Jan
I tell you what, sometimes it seems pretty unfair that it is so dang easy for a lot of us to gain weight but so much harder to lose it. The obvious answer is to keep from gaining weight in the first place. Or, if you’ve recently shed some pounds, to keep from putting them back on again.
The good news is that there are some really easy tricks you can do that will help you maintain your weight and keep those pounds from creeping on. Here are a few to get you started.
1. Eat Slowly
You’ve probably heard it before, but eating slowly is one of the best ways to lose weight, keep weight off or keep from gaining weight. The reason why is that when you eat slowly there is enough time for your stomach to alert your brain that you are feeling full. That means on average you will eat less at each meal and won’t leave feeling hungry…or feeling overstuffed like usually happens if you eat too quickly.
To slow down, try putting your fork down between bites, taking smaller bites and chewing each bite completely.
2. Keep a Food Log
If you know that you have to write down everything that you ate each day you will be less likely to binge and overeat. There is just something about having to be accountable for your food intake that makes you eat better foods and eat less junk. There are a lot of websites where you can keep a food log for free, or you can buy an actual journal and write down what you ate that day before you go to bed each night.
3. Cut the Easy Calories
There are so many ways that calories sneak into our lives, but one of the worst offenders has to be in the things we drink. Juice, soda and other beverages can be full of excess calories and often are served in a giant glass which adds even more calories.
The worst part is that because you aren’t eating anything it’s hard to remember that what you drink may be causing you to pack on pounds.
Try drinking water with a splash of lemon, lime or cranberry juice for flavor. Or, just cut back on the size of the glass that you use to decrease your liquid calorie intake.
There are lots more ways to keep weight off and I will be writing about more ideas shortly. Please feel free to check back for more diet tips and tricks to help you reach your weight loss goals!
