Do you want to lose weight, improve your nutrition and help stay slim forever? Check out the 50 best ever dieting tips - and make sure you're on the right track...
1. Set multiple goals: Instead of setting an intimidating, unrealistic goal such as, 'I will lose three stone by next month,' set small, achievable goals more like, 'I will lose from two to five pounds this month by following my plan and exercising.'
2. Reset your goals: Each time you achieve your goal, give yourself a (non-food!) reward, such as a massage or tickets to your favourite team's next game, and then set another goal.
3. Step by step: Each week, change one food habit to a healthier one. Do this every week. For example, this week change from three sugars in your tea to one and a half. Next week cut down to half and then cut it out completely the following week.
4. Your diet: Dieting doesn't end when you lose all the weight you want to lose. Your diet is what keeps you slim, and needs to be healthy, so make lifestyle changes rather than short-term ones.
5. Don't be fooled: Read nutrition labels and ignore the pretty pictures. Just because there's a picture of fruit on the package doesn't mean there is fruit in the package. Some examples of this misleading packaging are fruit drinks and fruit yoghurts.
6. Great start: Eat a non-sweet or just slightly sweetened cereal every morning for breakfast. Shredded Wheat and Bran Flakes are good choices. So is hot porridge.
7. De-stress: Reduce stress and increase immunity by getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, and eating a nutrient-rich diet including fresh fruits and vegetables.
Check Your BMI
Pick a diet plan
|
|
8. New brew: Drink green tea instead of coffee for a mid-morning pick-me-up: it may have immunity-boosting properties.
9. Light dinner: Have a salad for dinner. Add a can of wild salmon to a bag of mixed greens. Add some chopped tomato, onion, cucumber, broccoli, shredded carrots and any other crunchy vegetable you like.
10. Sweet promise: Swear off all sweetened bottled beverages forever. Fizzy drinks, sweetened teas and bottled juice drinks are empty calories in a bottle and are linked to increased rates of obesity.
11. Popcorn: Invest in a hot air popcorn popper. It's just as quick as microwave popcorn, and it makes a fibre-rich, guilt-free snack without trans fat or cholesterol.
12. Abstain: Try to swear off all fried foods for the next couple of months. Bake or grill or use a nonstick pan. You'll find that you won't miss fried - forever.
13. Powerful rule: Adopt 'on the side, please' as your rule when dining out. This applies to salad dressing, sauces and gravies.
14. Code for calories: 'Crispy' and 'crunchy' are code words for added sugar and/or fat in packaged products. Buy the original versions.
15. Neutral: Food is not bad or good. Food doesn't have human qualities. Food is either healthy, or fatty, or high in fibre, or high in calories. Choose based on your goals.
16. Stop now: Resign from the clean plate club. Eat as much as you need, and if you're full, then stop and take the rest for a snack or meal tomorrow.
17. Sweet snack: Plan for a sweet snack that's good for you. A perfect treat is a cup of low calorie hot chocolate - it has only about 50 to 60 calories.
18. Sweet tea: Avoid sweetened iced teas, even if they're labelled natural. Most have water and high-fructose corn syrup as the first two ingredients and about 200 calories per serving.
19. Read labels: Most bottled sweetened beverages contain at least 2.5 servings per container, or about 500 calories per litre bottle. If you drink the whole bottle, remember to add up the calories in each serving.
20. Weight loss mantra: Adopt the 'Been there, done that' mentality when it comes to food. For example, you had a great meal. You're full. When offered dessert, you think, 'Been there, done that,' and take a pass.
21. No white foods: Avoid 'white' salads, dips and casseroles. White usually means mayonnaise, cream cheese and sour cream.
22. Wholegrains: Wholegrains have more nutrition, taste and fibre, and they make you fuller. Read the nutrition panel on the package; the first ingredient should be whole wheat or other wholegrain. Wheat or enriched flour doesn't make it whole wheat.
23. Adventure: Explore your neighbourhood on foot, and don't be a stranger. Wherever you are, take a stroll around and expand your horizons while getting some exercise.
24. Add crunch: Instead of salad croutons (usually high in trans fat), add some chopped walnuts, almonds, or sunflower seeds. TheyÂ’re all good sources of healthy fat, plus fibre, vitamins and minerals, too.
25. Portion control: Mega plates make average-sized portions look smaller. Serve everything on smaller plates - it helps avoid portion distortion.
Next: 26-50>
- Post:
- del.icio.us
- Digg
- Netscape
- Newsvine
- Now Public
- Q&A
