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The writers at Better Health News and Comment have searched through the literature and have trolled the web to come up with some small changes that you can make which can ultimately have dramatic impact on your weight. Skinny up with these really easy little strategies on a daily basis!
Drink lots of water.
This is well known and just about every diet expert recommends drinking lots of water. First off, try replacing any sugary drink that you consume with just good ol' h2O. And keep in mind that off times we can make a mistake between distinguishing between hunger and thirst signals sent to our brain. You might be feeling hungry, but actually you might just be thirsty. So start by having a nice drink of water. Water also has the added benefit of flushing toxins out of your system. Drink up!
Make meals a two-part experience.
Make lunch and dinner each have two distinct parts to them. Part I: Have a broth-based soup or a salad that has lots of vegetables in it. Both soup and salad are low-calorie and downright healthy. The purpose of Part I is to help with the Part II entree. You fill up first on a big volume of good stuff which ends up displacing the foods in part II... because usually this part of the meal is higher in calories. Make sure that you are very full so you cannot possibly even consider dessert.
Eat More Often.
Sounds crazy for losing weight, but it works. Make sure you have a snack in between every meal. Select your snacks wisely... Don't go over 100 calories for the snack. By constantly having a little food going on, you can keep your metabolism chugging along. You can think of it like a steam engine: the engine runs better, and all day, by continually adding a little fuel. If you let the fire go out, and the boiler become cold, it takes a lot more to get it running again. It'll keep your blood sugar level, and prevent you from pigging-out on the main meals.
Trick Snacks.
Drs. Michael Roizin, MD, and Mehmet Oz, MD, have authored a best-seller called: "You on a Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management." And in that book they suggest: "Ten minutes before each meal, eat some healthy fat (around 70 calories or fewer): a handful of nuts, a few slices of avocado, or a spoonful of peanut butter, for example. That helps activate ghrelin, a hormone that lets you know you're full." Now you're hungry, now you're not. It's a great trick that really works.
Don't eat food made with refined white flour and sugar.
Ok... this one is not quite so easy. It seems like everything is made with refined white flour and sugar. But by consuming these kinds of bread, cookies and pretzels, it causes your insulin levels to shoot up and signals the body to start making fat, fat, and some more fat, out of those calories. The cool thing is that if you start replacing white flour bread with whole wheat or rye, you get used to it and eventually begin to like it!
Beware of Portion Distortion.
This has actually been studied and documented: the portion size in restaurants has doubled, and in some cases gone up five times, since the 1970s. Not surprising that our waistlines have followed suit. Have you noticed that some restaurants serve meals on platters that would barely fit in your dishwasher? Start by leaving some food on your plate... deliberately. If you start thinking about starving children elsewhere in the world, then send some money to a charity-- Do Not Clean Your Plate. Next, work up to eating about half of what they serve you. Ask for a container to take the other half home, or just leave it sit. Some restaurants will accommodate a request for a half-order (unfortunately, many do not). And if it bothers you to waste food (and it bothers many of us), think about the wasted clothes still in your closet, and the potential wasted years of life that is the end result of obesity.
Eat Early.
Back to the steam engine analogy for this one: Make breakfast the biggest meal of the day... your engine has been idle for quite a few hours and now you need fuel for the day. You've got places to go, people to see, things to do, so fire up the body to accomplish your day's events. Make dinner the smallest meal... you're winding down and getting ready to sleep so there is no need for extra fuel... it'll just turn into fat. Keep the old saying in mind: Breakfast like a king, lunch like a noble, and dinner like a pauper.
Ex cerise.
Duhh. Hardly needs to be said. But for many of us exercise is not only downright boring, but is difficult and hard to schedule into our days. So start by exercising in some very non-exercising ways. Park in the last spot in the lot so you have a far walk to the store or work. Take the stair way instead of the elevator. Circle the couch during commercials.* Find any way that you can to get there the hard way. The idea is to move around. And keep moving.
Be The Skinny
Start by visualizing yourself as thin. See yourself, in your mind's eye, as eating healthy, doing active things, as being in great shape. Start defining yourself, to yourself, as a healthy, in-shape person. It's kinda weird how it works because you actually start making better choices, and start doing healthier things. You will begin to shape and alter your reality to fit your conception of what you see yourself as.
Beans, beans, the magical fruit
The more fiber you can get into your diet, the better. Foods rich in fiber keep you full longer and have tremendous health benefits. Yes, we're talking about increasing your intake of Fruits and Vegetables. But one of the very best fiber-rich foods is beans. One cup of black beans gets you nearly 15 grams of fiber. Not to mention excellent protein and all the wonderful vitamins and minerals and antioxidants. So eat a lot of beans.
Take Care of Your Choppers
Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, authors of "Skinny Bitch" suggest that if you are a snacker, then one of the best things you can do is brush your teeth. No one wants to eat right after brushing, so it can prevent you from grabbing that little something.
*I call these Potato Laps. Keep track of how many times you can walk around the couch during commercials. You can find out which of your favorite TV shows provide you with the most laps. Best of all, it'll irritate the hell out of your family members... it's great fun!
