your mouth.
§ Avoid distractions while eating. Try not to eat while working,
watching TV, reading, using a computer, or driving. It’s too easy to mindlessly
overeat.
§ Chew your food thoroughly. Try chewing each bite 30 times
before swallowing. You’ll prolong the experience and give yourself more time to
enjoy each bite.
§ Try mixing things up to force yourself to focus on the experience of
eating. Try using chopsticks rather than a fork, or use your utensils with your
non-dominant hand.
§ Stop eating before you are full. It takes time for the signal
to reach your brain that you’ve had enough. Avoid the temptation to clean your
plate. Yes, there are children starving in Africa, but your weight gain won’t
help them.
Healthy
dieting and weight loss tip #4:
To lose weight, you have to eat fewer calories. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to eat less food. You can fill up while on a diet, as long as you choose your foods wisely. The key is to add the types of food that can keep you feeling satisfied and full, without packing on the pounds.
Fiber: the secret to feeling satisfied while losing weight
If you want to lose weight without
feeling hungry and deprived all the time, start eating foods high in fiber.
High-fiber foods are higher in
volume, which makes them filling. They also take longer to chew, which makes
them more satisfying to eat. High-fiber foods also take a long time to digest,
which means you’ll feel full longer. There’s nothing magic about it, but the
weight-loss results may seem like it.
High-fiber heavyweights include:
§ Fruits and vegetables – Enjoy whole fruits across the rainbow (strawberries,
apples, oranges, berries, nectarines, plums), leafy
salads, and green veggies of all kinds.
§ Beans – Select beans of any kind (black beans, lentils, split
peas, pinto beans, chickpeas). Add them to soups, salads, and entrees, or enjoy
them as a hearty dish of their own.
§ Whole grains – Try high-fiber cereal, oatmeal, brown rice, whole-wheat
pasta, whole-wheat or multigrain bread, bran muffins, or air-popped popcorn.
Focus on
fruits and veggies
Counting calories and measuring
portion sizes can quickly become tedious. But you don’t need an accounting
degree to enjoy produce. When it comes to fruit and vegetables, it’s generally
safe to eat as much as you want, whenever you want. No measuring cups or
calorie tables required.
The high water and fiber content in most fruits and vegetables makes them hard to overeat. You’ll feel full long before you’ve overdone it on the calories.
§ Pour a little less cereal into your
morning bowl to make room for some blueberries, strawberries, or sliced bananas.
You’ll still enjoy a full bowl, but with a lower calorie count.
§ Replace one of the eggs and some of
the cheese in your omelet or scramble with vegetables. Try tomatoes, onions,
mushrooms, spinach, or bell peppers.
§ Swap out some of the meat and cheese
in your sandwich with healthier veggie choices such as lettuce, tomatoes,
sprouts, cucumbers, and avocado.
§ Instead of a high-calorie snack,
such as chips and dip, try baby carrots with hummus, a sliced apple, or the
old-favorite: celery with peanut butter (just don’t overdo it on the peanut
butter).
§ Add more veggies to your favorite
main courses to make your dish “go” further. Even dishes such as pasta and
stir-fries can be diet-friendly if they’re less heavy on the noodles and more
focused on vegetables.
§ Try starting your meal with a
low-density salad or soup (just watch the dressings and sodium) to help fill
you up, so you eat less of your entrée.
Don’t love vegetables? You’re probably not preparing them right. Veggies can be
delicious and full of flavor when you dress them with herbs and spices or a
little olive oil or cheese.
Fruits
and vegetables to eat in moderation
Fruits and vegetables of all colors,
shapes, and sizes are major players in a healthy diet, but you still need to
watch out for the following potential diet busters.
§ Veggies that have been breaded or fried or doused in heavy
sauces are no
longer low-calorie, so tread with caution. Opt for healthier cooking methods,
such as steaming, and use low-fat dressings and spices for flavor.
§ Salads are guilt-free—unless you drench them in high-fat
dressing and toppings.
By all means, add some nuts or cheese, but don’t overdo it. As for dressing, a
little fat is healthy (try a vinaigrette made with olive oil), but again,
moderation is key.
§ Dried Fruit. Be careful when it comes to dried fruit, which is high in
calories and, often, in added sugar. You can eat a whole lot more fresh fruit
for the same number of calories. If you do choose to snack on dried fruit, keep
your serving size small.
§ Fruit Juice. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a glass of juice every
now and again. But remember that the calories quickly add up, without doing
much to make you feel full. Also make sure that your drink of choice is made
from 100% fruit juice and contains no added sugar.
Healthy
dieting and weight loss tip #5:
Try
not to think of certain foods as “off limits.”
When you ban certain foods or food
groups, it is natural to want those foods more, and then feel like a failure if
you give in to temptation. Instead of denying yourself the unhealthy foods you
love, simply eat them less often.
If you’ve ever found yourself
polishing off a pint of ice cream or stuffing yourself with cookies or chips
after spending a whole day virtuously eating salads, you know how restrictive
diet plans usually end. You probably blame yourself, but the problem isn’t your
willpower—it’s your weight loss strategy. Deprivation diets set you up for
failure: you starve yourself until you snap, and then you overdo it, cancelling
out all your previous efforts.
In order to successfully lose weight and keep it off, you need to learn how to enjoy the foods you love without going overboard. A diet that places all your favorite foods off limits won’t work in the long run.
Eventually, you’ll feel deprived and
will cave. And when you do, you probably won’t stop at a sensible-sized
portion.
Tips for enjoying treats without
overeating
§ Combine your treat with other healthy foods. You can still enjoy your favorite
high-calorie treat, whether it’s ice cream, chips, cake, or chocolate. The key
is to eat a smaller serving of it along with a lower-calorie option. For
example, add strawberries to your ice cream or munch on carrot and celery
sticks along with your chips and dip. By piling on the low-cal option, you can
eat a diet-friendly portion of your favorite treat without feeling deprived.
§ Schedule your treats. We are creatures are habit, and you can use this to your
advantage when trying to lose weight. Establish regular times when you get to
indulge in your favorite food. For example, maybe you enjoy a small square of
chocolate every day after lunch, or a slice of cheesecake every Friday evening.
Once you’re conditioned to eat your treat at those times—and those times
only—you’ll stop obsessing about them at other times.
§ Make your indulgence less indulgent. Find ways to reduce fat, sugar, or
calories in your favorite treats and snacks. If you do your own baking, swap
out half the butter or oil in the recipe with applesauce, and cut back on the
sugar, making up for it with extra cinnamon or vanilla extract. You can also
eliminate or reduce high-calorie toppings and sides, like whipped cream,
cheese, dip, and frosting.
§ Engage all your senses—not just your taste sense. Instead of chowing
down mindlessly, savor and prolong the experience. You can make snack time more
special by setting an attractive table, lighting candles, playing soothing
music, or enjoying your treat outdoors in a beautiful setting. Get the most
pleasure—and the most relaxation—out of your treat by cutting it into small
pieces, taking time to smell what you are eating, and by chewing slowly
and thoroughly.
Healthy
dieting and weight loss tip #6:
Your weight loss efforts will succeed or fail based largely on your food environment. Set yourself up for success by taking charge of your food environment: when you eat, how much you eat, and what foods are available.
§ Start the day with breakfast. People who eat breakfast tend to
be thinner than those who don’t. Starting your day with a healthy breakfast
will jumpstart your metabolism, plus, it will help keep you from binge eating
later in the day.
§ Serve yourself smaller portions. One easy way to control
portion size is by using
small plates, bowls, and cups. This will make your portions appear larger.
Don’t eat out of large bowls or directly from the food container or package,
which makes it difficult to assess how much you’ve eaten.
§ Plan your meals and snacks ahead of time. You will be more inclined to eat
in moderation if you have thought out healthy meals and snacks in advance. You
can buy or create your own small portion snacks in plastic bags or containers.
Eating on a schedule will also help you avoid eating when you aren’t truly
hungry.
§ Cook your own meals. Cooking meals at home allows you to control both
portion size and what goes in to the food. Restaurant and packaged foods
generally contain a lot more sodium, fat, and calories than food cooked at
home—plus the portions sizes tend to be larger.
§ Don’t shop for groceries when you’re hungry. Create a shopping list and stick
to it. Be especially careful to avoid foods at the ends of the aisles and along
the perimeter, where grocers tend to sell high-calorie snack and convenience
foods.
§ Out of sight, out of mind. Limit the amount of tempting foods
you have at home. If you share a kitchen with non-dieters, store snack foods
and other high-calorie indulgences in cabinets or drawers out of your sight.
§ Fast for 14-16 hours a day. Try to eat your last meal earlier
in the day and then fast until breakfast the next morning. Early studies
suggest that this simple dietary adjustment—eating only when you’re most active
and giving your digestive system a long break each day—may help you to lose
weight. After-dinner snacks tend to be high in fat and calories so are best
avoided, anyway
Soda: The
Secret Diet Saboteur
Soft drinks are a huge source of
calories in many people’s diets. One can of soda contains between 10-12
teaspoons of sugar and around 150 calories, so a few soft drinks can quickly
add up to a good portion of your daily calorie intake.
Switching to diet soda isn’t the answer either, as studies suggest that it triggers sugar cravings and contributes to weight gain. Instead, try switching to water with lemon, unsweetened iced tea, or carbonated water with a splash of juice.
Healthy
dieting and weight loss tip #7:
In addition to your food and eating-related choices, you can also support your weight loss and dieting efforts by making healthy lifestyle choices.
§ Get plenty of sleep. Lack of sleep has been shown to have a direct link to
hunger, overeating, and weight gain. Exhaustion also impairs your judgment,
which can lead to poor food choices. Aim for around 8 hours of quality sleep a
night.
§ Turn off the TV. You actually burn less calories watching television
than you do sleeping! If you simply can’t miss your favorite shows, get a
little workout in while watching. Do easy exercises like squats, sit-ups,
jogging in place, or using resistance bands or hand weights.
§ Get plenty of exercise. Exercise is a dieter’s best
friend. It not only burns calories, but can actually improve your resting
metabolism. No time for a long workout? Research shows that three 10-minute
spurts of exercise per day are just as good as one 30-minute workout. Take the
stairs instead of the elevator or park in the back of the parking lot. Every
bit helps.
§ Drink more water. You can easily reduce your daily calorie intake by
replacing soda, alcohol, or coffee with water. Thirst can also be confused with
hunger, so by drinking water, you may avoid consuming extra calories, plus it
will help you break down food more easily.
Thanks for some very useful information Qamer.
ReplyDeleteTo discuss on my most recent weight-loss experience, I may observe it had been brilliant. Tabs started to work quickly. I felt that through the entire my organism. I became slim really at once! http://www.shoppharmacycounter.com/t-phentermine.aspx assisted me achieve that.
ReplyDelete