Tips to help you lose weight

There are millions of diets today; the truth is diets don’t work. People start a diet and eventually fall off the diet and gain the weight back, perhaps even more. Diets are usually fads and seem to run in cycles. Currently we have been bombarded by the low-carb craze, but more and more information is coming out to say that these diets can be dangerous to your health in the long term. These diets have been shown to help dieters lose weight in the short term, but most people tend to put the weight back on over time. Processed carbohydrates are not good for you in large quantities, so you should avoid candy, fast food, ready made meals and sugary drinks (if you crave fizzy drinks try sparkling water or diet drinks).

Make the right choices. You may say you don’t have time to cook every day or to go to a sit down restaurant on your lunch break, so start making better choices. If you are eating at a burger joint, order a chicken sandwich, make sure it's grilled and not fried. If you skip the mayo and/or the bun you are saving even more calories. Drink water, try to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day (add a slice of lemon or orange to make it more appealing), if you are dehydrated your brain can be tricked into thinking you are hungry, also the water takes up space in your stomach.

Try a starter. Eat a salad or soup, but watch your salad dressing don’t use the ready made kind, they are very high in fat, instead opt for oil and vinegar or use a fat free dressing, and avoid creamed soups, they are usually made with heavy cream and therefore contain a high fat content. Your stomach will fill up with the soup or salad and you will eat less of your main meal.

The Earl of Sandwich had the right idea. Sandwiches are a great lunch food. Turkey and chicken breast are lower in fat, and stick with cold sandwiches; grilled or hot sandwiches are usually cooked in butter and/or contain fat laden sauces.

It's not a race! Eat slowly, put your fork down between bites and chew slowly, your brain will have more time to get the signals that it is being fed and you will begin to feel full sooner. When you start to feel full, stop eating! You don’t have to clean your plate. You may have to break your programming. If you are like me you grew up with your parents telling you to finish what was on your plate, you don’t have to. Try to leave something on your plate at every meal; soon you will see the pounds dropping off. Try not to eat 3 hours before going to bed. If you have to eat something try some raw veggies or a handful of nuts (without sugar or salt).

If you are hungry, eat! The human body has evolved over many thousands of years, your metabolism will slow down if your body thinks that it is being starved, so if you are hungry eat, just don’t over eat. There are many diets today that say to eat 5 to 7 meals a day, you don’t have to do this, but just eat when your body tells you to, this will keep your metabolism burning on an even keel.

Stay off the scale. Your body weight will fluctuate daily depending on water retention etc. If you change your diet and exercise you will start to notice your clothes fitting differently. If you work out with weights you will gain muscle mass, and muscle weighs more than fat. A tape measure is a much better alternative to a scale, measure your waist, chest, hips, biceps etc, and record the measurements once every week or every other week.

Keep track of your progress. Write down your workouts and meals in a journal. You will be able to keep better track of what is going in your body and you will be able to see yourself making gains in the weight room. Studies show that those who track their workouts and meals do far better than those who don’t.

Pump some iron. Many studies have shown that cardiovascular exercise paired with weight training is the best way to burn fat. As your muscles break down they require calories to rebuild, so your metabolism speeds up and you will continue to burn fat throughout the day. Don’t over do it, try to limit your weight training to every other day and on your days off from weights do some cardio. If you want to workout most every day, take at least one day a week off. I have included examples of a day's workout and a day's diet.