Susan M. Kleiner, PhD, RD, FACN, CNS
1. Keep a journal: the most proven method for helping you change old habits into new healthier ones.
2. Plan ahead: this will make all the difference when you come in for dinner. Instead of grabbing whatever is available, you'll already have a plan and know ahead of time what healthy foods you plan to eat.
3. Consult an expert: seek the advice of licensed or registered dietitian to help you create a lifestyle plan, rather than a diet that you go on to go off.
4. Carry food with you: getting caught without food will sabotage your diet faster than you can say "vending machine". Successful dieters carry a backpack of food with them stuffed with a bottle of water, fresh fruit, dried fruit and nuts, yogurt, turkey jerky, and a protein drink.
5. Drink more water: it will help control your appetite, not to mention the health benefits of flushing newly released toxins out of your body as you burn up fat.
6. When you think "hungry", are you really thirsty instead?: we often mistake thirst for hunger. Drink first, if you still are hungry then go ahead and eat.
7. Avoid high fructose corn syrup: by avoiding this single ingredient you will eliminate most of the junk food and beverages that are keeping your saddle bags hanging on tight.
8. Limit added sugar: too much sugar makes you a fat-builder, not a fat-burner. Limit all added sugar in your diet to 4 to 6 teaspoons per day.
9. If you use a non-nutritive sweetener, choose Stevia Plus: It contains fructo-oligosaccharides that are actually good for your gastrointestinal tract.
10. Always combine carbohydrates with protein and/or fat: this will slow down absorption and keep blood sugar and insulin levels on target for weight loss.
11. Eat 5 fish meals each week: an excellent source of protein, fish is lower in calories and high in omega-3 fats that support fat-burning, especially around your abs.
12. Eat whole grains: by replacing all refined cereals, flours and grains with whole grains you'll keep your insulin levels in balance, and fill yourself up with great nutrients and fiber to help control your appetite and slow absorption of total fat.
13. Limit grains to 3 servings per day: this leaves enough room for fruits and vegetables, yet doesn't put you in the red zone of your carbohydrate intake.
14. Drink milk: and yogurt and cheese to consume healthy amounts of calcium. Calcium consumption from dairy products has been shown to help with weight loss and weight control.
15. Use whey protein: it's hard for most women to get in enough protein, especially right after your workout when you most need it. Whey protein gives you an abundance of the amino acids necessary for rapid recovery, so that you can get to your next day's workout full of energy.
16. Say soy, please: soy protein helps you hang onto your muscle tissue as you burn fat, and soy fiber helps reduce total fat aborption. Edamame is your most ideal choice.
17. Choose lean meats: by choosing the leanest cuts of meat you will cut down on your fat and calories, and help your heart at the same time. These include sirloin, tenderloin, eye of round, top round, top loin and round tip.
18. Add ground flax seed or oil to your diet: the alpha-linolenic acid converts to omega-3 in your body. It helps burn fat and avoid depression.
19. Take a walk: instead of a snack.
20. Turn off the TV: The temptation to sit still and eat is too great. Get up and get moving.
21. Get a hobby: keep your hands and your mind busy, and away from food.
22. Skip the juice: eat only whole fruit. You'll lose calories and add healthy fiber at the same time.
23. Add nuts back into your diet: although they are a dense source of fat and calories, the fats are healthy and will give you tremendous satiety. Just make sure to measure out a serving and don't eat from the jar.
24. Eat breakfast: worldwide, people who eat breakfast have better weight control compared to those who skip breakfast.
25. Don't skip meals: you will find yourself panic eating from uncontrolled appetite surges. Skipping meals does not help you lose weight. Instead you will slow your metabolic rate down and be further from your goal.
26. Eat enough calories: very low calorie diets work at first, but quickly slow your metabolic rate to the point that you don't lose any more weight. Eat enough to fuel your exercise so that you can train harder, increase muscle and metabolic rate, and then burn fat.
27. Strength train: muscle is the calorie-burning machinery in your body. The more you have and the more you work it, the more calories you'll burn all day long.
28. Get a ball: When you have to sit still, whether at your desk or in front of the tube, sit on an exercise ball. You'll get a continuous balance workout and burn a few extra calories.
29. Do it by hand: little things like sweeping instead of using an electric broom and washing dishes instead of using the dishwasher all use more calories that add up at the end of the day.
30. Eat more fruits and vegetables: The fiber and nutrients will help keep you satisfied and well-nourished.
31. Be picky about portion control: without it, you could be off by hundreds of calories every day.
32. Drink green tea: research has shown that 1 cup of green tea 5 times a day (or the extract according to directions) can help you burn more calories and lose weight.
33. Out with alcohol: it will slow or even halt your weight loss. Drink a fruit juice spritzer made with grape or cranberry juice and sparkling water instead.
34. Up with protein: when you reduce your calories you need more protein. It will also help you control your appetite, burn more calories, and hold onto your muscle as you lose fat.
35. Eliminate sports drinks: unless you're training for competition, sports drinks will slow your fat burning during exercise and probably add unneeded calories. Drink water instead.
36. Eat most of your carbs before 6 PM: insulin is released on a circadium rhythm, and secretions slow down around 6 PM. You can still have some carb afterward, but get most of your carbs earlier in the day.
37. Eat after exercise: you need to refuel and recover so that you have plenty of energy to stay active the rest of the day, and exercise hard the following day. Have some protein and carb immediately after exercise.
38. Sup some soup: it's a great way to support your weight loss plan.
39. Limit restaurant food: it's full of hidden fat and calories. You'll have the best control when you eat at home.
40. Eliminate fried food: unless you can't live without it, fried food contains the motherload of your day's fat and calories.
41. Bag the chips: replace them with baked varieties, and soy crisps and nuts.
42. Get your rest: seven to 8 hours of sleep is ideal to promote rest, recovery, and a healthy outlook on life. Too little rest leads to heightened levels of stress hormones that build fat, not burn it.
43. Eat small, frequent meals: it will help you control your appetite and keep your metabolic rate elevated all day long.
44. If all else fails, chew gum: sometimes you just can't get past the craving. If you don't want to give into it, then try sugar-free gum sweetened with xylitol. It will clean your teeth at the same time.
45. Diet with a buddy: a partner in the process makes all the difference.
46. Go shopping: celebrate successes with something other than food.
47. Focus on the company, not the food: at a social gathering, stand away from the buffet table and socialize. Food is not the main attraction.
48. BYOD: when invited to a dinner party, offer to bring your own dish. That way you can make sure to have something that fits in your diet plan.
49. Go small: choose a small salad plate in the buffet line, rather than a large dinner plate. It will limit the amount of food you can pile on your plate.
50. Brush your teeth early: you won't want to eat again in the evening.
51. Stay well hydrated: if you wake up at night to eat, get plenty to drink during the day. You're likely thirsty, rather than hungry.
52. Take active vacations: if vacations are deadly, then stay off the cruise and go for a more active vacation like bicycling around Crete.
53. Find an exercise buddy: a little pressure to keep with the program will help you through your slump times.
54. Switch to fat-free milk: it still has all the calcium and protein, but none of the fat and far fewer calories.
55. Wrap with lettuce: make Thai-style stuffed lettuce wraps in place of bread sandwiches or tortilla wrapps.
56. Eat grapefruit: it really does help with weight loss.
57. Go for the yolk: an egg yolk a day will help improve your mood so that you can stick to your plan, and has no negative impact on your heart.
58. Look forward to dessert: give yourself dessert once a week. You will find that it becomes a treat again, rather than an everyday expectation.
59. Eat at the table: avoid eating standing, in the car, in front of the TV, etc. By sitting at the table you'll help your brain recognize that you've eaten.
60. Eat whole foods: the less refined the food, the more full of fiber and nutrients, the fewer calories and the more filling it will be.
61. Focus on what you NEED to eat: not on what you can't eat next. By the time you get in all the fluids, fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts, seeds, dairy and protein that you need each day, there isn't much room left for anything else.
62. Eat just before you're hungry: it will help control your appetite cravings and keep your metabolic rate high all day long.
63. Take a vitamin-mineral supplement: when you're dieting it's hard to get in all the nutrients you need. A one-a-day type supplement will give you the nutrition insurance you need.
64. Get some iron: even women who don't exhibit any iron deficiency have less fatigue and perform better at their exercise when given some extra iron. 100% of the RDA will do the trick.
65. Get the most from your sweets: if you've got a sweet tooth, indulge it after your workout. That's when your body really benefits from a high glycemic index carbohydrate to allow for rapid fuel replenishment in your muscles.
66. Eating out? Choose sushi: It's a great high protein, low fat meal. To go light on the rice, pick sashimi or chirashi sushi.
67. Switch from regular to diet soft drinks: you'll save a bundle of carbs and calories. Those added sugars will halt your fat loss any day.
68. Play: make moving fun. Go out and shoot hoops with your kids.
69. Inspirational reminders: paste up pictures and sayings of how you want to look and feel on your refrigerator, by the TV, on your mirror, to help keep you in the fitness groove so you'll stick to your plan.
70. Fast food choices: couldn't avoid it and you're stuck in fast food land? Wendy's chili, just about any broiled chicken sandwich (hold the sauce), or Subway's low-fat fare, are all good choices.
71. Tap your feet: studies show that people who fidget burn more calories on a daily basis and have better weight control.
72. Start a band: playing an instrument will relax your mind and burn calories at the same time. It's a great two-fer.
73. Get a dog: you'll have to take it for a walk at least once a day.
74. Park it: far from the mall so that you have a little hike along with your shopping trip.
75. Serve it up: serve your plate before sitting down at the table. Avoid eating family style so that second and third portions aren't so easy.
76. Don't be a garbage disposal: only eat the food on your plate. Throw out the food left on your children's and husband's plates, and even what you don't want on your own.
77. No bread basket, please: avoid filling up on the bread served before a meal. Request that bread be served with the meal.
78. Move with the tube: replace your sofa with a stationary bike or treadmill.
79. Go light on the salad fixin's: You can turn any healthy low-fat salad into a double cheese whopper by adding all the toppings at the salad bar. Be selective with croutons and bacons bits, and choose reduced-fat dressing.
80. Eat for yourself, not for your husband: he can eat more than you can. Don't try and keep up.
81. Don't take pride in the clean plate club: stick with your portion control and leave the rest or take it home in a doggy bag.
82. Take active breaks: sitting still at your desk all day long will make you feel tired and depressed. The next thing you know you're reaching for a candy bar as a pick-me-up. Get yourself up instead. Every hour stand up and stretch, and walk around. You'll feel better, work better, and ultimately look better.
83. Turn your coffee break into a power walk: when the coffee and doughnuts come around, get up and take a 10 minute power walk with a bottle of water. You'll be much more wide awake.
84. Make it easy: if time is an obstacle, don't hesitate to use pre-cut veggies or canned beans. The nutritional content is a lot higher than not eating them at all.
85. Convenient protein: use pasteurized 100% egg whites when you don't feel like cracking all those eggs and dumping the yolks.
86. Shop the perimeter: when you go to the supermarket, shop the perimeter of the store. That puts you in the heart of the whole foods sections: produce, dairy, meats, fish. Be careful in the bakery section.
87. Just for chocoholics: switch your daily treat to Viactiv, the calcium supplement in a chocolate chew.
88. Choose real food: the fat-free and carb-free products don't satisfy and you end up eating what want anyway.
89. Pre-wrapped treats: buy individually wrapped portions of ice creams and candies to help control portion size and number.
90. Serving sizes: read labels. Many products like beverages and snack foods contain more than 1 serving in what appears to be an individually packaged serving.
91. Decorate your plate: arrange your food so that it looks appealing as well as tastes good. This is another way to help satisfy your appetite.
92. Casserole chaos: watch out for hidden fats and calories in combination dishes. Eat simpler foods to avoid this mishap.
93. Slow down: by eating more slowly you can allow your body's built-in appetite control system to kick in. When you eat too quickly you can pack in more food before your stomach signals your brain that you are full.
94. Clean your closet: get rid of your fat clothes so that you can't slide back into them so easily.
95. 100 calories/day equals 10 pounds/year: you can either lose it or gain it. 100 calories is equivalent to: a slice of bread and a small pat of butter, a half of a large bagel, 1/3 of a large muffin, a small wrapped piece of chocolate candy, about half of a can of soda, about 6 ounces of juice, a 5 oz. glass of wine.
96. Excuse yourself: get up from the table when you are finished eating so that you are not tempted to nibble.
97. Don't go hungry: make sure that you are not famished as you head to a social event. Eating ahead of time will help control your appetite and food choices.
98. Stay with the program: weight loss doesn't happen overnight while you sleep. It takes weeks, months, and years. If you stick with your plan, you'll get the results you're looking for.
99. Skip the scale: fluid changes and fat distribution shifts body weight up and down, especially when you exercise. Body weight does not reflect what is really going on with fat burning, muscle toning, and enhanced fitness. Finally fitting into your too tight pair of jeans is a better measure.
100. Set realistic, short-term goals: like drinking more water, eating more fruits and vegetables, eating at the table, daily exercise. These are what will ultimately lead to your long-term objective of weight loss. Every small step makes a bit fat difference!
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