10 EATING SECRETS TO HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT

10 Eating secrets to help you lose weight

Losing weight doesn’t have to be such a big challenge, if you just take a few simple steps to change your eating habits. There is no need to go on a crash diet, that wouldn’t help you keep the weight off anyway. It’s much better to take a look at some of your eating habits and see what you can change for the better. That way, you are only making small changes to your lifestyle, so it will be easier to stick to your goals. If you want to lose weight, and you want to keep it off, then take a look at these ten simple things you can do to help you eat healthier and to cut down on your calories.

1. Plan ahead

One of the first things you can start doing, if you want to lose weight, is to plan your meals in advance. If you leave it to the last minute to decide what you will eat, you are more likely to grab a pre-packed meal, or phone out for a pizza. Decide on your menu for each week in advance, and buy a whole week’s worth of ingredients in one go. If you are a busy person during the week, then you could even pre-prepare your healthy meals at the weekend.

2. Make all the healthy options easy to reach

Make it easy to choose the healthy option by making healthy snacks easy to eat. Keep fruit in a fruit bowl that you leave out in the kitchen and you could pre-prepare some veggie snacks, like sliced carrot or celery sticks, so that you can just grab them when you feel hungry. Half an hour at the weekend and you could have all your low calorie snacks ready for the rest of the next week.

3. Keep a track of what you eat

A simple way to make sure that you stick to your eating plan is to record in a journal what you really do eat each day. Simply note down every snack and meal you eat, and then you will be able to monitor what you have already eaten. Then you can stop yourself, when you find you are reaching for one snack too many.

4. Remove all the temptations

Don’t even risk leaving any of those tempting treats at the back of the pantry or in the refrigerator. Have a good clean out of your kitchen cupboards and remove any of the food that you know you shouldn’t be eating, because if it’s there, it is very likely that you will become tempted, however much determination you think that you have.

5. Add more vegetables to your plate

Fruit and vegetables are your best friends, when you are trying to lose weight, they contain loads of nutritional benefit, but with loads of fibre that will fill you up, and keep you feeling full for a long time. A good way to ensure that you eat more vegetables is to always aim to fill at least half your plate at mealtimes with vegetables. You will still be eating as much overall, but you will be consuming fewer calories.

6. Follow the example of the Japanese

Did you know that it takes about twenty minutes for brain to tell you that you are full? That’s one of the reasons that the Japanese tend to eat until they feel they are about 80% full and then they stop eating. You will still get enough nourishment from your food and, twenty minutes later, you will feel full and satisfied, but you won’t have over-eaten. (Feel free to read 10 longevity secrets of the Japanese here.)

7. Never eat out of a packet

Even if it is something healthy, don’t eat food from the packet, or you are more likely to eat more than you really need. If you are snacking in front of the TV, for example, put the snack in a bowl or on a plate, and leave the packet in the kitchen. If you don’t, you are very likely to get to the bottom of the packet without even realising that you are doing it.

8. Buy smaller plates

Cutting down the sizes of portions that you eat is far easier than cutting out certain types of food altogether. The easiest way to control your portions, is to use smaller plates. Many people have giant sized plates in their cupboards now, and the bigger the plates, the more food you are going to put on them. Smaller plates actually trick the mind into thinking you are eating more than you are, so you will still feel full, even though you have eaten less.

9. Don’t be fooled into thinking that thirst is hunger

It’s very easy to mistake thirst for hunger, so if you do feel unexpectedly hungry, try drinking a glass of water before you eat a snack. A glass of water before every meal will also help you to eat less and, if you find water too boring, you can always add some flavour to it with a twist of lemon, berries and fruit slices.

10. Never skip breakfast

Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, especially when you are trying to lose weight. A good sized breakfast that includes protein, will give you the energy you need to see you through to lunchtime, and it will help you eat less for the whole day.

Stay happy and healthy!

1. Prev:20 TIPS ON HOW TO BURN 100 CALORIES
2. Next:10 SECRET FOODS THAT HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT