Excellent diet tips

I recently dieted and lost 24 pounds. Instead of learning by trial and error, I surfed the web and found a great diet method and many good tips. If you're on a diet perhaps these will help you. Good luck!


BEST DIET METHOD:

If you take in fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight.

Each day of your diet, write down your calorie intake after each meal. Carry an index card with you if necessary. Counting the calories you take in each day is extremely important. Trying to just "eat less" or "taper off some" is vague and easily disregarded.

One pound of fat equals 3500 calories. If you take in 3500 less calories than it takes for you to stay the same weight (support calories), you will lose one pound of weight. If you do that every three days, you will lose one pound each three days.

How many calories does it take to stay the same weight? About 15 for each pound of body weight. A 180-pound person needs about 2700 (15 x 180) calories. A more sedentary person needs less (around 14); a more active person needs more (around 16).

Set yourself a daily goal of either a set number of calories (say 1500) or a certain number less than support calories (perhaps 500 to 1000).

Set a length for your diet. If you decide to diet for the rest of your life, you will quickly lose heart. 120 days is a good length. It's good to know that it will come to an end and then you can celebrate. After the diet ends, you can use the lessons learned to keep the weight off without dieting.

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DIET TIPS:

Make a list of low cal foods that you like and the amount of calories in each. Try to make that list very long. When at the supermarket take some extra time to look for new low-cal items that you may like or those you may have forgotten about.

Eat slowly. Give yourself time to stop being hungry.

Think about what you can add to your diet, not what you should take away. Focus on getting the recommended 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. It sounds like a lot, but it is well worth it, because 1: You are meeting your fiber goals, 2: You feel more satisfied from the volume of food, 3: You're less likely to overeat because fruits and vegetables displace fat in the diet.

Listen to your body. Consider whether you're really hungry or if you are merely looking for something to do. Sometimes people eat when they are only thirsty.

When you're done eating, you should feel better -- not stuffed, bloated, or tired. Keeping your portions reasonable will help you get more in touch with your feelings of hunger and fullness.

One step at a time. Establishing new food habits is much easier if you focus on and take action on one food group or food fact at a time.

Putting your favorite foods off limits leads to weight gain because it triggers 'rebound' overeating. Instead of cutting out your favorite foods altogether, become a slim shopper. Buy one fresh bakery cookie instead of a box, or a small portion of candy from the bulk bins instead of a whole bag.

Enjoy your treats away from home. By making it into a special occasion, you don't have to worry about the temptation of having treats in the house.

Eat several mini-meals during the day. Eating fewer calories than you burn produces weight loss but when you're hungry all the time, eating fewer calories can be challenging. Studies show that people who eat 4-5 meals or snacks per day are better able to control their appetite and weight.

Add spices or chilies to your food for a flavor boost that can help you feel satisfied. Food that is loaded with flavor will stimulate your taste buds and be more satisfying so you won't eat as much. When you need something sweet, suck on a red-hot fireball candy for a long lasting burst of sweetness with just a few calories.

Order children's portions at restaurants. Another trick is to use smaller plates. This helps the portions look like more, and if your mind is satisfied, your stomach likely will be, too.

Swap a cup of pasta for a cup of vegetables. You can save from 100-200 calories if you reduce the portion of starch on your plate and increase the amount of vegetables.

Use non-food alternatives to cope with stress. Sooner or later, you're going to be faced with a stressful situation. Instead of turning to food for comfort, be prepared with some non-food tactics that work for you. Try reading a few chapters in a novel, listening to music, writing in a journal, practicing meditative deep breathing, or looking at a photo album of loved ones.

Although it may seem counterintuitive, don't use exercise either to punish yourself for eating or to "earn" the right to eat more. When you do, it sets up a negative thought pattern, which is why so many people say they hate to exercise. Instead, focus on how great you feel, how much better you sleep and how much more energy you have when you exercise. Physical activity is good for you whether you are trying to lose weight or not, so keep it positive and build a lifelong habit.

In the first 3 to 5 days you will lose several pounds due to water loss. Enjoy it and celebrate it. After that the pounds will drop more slowly. Do not become discouraged.

Drink a glass of water a few minutes before eating.

Bring your own low calorie snacks when you are on the go. When your only choice is the candy machine in the lobby, you're in trouble.

Buy small amounts of different fruits.

Eat the low-cal items on your plate first, and then graduate. Start with salads, veggies, and broth soups, and eat meats and starches last. By the time you get to them, you'll be full enough to be content with smaller portions of the high-calorie choices.

Five foods to eat: fiber, raw vegetables, berries, nuts, and protein. Five to avoid: Pasta, most bread, commercial cereals, sodas, and packaged desserts.

Tell people you’re on a diet. There’s no reason to be ashamed to be on a diet. Trying to keep a diet a secret is harder than just telling people. In fact, telling your co-workers, spouse family, etc. will increase your accountability. Knowing that co-workers and family are aware of your dieting motivates because you do not want to be seen to fail.

Select a typical “fat picture” and put it on the fridge, in your work area and on the wall. You will have a continual reminder to lose the weight. It’s important to remind yourself of your ultimate goal.

You can become tired, depressed, and unmotivated if you try to continue your diet into the weekends. Saturday and/or Sunday can be a time to celebrate a week of dieting by not dieting at that time. You may not find this necessary, especially in the first few weeks of a diet. However, as many weeks pass, a weekend day can become a time to celebrate weekly successes and get you mentally prepared for another five days of dieting. Considered it a mental recharge.

Don’t sacrifice your life for your diet. On occasion, you will find yourself unable to eat healthily. Whether this is because of lunches with your team at work, birthdays, or special occasions, there will be events that you just can’t (or don’t want to) eat healthy. A diet will feel overwhelming if you have to sacrifice special events in your life. You can combat this by exchanging a fasting day for a weekend day. In other words, if you didn’t diet on Tuesday, for example, you would diet on Sunday, instead.

In addition to making small changes in your diet, make small changes in your life: park further away, walk to the end of the train platform and get in the last car, and vow not to take an elevator for an entire week. You may also find it advantageous to wear a pedometer and try to compete against yourself for how far you can walk in a single day. Perhaps voluntarily walk to work or school twice a week.

Gain perspective by understanding the fractions. Your diet is an incredibly small fraction of your life. If you live for 80 years, and diet for four months, that would only be 0.42% of your life. That’s right, if you diet for four months, it will be less than one half of one percent of your life. On the other hand think of the major benefits you can get from 0.42% of your life. If it helps you stay motivated, count down the days starting at 120.

Buy a digital scale. Before starting a diet, buy a scale that is accurate to .1 lb. (one-tenth of a pound). Weigh yourself everyday. You’ll find that almost every other dieter will tell you to weigh yourself only once a week. Become very goal oriented and check your results everyday. The reason I recommend buying a scale that is accurate to the 0.1 lbs. is that there is a very big difference between weighting 170.4 one day and 169.9 the next day. Losing 0.5 pounds in one day is excellent. However, if your scale is not accurate enough to report the loss and still shows 170 after a day of healthy eating and working out, you can feel discouraged. A more detailed scale makes it easier to keep a positive outlook. The more successes (days with positive weight loss) the easier it is.

A good idea is to drink 8 glasses of water everyday. Drinking that much helps you “feel less hungry.” On the days that you don’t drink the water, you may feel hungrier, earlier, and also, you feel sleepier, sooner. Don’t feel intimidated or try to force yourself to drink 8 glasses of water. Keep a glass of water in your area all the time. You will find that you will be drinking it without thinking instead of working to drink a certain amount.

Have a red flag weight. Once you’ve lost the weight, you need to keep it off. Pick a weight and vow to never get heavier than that again. It is normal for your body to fluctuate five to ten pounds. I recommend picking a weight that is ten pounds heavier than what you “normally” weigh and never weigh more than it again.

Try to eat a serving of a fruit and a veggie at every meal.

Resolve never to super-size your food portions—unless you want to super-size your clothes.

Make eating purposeful, not mindless. Whenever you put food in your mouth, peel it, unwrap it, plate it, and sit. Engage all of the senses in the pleasure of nourishing your body.

See what you eat. Plate your food instead of eating out of the jar or bag.

Get calories from foods you chew, not beverages. Have fresh fruit instead of fruit juice. Juice has as many calories, ounce for ounce, as soda. If you truly desire juice, set a limit per day.

Keep a food journal. It really works wonders.

Use mustard instead of mayo.

Eat more soup. The non-creamy ones are filling but low-cal.

Cut back on or cut out caloric drinks such as soda, sweet tea, lemonade, etc. People have lost weight by making just this one change. If you switch to low/no cal drinks you could lose 25 lb in a year.

Take your lunch to work.

Dilute juice with water.

Eat at home.

Limit alcohol to weekends.

Doctor your veggies to make them delicious: Dribble maple syrup over carrots, and sprinkle chopped nuts on green beans.

Really hate veggies? Relax. If you love fruits, eat plenty of them; they are just as healthy (especially colorful ones such as oranges, mangoes, and melons).

Don't "graze" yourself fat. You can easily munch 600 calories of pretzels or cereal without realizing it. A bagel or super-sized pretzel has 400 to 500 calories.

Don't eat pasta like crazy. A serving of pasta is 1 cup, but some people routinely eat 4 cups.

Don't snack on bowls of nuts. Nuts are healthy but dense with calories. Put those bowls away, and use nuts as a garnish instead of a snack.

Remember: eat before you meet. Have this small meal before you go to any parties: a hardboiled egg, apple, and a thirst quencher (water, seltzer, diet soda, tea).

As obvious as it sounds, don't stand near the food at parties. Make the effort, and you'll find you eat less.

At a buffet? Eating a little of everything guarantees high calories. Decide on three or four things, only one of which is high in calories. Save that for last so there's less chance of overeating.

For the duration of the holidays, wear your snuggest clothes that don't allow much room for expansion. Wearing sweats is out until January. It helps to be aware of what's happening to you.

Walk around the mall before you start shopping.

Make exercise a nonnegotiable priority.

If you like cheese, you should buy the Laughing Cow brand. The individually-wrapped wedges make for excellent snacks, and are wonderful when melted over just about anything edible. I’d be careful about straight-up American cheese, though - it is oil, but not necessarily as good for you as perhaps a slice of cheddar would be. I have yet to find something as calorie-light and filling as Laughing Cow (I don’t know how they do it).

If you really crave a special dessert, once in a while, have a lean, mean salad for lunch or dinner, and save the meal's calories for a full dessert.

If your family thinks they need a very sweet treat every night, try to strike a balance between offering healthy choices and allowing them some "free will." Compromise with low-fat ice cream and fruit, or sometimes, just fruit with a dollop of whipped cream.

Try 2 weeks without sweets. It's amazing how your cravings vanish.

Tell your family. You’re not going to lose the weight alone, even if you ARE alone in losing the weight. If you’ve got a family at home, talk to them about it - initially, not incessantly. Let them know what you’re going to do, and that you want (and need) their support. If you don’t let them know, you’re running the risk of them inadvertently sabotaging your efforts. You want them to help you get to your goal(s). You want them to share in your happiness when you’ve made it past a certain mark. Who knows? Maybe some of your new habits will rub off on them and they’ll become healthier people, too?

Eat more fruit. A person who gets enough fruit in his diet doesn't have a raging sweet tooth.

If you can't lose your sweet tooth, eat your sweets! Just eat them smart. Carve out about 150 calories per day for your favorite sweet. That amounts to about an ounce of chocolate, half a modest slice of cake, or 1/2 cup of regular ice cream.

Drink cold unsweetened raspberry tea. It tastes great and keeps your mouth busy.

Put a sign on the kitchen and refrigerator doors: "Closed after Dinner."

Brush your teeth right after dinner to remind you: "I have finished my meal."

Eat without engaging in any other simultaneous activity. No reading, watching TV, or sitting at the computer.

Making just a few changes to your pantry shelves can get you a lot closer to your weight loss goals. Here's what to do: If you use corn and peanut oil, replace it with olive oil. Same goes for breads—go for whole wheat. Trade in those fatty cold cuts like salami and bologna and replace them canned tuna, sliced turkey breast, and lean roast beef. Change from drinking whole milk to fat-free milk or low-fat soy milk. This is hard for a lot of people so try transitioning down to 2 percent and then 1 percent before you go fat-free.

Trick yourself with gum. Sometimes we eat out of habit or because it just feels good to get some flavor in your mouth and chew for a while.

After eating, if you still want more to eat, note the time and wait 20 minutes before having that extra serving. The extra time may cause your craving to diminish or go away and you will have greater will power. Don't set a timer to remind you. You may forget and that's a good thing.

Follow the Chinese saying: "Eat until you are eight-tenths full."

Have mostly veggies for lunch.

Don't forget that vegetable soup counts as a vegetable.

Spend the extra few dollars to buy vegetables that are already washed and cut up. You will eat more of them if they are already prepared.

Start reading labels. I know it isn't easy, but you have to do it - and there’s no way to avoid this tip. If you don’t know what you’re putting in your mouth, you’re flying blind. Also, don’t assume - triple-check the ingredients list and serving sizes. You must rely on yourself for this; nobody else is going to be able to lose the weight or do the math for you. It’s not that complicated a task, but it will require effort. If nothing else, just pay attention to the calorie count.

The best portion of high-calorie foods is the smallest one. The best portion of vegetables is the largest one. Period

Don't skip any meals. Many so called healthy eaters "diet by day and binge by night."

Keep lean sandwich fixings on hand: whole wheat bread, sliced turkey, reduced-fat cheese, tomatoes, mustard with horseradish.

Cereal, fruit, and fat-free milk makes a good meal anytime.

Don't tell yourself, "It's okay, it's the holidays." That opens the door to 6 weeks of splurging.

Give it away! After company leaves, give away leftover food to neighbors, doormen, or delivery people, or take it to work the next day. Don't be afraid to throw away high calorie leftovers.

How can I conquer my downfall: Bingeing at night?
Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The large majority of people who struggle with night eating are those who skip meals or don't eat balanced meals during the day. This is a major setup for overeating at night.

Skipping breakfast will leave you tired and craving naughty foods by midmorning.

If you're famished by 4 p.m. and have no alternative but an office vending machine, reach for the nuts. The same goes if your only choices are what are available in the hotel minibar.

Overeating is not the result of exercise. Vigorous exercise won't stimulate you to overeat. It's just the opposite. Exercise at any level helps curb your appetite immediately following the workout.

Tune in to an audio book while you walk. It'll keep you going longer and looking forward to the next walk—and the next chapter! Check your local library for a great selection. Look for a whodunit; you might walk so far you'll need to take a cab home!

Drinking too little can hamper your weight loss efforts. That's because dehydration can slow your metabolism by 3 percent, or about 45 fewer calories burned a day, which in a year could mean weighing 5 pounds more. The key to water isn't how much you drink; it's how frequently you drink it. Small amounts sipped often work better than 8 ounces gulped down at once.

Here's another reason to keep level-headed all the time: Pennsylvania State University research has found that those less able to cope with stress—shown by blood pressure and heart rate elevations—ate twice as many fatty snacks as stress-resistant people did, even after the stress stopped.

To find the calories in any food, just Google it. The Internet is filled with low calorie recipes, too.

Top 5 Diet Mistakes: 1- Skipping breakfast. 2- Feasting on family favorites. 3- Social over-eating. 4- Not counting nibbles. 5- Expecting too much too soon.

Take control of what you eat. There are few things that we have complete control over, but what we put in our mouths is one of them. We don't have to lose control in a restaurant or a friend's home, and we don't have to eat everything that's put in front of us.

When you skip a meal your metabolism slows to conserve your energy. And when you lose weight too quickly for a few days, your body thinks it is threatened with starvation and goes into survival mode. It fights to conserve your fat stores, and any weight loss comes mostly from water and muscle.
Never skip a meal, especially breakfast, and eat healthy snacks between meals. Eating frequently provides consistent energy, prevents hunger pangs and the binges that follow, and may be the single most effective way to maintain metabolism efficiency.

People who eat healthy, mostly unprocessed foods, including fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and limited amounts of lean animal protein, often find that they can eat as much as they want without gaining weight.

Fiber makes us feel full sooner and stays in our stomach longer than other substances we eat, slowing down our rate of digestion and keeping us feeling full longer. Due to its greater fiber content, a single serving of whole grain bread can be more filling than two servings of white bread. Fiber also moves fat through our digestive system faster so that less of it is absorbed.
Refined grains like white rice and those used to make white bread and sugary breakfast cereals have had most of their fiber and nutrients stripped away. They turn into blood sugar (glucose) so fast that, like sugar itself, they can cause a spike in our insulin level. This tells our body that plenty of energy is readily available and that it should stop burning fat and start storing it.

Don't become confused: Fat-free does not mean calorie-free.

Fried foods, especially deep-fried, contain a great amount of fat. Consider an average sized chicken breast:
Meat only, roasted: 3.1 grams of fat
Meat only, fried: 4.1 grams of fat
Meat and skin, batter fried: 18.5 grams of fat

You can achieve your goals, but it won't likely happen as a result of the next fad diet. Or the one after that. Learn to eat well.

If you eat standard restaurant portions, you'll almost certainly overeat.

Healthy eating is an opportunity to expand your range of choices by trying foods—especially vegetables, whole grains, or fruits—that you don't normally eat.

Eat early, eat often: Starting your day with a healthy breakfast can jumpstart your metabolism (fat burning), and eating the majority of your daily caloric allotment early in the day gives your body time to work those calories off. Also, eating small, healthy meals throughout the day, rather than the standard three large meals, can help keep your metabolism going and ward off snack attacks.

Carbs:
BAD CARBS are foods that have been “stripped” of all bran, fiber, and nutrients. They have been processed in order to make cooking fast and easy. Examples are white flour, refined sugar, and white rice. They digest so quickly that they cause dramatic elevations in blood sugar, which over time can lead to weight gain, hypoglycemia or even diabetes.
GOOD CARBS are digested more slowly. This keeps your blood sugar and insulin levels from rising and falling too quickly, helping you get full quicker and feel fuller longer. Good sources of carbs include whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables, which also offer lots of additional health benefits, including prevention of heart disease and cancer.

Jump on the scale on Saturday morning, and plan to do it again on Monday. Researchers say people who weigh themselves are better at weight control.

Don’t reach for the brands you know and love immediately - or without thinking first. Consider using substitutes instead (in fact, many restaurants will let you order lower calorie foods). There are countless “lower” alternatives for you to try. If something different doesn’t taste good, by all means - find a better substitute, or eat less of the original. In some cases, the substitute may be worse for you than the regular version of the product. The good news is, healthier choices are silently replacing their “normal” counterparts - and they taste just as nice.

Avoid hamburger fast food joints. Explore your neighborhood for a deli or other source for when you don't have time to cook.

Maintain your priorities. Sure, your sandwich would taste amazing with an extra tablespoon of mayonnaise… but do you really need it? Rather, is it more important for you to reach your weight loss goal quicker - or have this sandwich taste marginally better? What’ll happen the next time you’re faced with this decision - will you cave again? It’s a slippery slope; don’t lose sight of what’s most important to you.

Mayonnaise is mostly oil. Try substituting ketchup, mustard or fat free dressing.

It’s okay to snack between meals, really. Small meals throughout the day help keep you satisfied. You never want to feel hungry. Let your body know it’s going to get a regular regimen of calories. Plus, if you starve yourself for the regular meals, you’re probably going to eat a lot before your brain tells your mouth to stop. Think about it: breakfast, lunch, and dinner are social constructs at their very core.

Bring balance to the force. If you eat the same foods over and over again, you’re going to get bored - unless they’re foods you really, really like. Feel free to change it up - keep your tongue happy. Balance carbs with proteins and fats, though. If you have more of one nutrient for one meal, try more of another nutrient for the next. And for heaven’s sake, don’t only shop in the “diet” section of the store.

Know your daily calorie limit. When I was in the process of losing weight, it was suggested that I stay under 1700 calories a day. Knowing that number was half the battle. I could eat anything I wanted throughout the day, so long as I would stay at or beneath that number. While I couldn’t track 100% of the items I ate, I was able to make intake estimates - and adjust my schedule and ration my remaining calories accordingly. In this sense, you’re given extreme freedom - so long as you stay at or beneath that suggested calorie level for your plan. How can you diet if you don’t know how much you’re supposed to take in?

Train wrecks will happen. One of these nights, you’re going to go out with friends and eat your weight in steak (likely blowing any kind of progress you had made for that day). Instead of repeating the overindulgence, just put yourself back on track the next day. Correct the dining injustice immediately. You’ll be okay. Just don’t do it again. And again. And again. And again.

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Feel free to copy these tips and pass them to your friends. Print out a copy of these tips for yourself and review them once a week while dieting.