Health and Fitness Tips

Are there any easy ways to lose weight?

Everyone knows that diet, cutting down on food intake, and fat burning exercises, increasing calories burned, combine into a formula for losing weight.  But the hard part is sticking to a low calorie, and often bland, diet.  It won’t be easy, but with a little work it sure is possible.  Here are some tips for easy ways to lose weight to make it easier.

Tips for easy ways to lose weight

Keep a daily log of everything that passes your lips.  Writing down everything you eat and drink, even water, will help you eat less.  Studies show that people who keep track of what they eat end up eating 15% less.  That’s significant.

The average American consumes an additional 245 calories per day just from drinks.  Switch from juice, soda, and other calorie drinks to water.  245 calories a day is nearly 90,000 calories a year.  That’s 25 pounds.  Are soda and juice really that good?  Another fact is that despite their calories, drinks like soda and juice don’t trigger a feeling of fullness the way foods do.

Eat five or six smaller meals a day instead of three large meals a day.  Studies show that eating in smaller portions more often results in eating 30% fewer calories.  Furthermore, even the same number of calories eaten in smaller portions during more frequent meals can result in weight loss.  You’re less likely to binge because the body releases less insulin.

Get rid of the “fat” clothes.  If you don’t have clothing that’s comfortable when you’re heavier, you’re more likely to be reminded to keep the weight off every time you dress.  And you’re less likely to gain weight if doing so means having to buy a whole new wardrobe.

Use smaller plates.  It’s been proven that people eat more when more food is in front of them, and they eat less when less food is in front of them.  Smaller plates mean smaller portions, so put the salad plates into use as the main plate.

Another tip for easy ways to lose weight, similar to the idea of using smaller plates, serve your food on the plate rather than in bowls on the table.  When the plate is empty the meal is over, instead of spooning another portion onto your plate.

Avoid white foods such as white bread, sugar, and white rice.  Those are the foods with loads of carbohydrates which lead to higher blood sugar and weight gain.  Stick to whole grain breads and dark rice.  Don’t worry about the sugar, pretty soon you won’t miss it.

There are a lot of other tips for easy ways to lose weight.  Don’t be intimidated if it’s only easier instead of really easy.  If weight loss were easy, everyone would be a supermodel.

Diets That Work

A lot of people need to lose weight, and a lot of people are always on the look out for fat burning exercises and diets that work.  It’s not really hard to find diets that work, but finding a diet a person can stick to is the problem.  The diet industry is huge.  Between books, diet food programs, trainers and nutritionists, spas, and all the other elements of the health and diet industry a lot of money, over 46.8 billion dollars in 2005, is made not from people becoming healthy or losing weight, but rather from people trying to become healthy or lose weight.  Because repeat business brings in the cash, the focus is naturally on methods and products that work for a short time but result in return business.

Here’s one of the diets that work.  Drink only water, eat only 1000 calories each day, and combine it with 30 minutes of aerobic activity five times a week.  It’s a guarantee you’ll lose weight.  But there are two problems.  The first is that cravings are likely to ruin the diet.  Sooner or later, particularly after returning home from fitness exercise work outs, those 1000 calories won’t be enough to satisfy.  One piece of cake, or just one bag of chips, or one extra hot dog will soon steer you to dropping off the diet.  The second problem is what happens after the diet ends?  What happens when the weight is gone?  What, you’ll go right back to eating the same way you ate before the diet?  Guess what, then the weight will return.  Next spring, or next time to wear that dress or tuxedo, or next vacation, or simply the next time you glance at a mirror on the way out of the shower  it will be time to return to a diet to lose the unwanted pounds.

The best diet is a permanent diet.  More and more people are coming to realize that to lose weight it’s best to change lifestyle, including healthier eating habits and more physical activity.  The Sonoma Diet, created by Connie Guttersen, focuses on ten “power foods.”  These are almonds, bell peppers, blueberries, broccoli, grapes, olive oil, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes and whole grains, combined with the cuisine of the Sonoma country, which includes Asian, Latin American and Mediterranean influences.  The diet includes a wide variety of real, and enjoyable foods so it’s easy to stay on it.

Want a diet that works?  Move your mind from a short term diet to a long term style that’s part of an overall healthy and active lifestyle.  That way you won’t put on the pounds in the first place.