10 common sense weight loss tips

10 common sense weight loss tips

10 top tips to help you lose weight and maintain a healthy, balanced diet 

A weight loss programme is all about common sense and a healthy balanced diet. We want you to lose weight sensibly and keep it off by changing how you think about your diet and health. As a little bit of extra motivation we have put together these ten top tips to help you reach your goal.

 

1.Eat slowly

Research has shown that people who are overweight tend to bolt their food. Savour and enjoy what you eat and take time to chew your food. Macrobiotic practitioners advise chewing each mouthful 30 times as this allows the enzymes in the saliva to start the digestive process.

 

2.Stop eating before you feel full.

Remember, it takes approximately 20 minutes for the stomach to tell the brain that it is full!

 

3.Never skip meals.

When losing weight, it is important to maintain an even blood sugar level to prevent hunger. If you skip a meal you are more likely to give in to a craving.

 

4.Only weigh yourself weekly.

Try not to become a slave to the scale, remember weight loss is a long process and your weekly weigh-in will give you a good overall idea of your progress. If you weigh yourself too often you may become disheartened if you don’t drop pounds as quickly as you would like.

 

5.Use a smaller plate.

The fashion these days, particularly in restaurants is to serve food on a huge white plate. While this may look pretty it is bad for dieters as psychologically you won't feel as if you have eaten enough. At home serve your food on a small plate for a simple way to make you feel fuller.

 

6.Reduce your alcohol intake.

Alcohol is a source of empty calories and cutting down is an excellent way of increasing weight loss

 

7.Eat high fibre foods.

High fibre foods are the dieters' friends as complex carbohydrates release energy slowly and keep you full for longer. Porridge is an excellent breakfast for this reason and if you do have to have a muffin choose a low fat bran muffin for extra energy.

 

8.Keep hydrated.

If possible drink about six to eight glasses of water, or other fluids per day. Water is essential for the healthy functioning of the body and often we can mistake thirst for hunger. Water will also make you feel fuller, if you have a mid-afternoon craving try drinking a big glass of water and see if you are still hungry ten minutes later.

 

9.Avoid temptation.

When shopping try not to buy snacks and sweets for other members of the family, you will be doing them a favour if you stock up on fruit, nuts and seeds instead. Unsuitable food can be stored in a box at the back of a cupboard as out of sight is, hopefully, out of mind.

 

 

 

10.Exercise.

Weight loss occurs when more calories are expended than ingested and the most effective way of maximising your weight loss programme is by incorporating regular exercise into your routine.

Check with your GP if you want to lose a large amount of weight, or have a current medical condition, before starting any exercise or weight loss plan

 

10 tips for finding the best diet that works for you

With so many weight loss diets to choose from, how do you decide?

With so many diets to choose from, it's not easy to figure out which diet will be the one that works best for you. To help the 65% of adults who are overweight, we asked the experts for tips to help you find a weight loss diet that is both healthy and effective. Click here to find out more http://tiny.cc/ytas7

 

The best diet that works for you: the one you can stick to

All the experts agree on one thing: the best weight loss plan is one you can stick to.

It doesn't matter how scientifically sound the programme is, how fast it works, or even how many people have tried it before, what matters is whether you can do what it says, not whether you should, but whether you can.

Even if you can, not all diet plans and programmes are scientifically sound. The most popular diets are those promising the quickest, most painless results, which, unfortunately, are usually not sustainable. Weight that is lost rapidly is usually a mixture of water, muscle and a little fat, instead of mainly fat. To make things worse, losing is usually followed by gaining.

Most people go on and off fad diets and fall into the yo-yo syndrome of dropping weight followed by gaining weight. "The consequence is, you lower your metabolism and end up at a heavier weight than when you started."

 

The simple truth is that losing weight is a simple formula: calories in, minus calories out, equals weight loss, gain, or maintenance. In order to lose weight, you have to eat fewer calories and be more active. Cleanses, creams and supplements are usually just gimmicks and not going to help in the long run.Find out more here http://tiny.cc/2hnvy

 

How do you know if a diet is healthy and sustainable? Experts say a sound weight loss diet plan should:

Include exercise

Allow a variety of foods from all the food groups

Be created by a registered professional such as a nutritionist or dietician

Promote slow and steady weight loss

Include portion control

Allow snacks between meals

Not rely heavily on supplements

Include small portions of your favourite foods and beverages

Include a maintenance plan

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The perfect weight loss diet for you

Once you know how to determine whether a weight loss diet is healthy, you'll need to narrow your choice down to one that suits your own lifestyle and matches the way you like to eat and exercise.

It's also important to choose a diet that won't leave you feeling hungry. Look for plans that promote foods that are high in water and are fibre-rich, like soups, fruit and vegetables. These foods fill you up and reduce food cravings to help you stick to your diet plan without feeling deprived.

 

Here's a checklist to help you find the perfect diet for you.

The truth about belly fat

What's the best way to trim your tummy?

Having a flat belly or so-called "six-pack abs" is a dream of most adults. If you're middle-aged, have ever been pregnant or sometimes indulge in too much food or one too many beers, you probably have a spare tyre you'd like to get rid of. So what's the best strategy for banishing belly fat? Is it as simple as adding certain foods to your diet, or doing particular exercises?

We turned to the experts for answers on belly fat - and the best ways to lose it.

 

The answer to flatter abs

Don't despair; you can lose that spare tyre, experts say. However, there's no secret formula.

"There is no magic bullet, diet plan, specific food or type of exercise that specifically targets belly fat. But the good news is belly fat is the first kind of fat you tend to lose when you lose weight," says Dr Michael Jensen, a specialist in endocrinology (the hormonal system) and an obesity researcher.

Whether you're an "apple" shape with excess belly fat, or a "pear" with wide hips and thighs, when you lose weight you'll most likely lose proportionately more from the abdominal region than elsewhere.

"99% of people who lose weight will lose it in the abdominal region before anywhere else - and will lose proportionately more weight from the upper body," says Jensen, also a professor of medicine.

Why is that? "Visceral fat, the kind tucked deep inside your waistline, is more metabolically active and easier to lose than subcutaneous fat under the skin, especially if you have plenty of it," explains researcher Dr Penny Kris-Etherton.

The more weight you have to lose, the more quickly you're likely to start losing your belly fat, experts say.

"People who are significantly overweight may see quicker results in their belly than someone who has less to lose in that area, such as a postmenopausal pouch," says university nutrition professor Dr Christine Rosenbloom.

Can whole grains help you lose belly fat?

A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that a calorie-controlled diet rich in whole grains trimmed extra fat from the waistline of obese subjects.

Study participants who ate all whole grains (in addition to five servings of fruits and vegetables, three servings of low-fat dairy, and two servings of lean meat, fish or poultry) lost more weight from the abdominal area than another group that ate the same diet, but with all refined grains.

"Eating a diet rich in whole grains while reducing refined carbohydrates changes the glucose and insulin response and makes it easier to mobilise fat stores," says study researcher Dr Penny Kris-Etherton, a professor of nutritional sciences.

"Visceral fat is more metabolically active and easier to lose than subcutaneous fat, especially if you have plenty of it and the right conditions are met, such as the ones in our study."

The truth about belly fat

 

How to identify eating triggers

Situations and emotions that trigger us to eat fall into five main categories.

Social. Eating when around other people. For example, excessive eating can result from being encouraged by others to eat, eating to fit in, arguing or feelings of inadequacy around other people.

Emotional. Eating in response to boredom, stress, fatigue, tension, depression, anger, anxiety or loneliness as a way to "fill the void".

Situational. Eating because the opportunity is there. For example, at a restaurant, seeing an advertisement for a particular food, passing by a bakery. Eating may also be associated with certain activities such as watching TV, going to the cinema or a sporting event, etc.

Thoughts. Eating as a result of negative self-worth or making excuses for eating. For example, scolding oneself for looks or a lack of will power.

Physiological. Eating in response to physical cues. For example, increased hunger due to missing meals or eating to cure headaches or other pain

 

To identify what triggers excessive eating in you, keep a food diary that records what and when you eat as well as what stressors, thoughts or emotions you identify as you eat. You should begin to identify patterns of your excessive eating fairly quickly.

 

How to stop emotional eating

Identifying emotional eating triggers and bad eating habits is the first step - however, this alone is not sufficient to alter eating behaviour. Usually by the time you have identified a pattern, eating in response to emotions or certain situations has become a habit. Now you have to break that habit.

Developing alternatives to eating is the second step. When you start to reach for food in response to an eating trigger, try one of the following activities instead.

Read a good book or magazine or listen to music.

Go for a walk or jog.

Take a bubble bath.

Do deep breathing exercises.

Play cards or a board game.

Talk to a friend.

Do housework, the washing or gardening.

Wash the car.

Write a letter.

Do any other pleasurable or necessary activity until the urge to eat passes        U-tube video  http://youtu.be/RLOrcpPNar4

 

 

Weight Watchers ProPoints

An expert assessment of Weight Watchers points counting system

Dieting has changed over the last 10 years, and to keep up with the trends and science behind successful weight loss, Weight Watchers updated its points system in 2010 with a new programme called ProPoints.

 

 Weight Watchers chief science officer Karen Miller-Kovach, describes the programme as a new approach to safe, effective, and steady weight loss: "With the old points system, you could use your points any way you like. But we now know if you use your points wisely by eating foods rich in protein and fibre, these foods fill you up, keep hunger at bay, and help you lose weight in a healthier and more nutritious way," Kovach says.

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Calories, fat and carbs

Calories count in the ProPoints programme because the bottom line in weight loss is creating a calorie deficit: burning more calories than you eat.

However, there is so much more to successful weight loss, and where those calories come from makes a big difference.

Even when the calories are the same, protein- and fibre-rich foods get fewer ProPoints to encourage dieters to eat more filling food for their allotted ProPoints.

Calorie-dense foods that have more fat and simple carbs are assigned more points.

Dieters also get unlimited quantities of fresh fruits and non-starchy vegetables.

"Most adults don’t eat enough fruits or vegetables. So our strategy was to allow these as free foods to encourage more consumption of these super-nutritious foods that are among the lowest in calories and very filling," Kovach says.

"We may be counting differently with the new [ProPoints] programme but the foundation of Weight Watchers' successful model of scientific evidence, healthy, slow weight loss, exercise, behaviour modification and support remain the same."

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Weight Watchers ProPoints: What you can eat

ProPoints maintains that all foods can fit within the calorie allotment.

Pro Points encourages people to eat a wide variety of healthy foods - split between three meals plus snacks within a personalised calorie level.

Dieters are encouraged to maximise their ProPoints allowance by choosing more ‘Power Foods’, such as whole grains, lean meats, low-fat dairy and unlimited quantities of fresh fruit and non-starchy vegetables. ‘Power Foods’ are the healthiest, most filling foods.

Fruit and vegetables are especially filling and nutritious foods that should be the foundation of every weight loss diet.

Decadent foods can still be worked into the calorie budget, but the new programme limits the amount of these extras.

Dieters can check the ProPoints value of foods using a pocket guide that lists hundreds of the most popular foods, an online database of thousands of foods, a mobile phone app, or they can purchase a Pro Points calculator.