You Can Reach Your Diet Goals!

Much more is needed for healthy dieting than a few quick tips, but the tips can serve as reminders of your goals and what is needed to accomplish those goals. Post the list on your refrigerator where you can use it as a reference when preparing meals or sneaking in for a snack. (There are healthy snacks and sometimes a little reminder will keep us on the healthy track.)

• Eat more often – that’s right! Your goal should be to eat smaller meals every two and a half to three hours  which will keep your stomach feeling full. A special bonus is that your metabolism will continue to work at a higher level for a longer period of time thus burning more calories.

• Don’t skip breakfast. Your body has had no food for several hours and in order to get the metabolism going and burn that fat, you should not miss breakfast. Breakfast should really be your biggest meal of the day.

• Eat slowly. It takes 20 minutes for your brain to let you know you’re full. If you don’t allow the time you are only going to overeat. Eating slower allows you to thoroughly enjoy every flavor that touches your tongue and will keep your cravings quiet.

• Eat some protein at every meal. Protein keeps you feeling full longer and is necessary for growth and repair of muscle.

• Don’t eat late in the evening.

• Bake, don’t fry.

• DON’T taste test when you cook. This is a biggy and tough for those of us who cook by adding a pinch of this and a sprinkle of that instead of  measuring.

• DON’T eat what the kids leave behind. Shut your eyes if you must, but throw it out! The starving children in Asia aren’t going to benefit from you (or your children) getting fat because of the clean plate syndrome.

• Always try to eat at the table. When you eat while watching TV or reading, you don’t always savor the food and before you know it you’re looking for something to put in your mouth because your taste buds weren’t satisfied. That’s when those cravings take over and down the slippery slope we go!

• Drink at least eight 8oz. glasses of water daily. When you feel hungry drink a glass of water before you reach for food. Before you sit down to a meal, drink a glass of water. Water fills your stomach. It flushes toxins out of the body and even removes excess water from your tissues. Sound funny, but you can actually lose a few pounds just by increasing the amount of water you drink.  One more fact about water, ice water may actually burn a few more calories because the body uses extra calories to warm the water!

• Keep a journal of your food intake—who really wants to know? YOU do! It’s easier to check caloric intake, but perhaps the more important reason for a food journal is that it keeps you totally honest about what you are actually putting into your mouth!  One of your goals with your journal should be to note weekly what you weigh. Weigh yourself on the same day at the same time once a week. If you weigh more often, you may become discouraged by the daily fluctuations. 

Remember, you want to learn some new eating habits – don’t try to eliminate favorite foods – cut the amount and enjoy them completely though less often. You will not be successful in the long term if you deprive yourself of the foods you love. 

Set your goals, persevere and know that those goals are within reach.