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Fad diets come and go, but there are some basic diet rules that will always work. According to Rena Wing, director of the Weight Control & Diabetes Research Center in Rhode Island, the strategy is simple: "consume fewer calories and burn more calories than you consume." This can be hard to do with a busy lifestyle, but you can succeed by implementing small changes into your daily routine.
- Instead of worrying about eating less, start by adding more veggies to your diet. By filling up on vegetables, you will eat less starches and fattening foods.
- It may not be practical to trade in your car for your commute, but maybe you can walk to lunch or take your bike the next time you need to pick up a few groceries.
- Always use the stairs. It may be difficult at first, but practice will strengthen your leg and calf muscles. If it is too hard at first, try walking a flight or two upstairs before switching to the elevator.
- An average can of soda contains 131 calories. This may not seem like much, but just watch what happens when you switch to diet soda or water.
- Low fat, high protein foods such as fat-free yogurt, cottage cheese and egg whites can help you feel full without adding too many calories to your diet.
- Try dividing your meal in half before you start eating. Eat half and then wait a bit to make sure you are still hungry. Drink some water or talk with your meal companions for five minutes and you may be surprised to find that you are actually full.
- Just about any meal made at home will have fewer calories than a meal eaten out. Restaurant foods are prepared to entice the taste buds and are often loaded with salt and fat without regard to nutritional content.
- Most people know that eating lean meats is a good way to reduce fat in their diets--but then eat too much and defeat the purpose. According to the American Heart Association, the correct serving size is 3 to 4 ounces, which is the size of a deck of cards.
- This can be whatever fits into your schedule: a 15-minute walk, a half-hour playing Wii tennis, or 10 minutes chasing your kids around the back yard. Get up and off the couch for a few minutes. The weight will come off, but you will also feel much better.
- It is really hard to diet when you are starving. Eat a small, healthy snack between breakfast and lunch, and between lunch and dinner. And remember that even midnight snacks need to be healthy. Try eating popcorn or a small amount of nuts.
