10 Tips for Easy Weight Loss

Written by Gloria Tsang, RD

You know you are experiencing yo-yo dieting, but do not know how to stop it! It is time to get your balance back. The following easy weight loss tips will help you lose weight in a healthy way.

Tip 1: Find out how many calories you need

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)


BMR [kcal]

Body Weight [lb] x 15 + (moderate activity [mins/day] x 3.5)

Since you wish to lose weight, your target = BMR - 500 kcal

For instance, you weigh 140 lb and you perform 20 mins of moderate activity every day. BMR of this example = (140 x 15) + (20 x 3.5) = 2100 + 70 = 2170 kcal. BMR minus 500kcal; it would be 2170 - 500 = 1670 kcal. Therefore 1670 kcal is the target in this example to losing 1 lb per week.

Tip 2: Eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day

Fruits and vegetables are packed with beneficial fibers, vitamins and antioxidants. They fill up your stomach fast so you feel full earlier. They are also low in calories and helps to keep your calorie count low.

Tip 3: Watch for Portion Size

One serving of pasta means 1/2 cup of cooked pasta. However, most restaurants serve a pasta dish with 4 servings of pasta!!! You do not need to finish and clean off the plate every time. You can simply ask to take home the leftover.

Tip 4: Do not Skip Meals

Eating small frequent meals help to balance your calorie intake throughout the day and also keeps your blood sugar level balanced. Instead of eating 3 big meals, try to eat 5 - 6 smaller meals throughout the day.

Tip 5: Go for wholesome fresh foods

If possible, purchase fresh foods and avoid package (processed) and convenient foods such as fast food. Packaged and convenient foods are often higher in sodium and fat content. Many people we spoke to are amazed that they can easily lose weight by packing a home-cooked lunch to work instead of eating out.

Tip 6: Don't be overly-restrictive

Everyone has his or her favorite treats. Simply allow yourself a little indulgence, but watch out for the frequency and the quantity. Having a small treat once in a while can be rewarding to your weight loss experience. Cutting too much of your favorite treats usually lead to an early relapse.

Tip 7: Understand Food Claims and Labels

A product labelled with a fat-free claim does not mean that it is low in calories. Similarly a product labelled as low-sugar or low-carb does not mean it is low in fat or calories. Always read the nutrition label on the packaging.

Tip 8: Watch for the sugary drinks

Juices, pop, cream & sugar in your coffee or tea all add up. Opt for drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day. In addition to providing hydration to your body, it will also help you feel full.

Tip 9: Keep a food journal

Keeping a food journal helps you pin point your eating pattern and will enable you to easily modify it. If possible, have your Registered Dietitian review your journal.

Tip 10: Exercise, period

Most authorities recommend 30 - 60 minutes of physical activity a day to stay healthy. Also try adding weight-bearing exercises at least 2 times a week. This will help burn some of the unwanted calories.

5 Simple Ways to lose weight

1. Don't drink Calories
   Sweetened beverages such as pop, juice drinks, coffee drinks and tea may satisfy your thirst, but give you lots of empty calories. What's worse is that, unlike eating solid food, drinking liquid calories doesn't make you feel full so you won't eat less food afterwards. Simply cutting a can of pop a day can help you lose 15 pounds in a year! Diet or zero-calorie pop offers no nutritional values either - it's just water added with artificial sweeteners and caffeine. Drink water instead. Carrying a bottle of water with you will encourage you sip it instead of reaching for sweetened beverages.
   
   
2. Snack Sensibly
   Instead of regarding snacks as a treat in order to lose weight, regard them as a filler. Plan your snacks to fill the nutritional gap other meals may miss. For instance, if you do not eat enough calcium-rich foods at your three big meals, have a low-fat yogurt as snacks. If you do not eat enough whole grains, have a small whole-wheat sandwich. The key in your fight to lose weight is to plan your snacks ahead instead of letting your vending machine limit your choices. Good snack options include low-fat dairy, fruit, nuts, light popcorn and baked goods made with whole grains. In addition, don't snack just because everyone else in your office is or when you have nothing to do in front of the TV; snack only when you are hungry.
   
   
3. Fill your plate with Vegetables
   Vegetables, especially the bright colored and dark green leafy ones, are loaded with vitamins and antioxidants and will help you lose weight. They are also high in fiber and hence very filling. In addition, they are low in calories - good to help lose weight and trim your waistline. When you fill up your stomach with veggies, you will less likely feel the urge to binge on meats and other desserts later on.
   
   
4. Eat Breakfast
   People often skip breakfast. Some skip it because they are often too rushed in the morning and have little time to prepare. Some people skip it as a measure to maintain or lose weight. Studies have shown that people who eat breakfast regularly actually are more easily able to control their weight than those who skip breakfast. Often times, skipping a meal results in an increased total caloric intake than if we just ate more frequently throughout the course of the day.
   
   
5. Stop when you are full
   Do you continue to pour gasoline in your car even though it is full? If not, why do so to your own body? Our body is capable of sending satiety signal, so stop eating when you are full. Don't overeat for the sake of finishing the plate. If you feel guilty about wasting foods, simply doggie-bag it and save it for later.
   

Weight loss diet

A perfect balanced diet which makes weight loss process easier is referred to as the ‘Weight Loss Diet’. The term ‘Weight Loss Diet’ is sometimes confused with ‘Fad Diet’ this article will guide you and will clear your doubts about the weight loss food intake. Selecting the perfect weight loss diet, one must make sure that it is not just for the losing weight but also enough to maintain your work lifestyle

A weight loss diet must be acceptable to your body and should enable you to improve the long term eating habits. Such a diet should include all food groups. One has to get used to understand what one’s diet should include, that is enough information to help a person make informed choices on calories, fat and general dietary changes on day to day basis.

Understanding Fad Diet: Inappropriate choice
The diet that is total restricted eating-plan or certain essential liquid foods lacking sufficient food value is termed as Fad Diet. The fad diet is very low in calories so it causes faster weight loss. However, quick weight loss is unhealthy.
This basically causes water-loss which is quickly regained when you start eating normally. The fad diets are considered risky. The common examples of Fad diets include the fruit based and Soup Diets.

Weight Loss Diet: A perfect Choice
The diet that helps losing weight in a healthy way is a best choice to attain the Weight Loss. Such weight loss diet doesn’t let you to reduce the energy intake but perfectly balances out the quantities of all basic nutrients. A balanced low fat diet is considered as the best weight loss diet. A balanced low fat diet is high in healthy carbohydrates, low in fat and moderate in protein. Any Weight Loss Diet that is rich in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, which are specially recommended for weight control and preventing diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

Low fat hi carb diet: for optimum results
The ‘Low-fat hi carb diet’ is considered a good and quick weight loss diet. The Low-fat hi-carb diets are also recommended for athletes. The high-fat as well as high-protein diets both are unhealthy such a diet inhibits all such chances of mis balancing the food intake. In such a diet the consumption of carbohydrates reduces their consumption of fat, they were able to lose body fat and maintain this weight loss without counting calories.

Healthy Weight Loss Diet Plan

A healthy weight loss diet plan should be first and foremost on our radar screen. We also understand that the modern world demands a successful career and a fast paced tech savvy social life. These demands also place such an unbalanced burden on people in the area of physical appearance.

The career, social and physical aspect can be so crushing that proper health practices suffer as a result. Not everyone can keep up with the blistering pace set by those at the very top. It can be quite brutal; more fall off the wagon than not. After a winter of hibernation, many are looking to shed those extra pounds. Some do, and some do not.

You should check your diet and rid it of the following:

• chips and dips
• soda and sweet juices
• fast foods
• these are deadly combos to your health

These daily combos will set you up for long term health challenges. Your body tends to store these items as fat, especially if you are sedentary. The scales tip, and before long you are battling an obesity problem.

In any healthy weight loss diet plan exercise should be an extremely important segment. The balance of a sound diet and regular exercise safeguards your body for the future. Simple things like:

1. walking after meals
2. half hour exercise per day
3. gym workout for an hour
4. adopting a five day a week exercise program.

Just these simple exercise tips incorporated into your lifestyle will serve you well and go a long way to staving off obesity.

It is easy to talk about what you should not eat, but let us consider some of the foods we should keep around our homes. When starting a healthy weight loss diet plan it is important to keep healthy food items in our storage cabinets. When the good foods are not readily available we tend to snack on fast foods and unhealthy quick foods.

Keep these items in storage at home at all times:

1. Water! Keep your favorite water on hand at all times. Remember, do not just have it readily available, drink it! It is always best to drink water at room temperature. Cold water tends to slow and impede the digestive process.
2. Soy Milk. Good for cereals. If you cannot handle this, try the powder form. That works better for me. I mix a pitcher of the powder and it goes great with my cereals and oatmeal. Stay away from cows milk. It is for calves.
3. Have fruit handy. I am a banana person. They fill you quicker than a bag of chips will.
4. Carrots and Broccoli. Get a vegetarian recipe for dip.
5. How about peanut butter. Spread that on your toast instead of butter.
6. Do you like eggs? Have you ever heard of Egg Beaters? They are an excellent alternative to eggs.
7. Bread. I am talking about the wholesome wheat bread. Never allow white bread to cross your lips.
8. Cheese. Make your own vegetarian cheese; it is great, tastes better too!
9. Brown rice. Great for a quick meal. Never white rice.
10. I did mention cereals earlier. Read the labels, watch for the sugar content.
    

Analyzing Weight Loss Diet

Losing weight is a tough job. It involves a lot of dedication, hard work and discipline. When a person makes a decision to lose weight, there are few things they can do to make the process easier and less personally painful while attempting to reach a goal for their health.To reduce weight one has to change the way they eat, food they eat, and their physical activity. Instead of setting high goals which is not achievable, it’s better to set achievable goals.

It is good to choose the foods you like rather than the food you do not like.. Diet plans which assure weight loss overnight might be very harmful. Fad diets don’t help in the long run and you end up gaining more weight after sometime, even though lose some weight in the beginning. Avoid fatty foods and use of diet pills.

Instead of avoiding totally, one can decrease the amount of food which contributes to adding weight. Weight loss does happen magically, through methodical and experimental approach only one can achieve their goals. Best results are achieved when a good diet plan is combined with good exercise regime.

Understanding weight loss

Intentional weight loss is the loss of total body mass in an effort to improve fitness, health or appearance. Individuals who are overweight face a higher risk of health diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure. A physician should be consulted to develop a weight loss plan for healthy weight loss.

Weight loss diet

When you look up for a perfect diet plan, you will find that there are different diet plans in the market. Diet plans have been so popular they keep changing like fashion changes.

There’s the low fat diet, low carbohydrate diet, high protein diet and many more. Most companies with such diet plans claim that their program is the right way to lose weight and will bring fast results. However many diets fail to recognize that every person is different and therefore have different needs.

First of all one must know how overweight you are, also what body type, number of fat cells, activity levels, present fitness levels, calorie intake, food preferences, etc, etc.

Weight loss diet plan

A weight loss plan is actually a personal process that one dietary plan that works for one person may not work for another. Dietary intake should be analyzed separately for each individual. In the same way the activity levels and the chosen exercise plan must be chosen.

The healthiest way to lose weight is to follow general food preferences and substitute high-energy foods for fat intake, effectively. Exercise is also the key but it’s important to choose an exercise that will suit the individual fitness levels.

Fast Weight Loss

A perfect weight loss diet program should only allow loss of of 1-2 pounds per week and not more. This is ideal benchmark to achieve to prevent subsequent weight gain due to the body suffering a rapid lowering in metabolism and to prevent loss of muscle.

In case someone is seeking faster weight loss as may be required in certain circumstances. Fast weight loss is only really appropriate for those who are very overweight. Fast weight loss is not advisable for those only looking to lose 2-25 pounds.

Fast Weight Loss Plans that work

There are a number of quick weight loss programs that provide a nutritional balance while providing low calories in your daily diet. One Fast Weight Loss program is Medifast - this is a successful Weight Loss program used by a number of doctors for many years. Weight loss is in the region of 2-5 pounds per week.

Another Fast Weight Loss diet that fall into the category of a VLCD (Very Low Calorie Diet) is where daily calorie intake is only 800 calories or less. These diets - such as the Cambridge Diet or OptiFast need to be supervised due to the possible side effects as such diets causes some adverse effects too.

Risks of Quick Weight Loss

As fast weight loss diet plans are very low in calories. Unless properly balanced and supervised, there can be nutritional deficiencies that can cause potential health problems.

Along with low calories often come fatigue and irritability, and even other issues such as constipation due to a lack of fiber.

Fast Weight Loss Program is right only if

Weight loss programs that offer rapid weight loss are generally only suitable for people who are obese (a BMI of 30 and above). A person who is heavily overweight will only really cause themselves problems in the long run.

Importance of Practical Weight Loss Goals

You need to keep your morals up and maintain your will power. The idea is to slowly build strength to achieve your weight loss.

When you keep unrealistic goals you and you don’t get near to achieve them it gets depressing for you and all negative thoughts pile up in your head.

All people have different kind of body type and thus weight loss results for each are varied. Something may work for someone and it may not work for you.

You need to speak with a dietician or a doctor who will give you guidance on what should be your weight loss program like and also decide on a weight loss goal.

A quick weight loss is never long term. A steady weight loss is natural and stays permanently.