5 Effective Tips for Weight Loss
Simple Ways to Help You Stick to Your Diet and Lose Weight
These healthy weight loss tidbits are presented in a Top 5 fashion. See how many you can incorporate into your daily life. Keep track of what works for you and what does not. It’s all about finding the right fit.
#5. Wearing Tighter Clothing Makes You More Aware
That’s right. When there is room at your waist it is often easier to overeat. Wearing tighter clothes reminds you, ever day, of why you need to make better food choices. A bonus: as you start to lose weight you will notice it quicker. The scale is not reliable, especially if you are also building muscle, which weighs more than fat. Use your clothing’s fit as a guide. As soon as your clothing gets looser, buy the next size down until you reach your goal weight.
#4. Eating a Healthy Breakfast Keeps the Weight Off
Mom was right. Breakfast is possibly the most important meal of the day. Researchers at the National Weight Control Registry, tracking more than 5,000 individuals who lost significant amounts of weight, found that 78% of registry members eat breakfast every day as a means of controlling their weight. And at June’s Endocrine Society annual meeting, new research showed that sedentary, obese women lost nearly five times as much weight on the "big breakfast" diet as women following a restrictive low-carbohydrate diet.
#3. Consuming Fiber-Rich Foods Staves Off Hunger
Foods higher in fiber content help you feel fuller, which makes it easier to control how much you eat. Fruits and vegetables in particular aid with weight control as they are not only higher in fiber but also contain more water. In addition to weight loss benefits, fiber also helps lowers blood cholesterol levels, controls blood sugars, and reduces the risk of heart disease, diabetes and constipation. 20-35 grams of fiber per day are standard recommendations. However, some nutritional sources now recommend between 30 and 50 grams on a daily basis. Good sources of fiber are fruits, vegetables, whole-grains, other high-fiber foods, beans and legumes.
#2. Tricking Yourself into Not Eating Certain Foods Works
Never deny yourself any foods – it will just make you want them more. Tell yourself you may in fact have the item, just not right at that moment. Convince yourself if you still want it tonight (or tomorrow), then by all means go for it – but then, not now. Chances are, once the initial craving (or fatigue wave or stressful episode) has passed, you will no longer feel the urge to eat.
And the #1 tip? (Drumroll.)
#1. Brushing Your Teeth All Day is the Best Way to “Say No”
This may sound odd but brushing your teeth after every meal or snack can actually help you lose weight. By removing the“taste” of food from your mouth, you are less likely to want to continue to eat. Plus, when you have a clean mouth you are more hesitant to "dirty it" again by eating. Try this little trick. You will be surprised how effective it is.
Citations:
Nutritional Information Resource Center
American Diabetes Association
Harvard School of Public Health
American Heart Association
