35 Weight Loss Tips

If you really want to trim down, it is going to take dozens of little changes in how you eat, think and use your body. These thirty-five items condense several books’ worth of wisdom into a simple list.

1. Determine the number of calories your body requires and make that your goal.
2. Maintain a food journal. If you write down what you eat, you might think twice about eating it.
3. Do not buy unhealthy, processed foods. If it is not in your house, you will not eat it.
4. Get a pedometer which will track your steps and convert them into miles.
5. Try to log a minimum of two miles a day on your pedometer
6. Park as far from the store entrance when you shop. Force some exercise into your day
7. When possible avoid the elevator, and take the stairs.
8. Take before and after photos of yourself. Wear your least flattering outfit.
9. Take body measurements with a tape measure once a week. Write down your waist, arms, thighs and stomach. A smaller waist provides better incentive than numbers on the scale.
10. Feel a craving? Look in the mirror or touch your problem area to keep you on track.
11. Eat fruit and vegetables in their natural state. If they are floating in syrup or sugar they are no longer healthy.
12. Start walking. Every bit of exercise burns calories!
13. Read food labels. If you ca not pronounce it, or it sounds like a chemical, you probably should not be eating it.
14. Shop on the outer walls of the grocery store. Stay out of the center aisles where processed and packaged foods are shelved.
15. Pack your lunch at night. You are less likely to hurry out the door without a lunch and have to go eat at an unhealthy lunch at a restaurant.
16. Eat breakfast.
17. Drink plenty of water.
18. Take a multivitamin.
19. Do not watch TV late at night. Food commercials can trigger the munchies.
20. Do not eat after 8:00 at night. Your metabolism slows down at night and your body is not as efficient.
21. Make a grocery list based on recipes. Cooking dinner without a plan can lead to poor food choices.
22. Buy healthy cook books.
23. Ask a friend to join you in your efforts.
24. Don’t think of yourself as being on a diet. Change your eating habits permanently. When you stop dieting, the weight comes back.
25. Make meat a side dish rather than the main course.
26. Eat whole grains as much as possible.
27. Put your fork down between bites and put your hands in your lap. Attempt to eat with your other hand. This really slows you down and could be entertaining as well!
28. Buy an accurate scale.
29. Before you eat something, ask yourself if it is worth it.
30. Follow the 15 minute rule. If you are hungry, eat a low carbohydrate snack and wait 15 minutes, then see how you feel.
31. Remember that just because a food is low fat, does not mean you can eat twice as much.
32. Keep track of the calories you are consuming. There are books that list the number of calories in many foods, or the internet lists it.
33. Eat fiber. It keeps things moving.
34. Allow yourself one indulgence a week. Do not eat like a pig all day once a week — allow yourself a special treat at one meal.
35. Stay away from white foods. Potatoes, pasta, breads are all high in carbohydrates and some are processed to the point of having little nutritional value.