Following a weight loss program can be a bit daunting.
If your goal is to lose weight, there is no doubt that cutting back on total caloric intake is absolutely necessary.
To make things a little easier during this voyage, here are a few diet tips to help you reach your weight loss goals.
Diet Tip #1 - Eat Smaller, More Frequent Meals Most of us grew up eating three meals a day.
This is, however, not an ideal way to spread out our foods throughout the day.
In order to lose weight, not only do you need to cut back on calories, but you need to increase your metabolism in order to burn fat and calories.
By feeding your body more frequently, you are forcing your body to keep burning calories, which is where your metabolism comes in.
By giving your body less time in between meals, your metabolic rate is forced to keep working.
Of course, these meals must be rather small.
Ideally you should have about five to six meals a day, each consisting of between 300-500 each.
Diet Tip #2 - Keep a Diet Journal Keeping tabs on what you're eating will show you exactly how many calories per day you are actually consuming.
Many people participate in 'mindless eating', in which they don't even think about what they are putting in their mouths.
Some people are even oblivious to what they are drinking - many sodas and juices are loaded with calories.
By keeping a journal, you are making yourself aware of how much you are eating.
Identifying your weaknesses is a step towards fixing them.
Diet Tip #3 - Drink Plenty of Water You've heard this one before most likely.
Water acts as a filler, among other things.
Many times we think we are hungry when we are actually just thirsty.
Try drinking a glass or two of water, then wait a few minutes afterwards.
Many times you'll see that the water quenched your thirst and satisfied what you thought was hunger.
If you're body is truly hungry, then feed it - but don't OVER feed it.
Diet Tip #4 - Eat Your Vegetables First Vegetables are very filling, and low in calories too.
By eating your vegetables - or salad - first, you decrease the odds of gorging on the calorie-dense portions of your meal, such as steak or mashed potatoes.
Diet Tip #5 - Slow Down While You Eat When you eat too fast, you most likely end up eating more than your body actually requires to satisfy its hunger.
By eating too fast, you don't give your body a chance to figure out if it's satisfied or not.
Diet Tip #6 - Limit Your Refined Sugar Intake Eating too much sugar can actually make you more hungry.
When you eat a lot of sugar, your blood sugar levels rise and then quickly drop, causing you to crave even more sugar to fix the imbalance.
Diet Tip #7 - Brush Your Teeth Early If you brush your teeth around 7pm or so, you are less likely to want to eat afterwards.
After all, it takes effort to brush your teeth! Why eat again, only to have to brush your teeth again too?
If your goal is to lose weight, there is no doubt that cutting back on total caloric intake is absolutely necessary.
To make things a little easier during this voyage, here are a few diet tips to help you reach your weight loss goals.
Diet Tip #1 - Eat Smaller, More Frequent Meals Most of us grew up eating three meals a day.
This is, however, not an ideal way to spread out our foods throughout the day.
In order to lose weight, not only do you need to cut back on calories, but you need to increase your metabolism in order to burn fat and calories.
By feeding your body more frequently, you are forcing your body to keep burning calories, which is where your metabolism comes in.
By giving your body less time in between meals, your metabolic rate is forced to keep working.
Of course, these meals must be rather small.
Ideally you should have about five to six meals a day, each consisting of between 300-500 each.
Diet Tip #2 - Keep a Diet Journal Keeping tabs on what you're eating will show you exactly how many calories per day you are actually consuming.
Many people participate in 'mindless eating', in which they don't even think about what they are putting in their mouths.
Some people are even oblivious to what they are drinking - many sodas and juices are loaded with calories.
By keeping a journal, you are making yourself aware of how much you are eating.
Identifying your weaknesses is a step towards fixing them.
Diet Tip #3 - Drink Plenty of Water You've heard this one before most likely.
Water acts as a filler, among other things.
Many times we think we are hungry when we are actually just thirsty.
Try drinking a glass or two of water, then wait a few minutes afterwards.
Many times you'll see that the water quenched your thirst and satisfied what you thought was hunger.
If you're body is truly hungry, then feed it - but don't OVER feed it.
Diet Tip #4 - Eat Your Vegetables First Vegetables are very filling, and low in calories too.
By eating your vegetables - or salad - first, you decrease the odds of gorging on the calorie-dense portions of your meal, such as steak or mashed potatoes.
Diet Tip #5 - Slow Down While You Eat When you eat too fast, you most likely end up eating more than your body actually requires to satisfy its hunger.
By eating too fast, you don't give your body a chance to figure out if it's satisfied or not.
Diet Tip #6 - Limit Your Refined Sugar Intake Eating too much sugar can actually make you more hungry.
When you eat a lot of sugar, your blood sugar levels rise and then quickly drop, causing you to crave even more sugar to fix the imbalance.
Diet Tip #7 - Brush Your Teeth Early If you brush your teeth around 7pm or so, you are less likely to want to eat afterwards.
After all, it takes effort to brush your teeth! Why eat again, only to have to brush your teeth again too?