| Obesity | 7 Tips for Successful Weight Loss People who lose weight and keep it off know that it takes effort to succeed. In this column, I want to share with you, a few tips that have proven to be keys to successful weight loss. 1. Make the commitment. Many people discuss the desire to lose weight, and even go through the rituals of following the latest popular diet to hit the market. But, successful dieters know that it takes a real personal commitment in order to persevere. 2. Get reliable information. Having the right information can provide a tremendous boost to your efforts. What that means is that you should have a working knowledge of the nutritional value of the foods you eat. You can get access to this information by reading a reliable, basic nutrition text, ordering nutrition information form the federal government, or talking to a registered dietitian or other qualified nutritionist. You can also get useful information by searching the internet. Just be sure that the sites you visit are reliable and are not simply there to sell products. 3. Use the information you have to make smart choices. Choose foods based on your personal food preferences, but do not overlook the real nutritional value of what you eat. Cutting out major groups of foods might seem like the most effective way to cut calories and lose weight, but in the long run, this approach could undermine your efforts. 4. Learn how to navigate your way through the supermarketaisles. With so many foods to choose from, shopping could be a confusing and stressful event. Simplify your life by making a shopping list and sticking to it. Keep in mind that the goal of merchants is to high profits. Therefore, they will do whatever they can to persuade you, the shopper, to buy whatever it is that will give them that result. Don’t fall prey to their trickery. Shop for nutritional value. 5. Use cooking methods to decrease the number of calories in meals. Excess calories slip into the American diet two ways. The first is by adding fats and refined sugars to foods and beverages, in cooking and at the table. While these food products add flavor and texture to foods, they also contribute an enormous amount of calories. The second way that calories creep in is by eating larger than necessary portions. Keep the serving size of meals to within standard limits, and you have the problem of excess calories licked before you finish the first forkful. 6. Set aside time for exercise. Cutting calories is only a half of the weight-loss equation. You can increase the rate at which you lose weight by increasing the amount of energy you burn. So, take a long walk, cycle, go swimming, take time to dance, go to the gym; do whatever suits your fancy, but get moving. Exercise brings benefits beyond the mere process of cutting calories and bringing down the numbers on the scale. It helps to build muscle tone, improve cardiovascular function, control insulin and blood sugar levels, and numerous other benefits for people suffering from chronic diseases. 7. Find healthy ways to de-stress your life. Let’s face it, life can be stressful at times. And unfortunately for many people, food becomes the comforter. But smart dieters devise new strategies to break the habit. Consider the following events and activities you can do to overcome stress and prevent unwanted calories:: pray, meditate, practice yoga, read a good book, talk it out, play board games or find a challenging game on the computer. Just don’t allow yourself to be trapped into a feeding frenzy. There is no shortage of popular
diet books and other gimmicks in the marketplace. And while many of
these diets might bring immediate results, the long-term outlook is
dismal. That is why it is so important to realize that successful weight-loss
begins with you. Make the commitment; learn what you need to know to
get results; develop a strategic plan that you can incorporate into
your everyday life; and stick to plans. |