Must Follow Weight Loss Tips Part 3

Soup Kitchen

A tried-and-true take on eating better? Eat more soup. Packed with veggies, lean chicken, and low-calorie broths, soups aren't just nutritious, they're super easy to prepare, too.

Focus on Food

The more aware you are of your food, the more control you'll be able to exert as you eat it. Whether you're at the breakfast table or grabbing dinner, take a moment to enjoy your meal instead of using it as another opportunity to multi-task.

Dairy Queen

Cutting back on dairy (especially fatty cheeses) is a great dieting strategy. But don't eliminate calcium-rich foods entirely. Not only are they good for bone health, but they also help the nervous system and serve as a low-fat form of protein. Enjoy a glass of skim milk daily and chow down on green, leafy vegetables as much as possible.

Treat Yourself

It's okay to splurge from time to time, but try to incorprate the principles of your diet as much as possible when you do. If you're craving a BLT, order a side salad, so you'll be encouraged to eat the leafy greens before the greasy grub.

Storage Wars

Out of sight, out of mind. Store your favorite snacks up high (or down low, depending on height) in your kitchen to make it harder for you to reach for them on the fly.

Get Global

Get creative with your edamame. Not only are these high-protein pods packed with good fiber, but you can cook them in a number of ways (broiled with fresh garlic, for example) to create tasty heart-healthy snacks.

In the Ball Park

The recommended serving size for a bowl of pasta or cereal is one cup, or the size of a baseball.

The Morning After

After a night of eating, drinking, and being too merry, get back on the good-diet wagon by having a healthy breakfast. Everyone breaks diet streaks. The hard part is staying committed after the fact.

Making Bread

Always, always, always choose brown, whole-wheat or grain bread over white slices. The process to make white loaves strips away all the good nutrients. Also, check to make sure your brown bread is made with whole wheat, grains, or oats.

Rice Market

When shopping for rice, look for brown rice that says it's "unrefined." This means that the fiber and nutrients are still in tact, which will leave you feeling fuller, longer when you finally make that Indian dish you've meaning to try.


Via Real Beauty

Must-Follow Weight Loss Tips Part 2

Aromatherapy

Trick your senses into submission by lighting a sweet-smelling candle next time you crave a decadent dessert.

Farmer's Market

Buying local isn't just good for your community, it's good for your pant size, too! In-season produce has richer flavors, which will satisfy your appetite more than frozen or imported varieties.

Get Seedy

Yes, they get stuck in your teeth, but adding certain seeds, like chia and brown flax, to your diet is an easy way to infuse more soluble fiber and minerals into your grub. They can also help speed up metabolism and reduce blood pressure. Win, win! (Just start carrying toothpicks.)

Pre-Pack Snacks

The key to dieting is moderation—even when it comes to healthy foods. Pre-pack fruit and veggie snacks to get instant portion control and have a stockpile of treats to take with you on the go.

Set a Timer

It takes 20 minutes for your brain to register if you're full. Set a timer next time you want more food after eating to see if you're still hungry.

Food Star

Love baking but hate feeling tempted by sweet, buttery goods? Use a cookbook for diabetics to find out how to recreate cookie and cake recipes sans sugar and extra carbs.

Basta, Pasta!

Good-for-you nutrients and fiber are largely removed from white pasta to make it denser and sweeter. This ultimately makes you hungry, soon after eating. So, leave spaghetti night to the kids and fill up on salad.

Tapas Trick

Middle Eastern foods contain many good-for-you ingredients, but that doesn't mean you can eat with abandon. Two tablespoons of hummus (the recommended serving size) is equivalent to the size of a golf ball. Think about that next time you reach for more pita

Diva Diners

With obesity on the rise, more and more dining establishments are willing to accommodate healthier meal substitutions and requests, even if they're not listed on the menu. Politely ask your waitress or waiter if it's possible to tweak your order to be more waist-friendly. Just remember to tip her handsomely!

Order an App

Portion sizes at restaurants are double, sometimes triple, the recommended amount. Next time you go out, order an appetizer as your meal and add a side of veggies if you're still hungry.

Via Real Beauty

Must-Follow Weight Loss Tips

Hunger Games

Trick your mind into thinking there's more food in front of you by using a side or salad plate instead of an over-sized charger.

Kitchen Door

At parties with circulating trays of treats, avoid standing near the kitchen door. The waiters will offer you first dibs on delicious hors d'oevures, which just might be too tempting to turn down

Meal Maven

The best defense against mid-week takeout? Cook and store five dinner-time meals on Sunday night that you can reheat as needed during the work week.

Watt's Up?

The recommended portion size for a single-serving of ice cream is technically one half-cup, roughly the size of one light bulb.

Work Week

An easy way to stay on track with food, and still occasionally indulge? Stick to your diet during the work week (when you can pre-pack lunches and make healthy dinners in advance), and then cut loose a little bit on Saturday or Sunday. Keep your noshing in moderation, but treat yourself to one of your favorite meals as a reward for being so good the rest of the week.

Think Small

As a general rule of thumb, breakfast should be your biggest meal of the day (since you have the most time to burn it off), and dinner should be your smallest.

Pill Popper

Take your vitamins. Not only will it keep your metabolism at an optimum level, but it will also ensure that you're getting all the necessary nutrients as you diet.

Pizza Face

Give your pizza a makeover. Regular varieties are full of refined sugars (thick crusts) and saturated fat (oily sauces and gooey cheese). So, instead, opt for thin-crust pies and sparse amounts of traditional toppings. Add nutritional value—and flavor—by piling on dressed salad greens and fresh veggies.

Bubble Yum

Chew sugarless gum as a quick fix for times when you're craving a sweet treat. Bonus? You'll erase all signs of coffee breath, too!

Eat More Veggies

Love the idea of going vegetarian but lack the resolve? Pick one night a week and cook a vegetarian meal. Meatless Mondays, here we come!

Via Real Beauty

6 Fat Burning Foods In Your Home Right Now.

1. Oatmeal. Eliminate the instant for the unflavored, unsalted and unsweetened Quaker Oats or Irish stone cut oats. If you have the need for sweetened oatmeal, berries, especially raspberries gives off that sweet taste with the smell of fresh berries in the morning. Oatmeal lowers your cholesterol levels and it contains large amounts of soluble fiber that flushes out the bad acids hiding in the stomach.

2. Almonds or any other unsalted nuts. The monounsaturated fats and fiber in almonds and many other unsalted nuts suppresses your appetite which causes you not to be hungry and crave foods that are high in carbs. They are rich in vitamin e and their monounsaturated fats help lower your LDL cholesterol, the bad cholesterol, and raise your HDL cholesterol level, the good cholesterol.

3. Olive Oil. It has been proven that olive oil controls hunger and keeps your cholesterol under control. Olive oil is known to fight against skin cancer, colon diseases, and coronary heart disease and it also promotes a healthy heart. One ounce of Extra Virgin Olive Oil gives you 85% of the daily value needed. Put down that canola and corn oil!

4. Whole Grains. Whole Grains are the right kind of carbs for your body. The fiber keeps you from getting hungry so you should always by whole grain or 100% whole wheat breads. How much should you consume a day? 14 grams per 1000 calories.

5. Green Veggies. Skip the iceberg lettuce and whip up a salad that consist of Romaine, Spinach, or Arugula filled with broccoli! Green veggies are loaded with fiber which gets you filled up on small portions.

6. Iced Tea. I’m 100% positive that everyone has unsweetened Iced Tea in their home. It has been proven that iced tea burns a total of 266 calories a dayso put down those sodas and coffee and drink you some tea. Also, iced tea speeds up your metabolism. Remember: Steer clear of bottled teas because it will not have the same effects. Lets brew some tea!

The new Nordic diet: the next big weight loss trend?

As a whole, the diet contains some of the staples of classic cold-weather climate cooking: fish, nuts, legumes, fruits, berries, raw vegetables like cabbage, game meat, and Nordic starches, such as oats.

Like the much-touted Mediterranean diet, foods rich in omega fatty acids and anti-oxidants lead the pack, but with the Nordic diet the ingredients aren't reliant on a Mediterranean climate.

Antioxidant-rich berries that thrive in northern parts of Europe (blueberries, cloudberries), greens like kale and cabbage that promote healthy blood flow, and lean game meats like elk and lamb are all part of the Danish foodie’s plan for a healthier lifestyle.

Another staple of the diet: moderation not starvation. In his manifesto on the “principles of good flavors,” Meyer offers these pointers that can be integrated into any meal plan, regardless of whether you're eating reindeer meat or turkey, cloudberries or blueberries.

Eat the food grown in your region

Meyer believes in eating locally, and getting creative with the food growing in your area in season. Not only does it challenge the cook to be creative but there's historical evidence that our species thrived on our regional foods long before we had processed starches in our pantry and produce shipped from across the globe.

Home-cooked meals are key

He suggests preparing simple meals from scratch for between 30 minutes to an hour a day, to help rethink diet as more of a lifestyle, or hobby of sorts. Adding a cultural, familial element to food, rather than a grab-and-go notion, can psychologically change the way people think about their diet.

Eat more side dishes

The more, the merrier and the healthier, according to Meyer. Side dishes are key to long-term healthy eating, so long as they're simply prepared vegetables. "Toss yesterday's leftover boiled or steamed vegetables with a little vinegar, capers, mustard, broad-leaf parsley and olive oil,” he suggests. “Boil some red beets and put some quality salt, grated horseradish or mustard, and vinegar on the table. Use the pulse button on your food processor to mince the remainder of a portion of boiled legumes with some cumin, yogurt, lemon, mint, sugar and chili to create a cohesive and luscious thick mass, pour it into a bowl and add a splash of a high-quality virgin olive oil.” It’s the opposite of portion control, but he believes the lack of simplicity and the bevy of flavors will lead to less binge-eating out boredom.

Replace fat with sweetness

Instead of dousing kale in oil or deep-frying your veggies, you can replace your buttery fixes with a hint of sugar-based condiments. “If you use balsamic vinegar or some other vinegar with sweet overtones to make a vinaigrette, you need far less oil than you would for a classic vinaigrette with white or red wine vinegar.” He also suggests honey or molasses in place of fatty oils to bring out the flavors in bitter root veggies. Another tip from Meyer: Season leftover meat with a touch of vinegar instead of oil to bring out the juicy tenderness.

Season with more than just salt and pepper

Fresh herbs are crucial to Meyer’s healthier philosophy, as are sweet and sour flavorings.Everything from wine, to apple vinegars and lime juices, to yogurt all “offset the flavors of mild or even sweet ingredients such as most vegetables. Even grains, meat and fish can be enhanced with a dollop of yogurt or a splash of citrus instead of a slather of butter.

Your seasonings can also be sides

Meyer isn’t big on sugary unnatural condiments like ketchup. Instead he suggests lining the side of your plate with flavor enhancers like pickled gherkins, red beets, tamarind, rhubarb, and even tomatoes. An all-natural substitute to a processed, sugary condiment isn't just healthier, it makes eating more interesting.

Meyer’s principles are designed to prevent what he calls “relapses” into unhealthy binge eating. “You are not on a diet,” he asserts in his manifesto. The idea of dieting, he believes, promotes a concept of deprivation, which isn’t sustainable in the long term.With his meal plan catching on worldwide (in the UK, there's a copycat cookbook, and Stanford University students recently got a preview of Meyer's principles during a health conference), Meyer is turning his efforts back to his country. He hopes to implement his principles in Danish schools, where a childhood obesity epidemic looms.

5 Bizarre Weight Loss Tricks That Work

1. Sniff a banana, apple, or peppermint
You might feel silly, but it works. When Dr Alan R. Hirsch of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago tried this with 3,000 volunteers, he found that the more frequently people sniffed, the less hungry they were and the more weight they lost – an average of 30 lb each. One theory is that sniffing the food tricks the brain into thinking you're actually eating it.

2. Hang a mirror opposite your seat at the table.
One study found that eating in front of mirrors slashed the amount people ate by nearly one-third. Seems having to look yourself in the eye reflects back some of your own inner standards and goals, and reminds you of why you’re trying to lose weight in the first place.2. Hang a mirror opposite your seat at the table.One study found that eating in front of mirrors slashed the amount people ate by nearly one-third. Seems having to look yourself in the eye reflects back some of your own inner standards and goals, and reminds you of why you’re trying to lose weight in the first place.

3. Surround yourself with blue
There’s a good reason you won’t see many fast-food restaurants decorated in blue: Believe it or not, the color blue functions as an appetite suppressant. So serve up dinner on blue plates, dress in blue while you eat, and cover your table with a blue tablecloth. Conversely, avoid red, yellow, and orange in your dining areas. Studies find they encourage eating.

4. Shoot your food
Rather than writing down every morsel, take a picture of it, and file the photos on your phone or computer by date. A visual account of your consumption may help you curb your intake. “Snapping photos and then looking back at them can make people stop and think before indulging,” nutritionist Joan Salge Blake says. It needn’t be a big production: your cell phone will do. Think about it: there you are at the salad bar, making a plate of vegetables. Don’t pat yourself on the back quite yet, though. A simple snapshot of your heaping dish may “show your extra helping of cheese or deep-fried croutons,” Joan cautions. A visual reminder might be just enough to give you pause next time before you ladle on the blue cheese dressing. -- Joan is a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Find other healthy eating tips in her book, Nutrition & You.

5. Tie yourself upYou could try fitness guru Valerie Orsoni’s “Le Petit Secret”: “A number of French women wear a ribbon around their waist and underneath their clothes when they go out for dinner. It keeps them conscious of the tummy—particularly if the ribbon starts to feel tighter as the evening goes on!”

Via Reader's Digest