10 Ideas for Shedding Unwanted Pounds
- Eat smaller portions — A good first step to losing weight is to reduce your food intake. Simply eat a little less at every sitting and throughout the day. Once you feel full, stop eating — especially when eating out!
- Plan and prepare meals ahead of time — This goes for snacks, too. A bit of planning will go a long way to helping you stay on track.
- Keep a food journal — Record everything you eat and drink. By doing so, you can monitor your overall food intake. As well, you will be able to identify trouble spots — times when you tend to make poor food choices or overindulge.
- Stock your cupboards with healthy foods — Reducing your intake of high-calorie foods is much easier if you don’t have them around. This simple approach is particularly effective for cutting back on snacks that are rich in fats, sugar and salt.
- Eat slowly — It takes twenty minutes for your stomach to tell your brain you’ve had enough.
- Limit foods with empty calories — It’s easy to overindulge on sweetened beverages like soda and fruit drinks, candy, and other highly processed foods. Choose these occasionally instead of every day.
- Hold the Mayo — Switch to ketchup, barbeque sauce, salsa or mustard instead of mayonnaise for toppings or dipping sauces.
- Watch the salad dressing — Salad dressing that’s high in fat can turn a healthy salad into an unhealthy one. Try to use reduced calorie salad dressing.
- Order thin crust pizza — Ask for low fat toppings such as chicken or ham, choose lots of vegetables and cut back on the cheese.
- Get help from a nutrition expert. A registered dietitian can provide advice to help you and your family improve your eating habits.