10 Weight-Loss Tips
Before you start your weight-loss plan this year, check out our top ten tips to put you on the right track.
1. Fad Diets
Fad diets are temporary fixes, but they work much more damage than good. Be forewarned that a diet is unsound if it doesn't allow you to obtain the proper nutrients everyday; makes you feel hungry; requires "special" foods or pills and does not recommend exercise.
2. Motivation
Don't berate yourself if you skip a day or two of exercise. Instead of calling it quits, just start up again the next day.
3. Fruits & Veggies
Fruits and veggies will help you lose weight. Why? They're low in calories and in fat, high in nutritional value and contain lots of water and carbohydrates so you feel full.
4. 30 Minutes
Half an hour of exercise, 5 days a week is all it takes to get in shape. You don't need to lift heavy weights to lose those pounds--try yoga, dance aerobics, tae-bo or jazzercise for fun alternatives.
5. 100 Calories
If you cut back 100 calories from your normal diet every day for a year, you will lose 10 pounds. That's the equivalent of one tablespoon of mayonnaise on your sandwich, or that extra soda or a handful of pretzels as a snack. Cut back on those extras!
6. Sit Down
For many people, midnight snacks turn into midnight meals. Designate a spot to be your "eating place" and force yourself to eat only there. If you want some potato chips at night, sit down and eat them on a plate as if it were a meal. That way you'll eat less because you're not scarfing them down from the bag.
7. Variety
Introduce new types of foods and cuisine into your life for some variety. Instead of opting for a hamburger, try steamed Chinese veggies over a bed of rice. Or go for some falafel or a gyro--the list can go on and on.
8. Do Your Research
Before working out at the gym, take a training session and make sure you know how every piece of equipment works. You'll feel much more comfortable when working out.
9. Early Birds
Studies have proven that people who exercise in the morning are more likely to stick to their weight-loss plans. Exercising at night leaves too much room for surprises--a guest may arrive, the telephone may ring--all disrupting you from working out.
10. Drink Fluids
Drink lots of fluids, especially water, to hydrate your body and keep you from over-snacking. Avoid sodas, coffee and high-calorie fruit juices that are loaded with sugar.
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