Common Sense and Dieting
So much is written about weight loss and different diets and diet pills. A common sense approach is less expensive and easier to follow. There are certain easy steps you can take to achieve the goal of weight loss without a lot of expense and bother. Start to keep a journal of all of the foods that you consume each day. You might be surprised at how many times you eat unnecessary calories that offer no nutritional value and don’t fill you up.
The purpose of writing all of your daily consumption down is to make you aware of your calorie intake and your nutritional status. Don’t skip meals as this will lead to overeating at the next meal. The most important meal to include and never omit is breakfast. Skipping breakfast will only leave you hungry, fatigued and more likely to grab a donut and give up on your dietary attempt sooner.
Skipping meals can work against weight loss also by slowing your metabolism and causing wild shifts in your blood glucose levels. You can exclude completely the liquid calories that have no nutritional value from your dietary intake. This would include the sugary pop and alcoholic beverages. You may be surprised at how many calories this will save you. If you are keeping a food journal, you can see how fast this adds up.
Eat slowly and chew your food completely. Not only is this mode of eating better for your digestive health, but it also gives you time for your brain and body to realize when you are full. The result will be you will eat less and feel fuller. Avoid the trigger foods that lead you to binge eating. Trigger foods will vary from person to person. For some people these foods may be the salty foods like potato chips while others may find sweets are their weakness.
Portion control is a necessity for weight loss. Start to look at the size of your servings and measure what you are putting on your plate if necessary. Often, people don’t realize what is a normal healthy portion. You should include servings of milk on a healthy balanced long term dietary plan. Instead of whole milk, switch to skim only. For sandwiches, switch to open face sandwiches with one slice of bread. Salad dressings should be the light low calorie type only and don’t use too much. These few steps toward calorie cutting should make quite a difference.
Along with these calorie saving measures, incorporate a healthy realistic exercise program to speed weight loss and improve muscle tone and general energy and health.
Try on some clothes that you haven’t been able to wiggle into once your weight loss is underway. This should encourage you to keep up the good work and continue with your efforts.
