Diet Tips: 22 Ways to Stay on Track

When it comes to dieting, it can become hard to manage and stay on track.  The following will discuss ways to manage and stay on track when you are dieting.

Tip #1:  Drink Plenty of Water or Other Calorie-Free Beverages

You are hungry and see a bag of potato chips lying in the cupboard.  Before you dive into the bag, drink a glass of water first.  Hunger is often confused with thirst and the dieter ends up eating extra calories when glass of ice-cold water may all that was needed.  But if plain water still doesn’t help, try drinking flavored or sparkling water or brew a cup of tea infused with fruit or herbs.

Tip #2:  Be Choosy About Nighttime Snacks

You have the munchies after dinner, but don’t want to add on too many calories.  Mindless eating usually occurs after dinner when you’ve sat down to relax in front of the TV, throwing your diet off course.  One suggestion may to close the kitchen after a certain hour and only allow low-calorie snacks like a 100-calorie pack of cookies or half a scoop of low-fat ice cream.

Tip #3:  Enjoy Your Favorite Foods

You don’t have to cut out your favorite foods when you become a savvy shopper and buy one fresh bakery cookie instead of a box or a small portion of bulk candy instead of a whole bag.  You can still enjoy your favorite foods—just in moderation.

Tip #4:  Eat Several Mini-Meals During the Day

The fewer calories you eat (burn) the less weight you lose.  If you’re hungry all the time, eating fewer calories can pose a challenge.  Studies show that people who eat 4-5 meals or snacks on a daily basis have better control over their appetite and weight, according to Obesity Researcher, Rebecca Reeves, Dr. Ph.D., RD.  She recommends dividing daily calories into smaller meals or snacks in order to enjoy the most of the calories earlier in the day—making dinner the last time you eat every day.

Tip #5:  Eat Protein at Every Meal

Protein is a must ultimate fill-me-up food as it is more satisfying than carbs and fats and keeps you feeling fuller longer.  It can also help preserve muscle mass and encourage fat burning.  It is important to eat healthy proteins like seafood, lean meant, egg whites, yogurt, cheese, soy, nuts, and beans into your meals and snacks.

Tip #6:  Spice It Up

To help boost the feeling of feeling satisfied after a meal or snack, add spices and chilies to the food for flavor.  These foods are loaded with flavor which can stimulate your taste buds so you’ll feel more satisfied and not eat as much, according to American Diabetic Association spokeswoman, Malena Perdomo, RD.  If you do need something sweet, try sucking on red-hot fireball candy:  it’s sweet, spicy, and low in calories.

Tip #7:  Stock Your Kitchen with Healthy, Convenient Foods

Having ready-to-eat snacks and meals on hand is a recipe for success.  You’re less likely to cruise through a drive-through or order a pizza if you can make a meal or snack in 5-10 minutes.  Essential foods to keep on hand are frozen vegetables, canned beans, whole-grain pasta, reduced-fat cheese, canned tomatoes, pre-cooked grilled chicken breast, whole grain tortillas or pitas, and bags of salad greens.

Tip #8:  Order Children’s Portions at Restaurants

If you want to keep portions reasonable when dining at restaurants, ordering a child-size entrée is a good way to cut calories.  A popular trend, servers don’t think twice when customers order from the children’s menu.  Another good trick is to use smaller plates as it helps make portions look bigger.  If your mind is satisfied, your stomach will be too.

Tip #9:  Swap a Cup of Pasta for a Cup of Vegetables

You may drop a dress or pant size if you eat less pasta and bread and eat more vegetables.  You can also save 100-200 calories if you reduce your portion of starch on your plate and increase the amount of vegetables, according to Cynthia Sass, RD-spokeswoman, American Diabetic Association.

Tip #10:  Always Eat Breakfast

Skipping breakfast an easy diet fix?  Studies show it’s not true.  If you don’t eat breakfast, you can be hungry later, leading to overeating, nibbling and binge eating at lunch or dinner.  If you want to lose weight and keep it off—make time for a healthy breakfast like high-fiber cereal, low-fat milk and fruit.

Tip #11:  Include Fiber in Your Diet

Fiber helps with digestion, prevents constipation, lowers cholesterol and helps you lose weight.  But most Americans only get half the recommended amount of fiber needed.  To reap fiber’s benefits, most women need about 25 grams daily; for men—38 grams—or 14 grams per 1,000 calories.  Some excellent choices are oatmeal, beans, whole grain foods, nuts, and most fruits and vegetables.

Tip #12:  Clean the Cupboard of Fattening Foods

That bag of potato chips and ice cream in the freezer can make losing weight harder than it needs to be.  Reduce the temptation of purging the cupboards for fattening foods and instead, make it an occasional treat by leaving home (preferably walking) to get it.

Tip #13:  Lose Weight Slowly

Never get discouraged if you’re not losing the weight fast enough.  It took you time to add the weight, so naturally, it will take time for you to lose the weight.  According to experts, a realistic goal is 1-2 pounds a week.  And if you’re expectations are too high, you may give up losing weight.  It is important to seeing health benefits when you’ve lost 5-10% body weight.

Tip #14:  Weigh Yourself Once a Week

You’ll have more success if you regularly weigh yourself, according to experts, who say weighing once a week does not derail daily fluctuations.  Tips for weighing yourself are to weigh the same time of day, same time of week on the same scale in the same clothes.

Tip #15:  Get Enough Sleep

When you’re sleep-deprived, your body overproduces the appetite-stimulating hormone, ghrelin, but under-produces on the hormone, leptin, that tells you when you’re full.  Getting plenty of rest can make you feel rested and keep you from snacking.

Tip #16:  Understand Portion Sizes

If you’re used to ordering the super-size when eating, it is easy to carry that mindset at home.  To learn the right size in dieting is to use a kitchen scale and measuring cups and measure your meals a week or two in advance.  Use smaller plates and glasses to downsize portions.  When eating out, split the servings in half to make two meals instead of a huge one.  And it is just as important to portion your snack sizes instead of eating directly from the bag or container.

Tip #17: Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

The best diet is when you eat more food, not less.  Fruits and vegetables make you feeling fuller due to the nutrient-rich foods that are higher in fiber and water giving you a feeling of fullness.  Snacking is okay if you’re making good snack options.

Tip #18:  Limit Alcohol to Weekends

Alcohol is an empty calorie, for example—a 5-ounce glass of wine is 125 and a bottle of beer is 153 ounces.  Our bodies don’t need these calories as they are converted to fat.  But you can compromise by drinking in moderation, like drinking alcohol only on weekends with women drinking one drink and men two.

Tip #19:  Chew Sugarless Gum

Still have the urge to reach for a snack—try chewing sugarless gum.  It gives fresh breath and helps manage hunger, controlling snack cravings and helps with weight loss.  But remember:  excess sorbitol—sugar/alcohol—used in low-calorie gums—acts as a laxative in some people.  Also, chewing gum may make you less, but you can’t stop eating—a good diet and exercise is still important to losing weight.

Tip #20:  Keep a Food Diary

Pen and paper can help boost weight loss as studies have shown that writing down what you eat or drink makes you more aware of what you are eating, when you eat and how much you’re consuming leads to eating less calories.  Studies also show that those who kept food diaries sex days a week lost twice as much as those who kept one once a week or less.

Tip #21:  Celebrate Success (Not with Food)

You’ve lost five pounds in month due to walking every other day—Yay!  Go out and celebrate!  It’s important to reward your success in losing weight and gives encouragement.  So revel in your success!  Just don’t celebrate with food.  Instead, buy that CD you’ve wanted, go see a movie and set a prize for the next milestone.

Tip #22:  Get Help from Family and Friends

Family and friends are excellent sources to get support reaching weight loss goals.  Tell your friends and family your efforts to lead a more healthy lifestyle.  They may join you in your efforts to exercise and eating right to lose weight too.  And if you ever feel like giving up, family and friends can provide a good source of encouragement that makes losing weight easier.