Top 10 Power Tips for Fat Loss

When you want to lose weight, you may immediately think of starting a formal diet plan, but that’s not always necessary – especially if you only have a few pounds to lose. The following 10 power tips can help you shed a few pounds easily without the need for a full-blown diet, and they can even be used if you have more than a few pounds to lose.

1) Plan meals and snacks ahead of time.

Set up a meal and snack schedule in advance each week. Decide which meals and snacks you will eat on each day, and make a detailed list of the healthy foods you need to buy at the supermarket to create those meals and snacks. Then go shopping and buy the things you need – but do not buy anything extra. Don’t be pulled in by temptation or “bargains” on foods that will keep you from losing weight.

See: 5 Ways to Plan Your Meals Ahead of Time

2) Keep a food journal.

Write down every single thing that goes into your mouth each day, and be honest! Just knowing that you have to write it down will make you less likely to eat things you shouldn’t be eating. Every evening before bed, take a look at everything you ate that day. Did you stay mostly on track with your goal to eat healthy? If you slipped a little too much, keep that in mind and work a little harder at it the following day.

See: Fitwatch’s Free Online Calorie Counter

3) Limit refined sugar to once a week.

You don’t necessarily have to give up your favorite sweets to lose weight, but you DO have to limit how many of them you eat. Choose one day of each week when you are allowed to have one of your favorite sweets – but only one serving. Don’t fool yourself into believing that you can have an entire “cheat day” where you binge on all of your old fattening favorite foods and still lose weight. It just won’t happen. Once you reach your goal weight you might be able to fit in a few more goodies, but even then you’ll have to be careful not to overdo it.

See: How to Curb Sugar Cravings and Conquer a Sweet Tooth

4) Eat protein with every meal and snack.

If you eat a small serving of protein with every meal and snack, you’ll find that you feel less hungry between meals. Some good examples of lean protein: chicken or turkey breast (without skin), fish, shellfish, eggs, nuts, beans, tofu, and lean cuts of beef or pork. Just a small serving of these protein sources is usually enough to be quite satisfying for a few hours.

See: Do You Eat These High Protein Diet Foods?

5) Go low-fat where it counts.

With all sources of saturated fat, choose low-fat varieties. Drink skim milk, eat low-fat cheese and yogurt, and choose leaner cuts of meat. Conversely, you should include more sources of healthy fats in your diet, like the fat that comes from avocados, salmon, nuts, and olive oil. These fats are very good for your heart, brain, skin, hair, and nails – not to mention keeping you feeling satisfied and happy after meals.

6) Go grilled, steamed, or baked.

Do you eat a lot of fried foods? If so, start grilling, baking or steaming your food instead. It may take a little getting used to, but eventually you’ll come to enjoy how much lighter and tastier the food is when it’s not loaded with fat and smothered with batter.

See: Eating Healthy Fast Food: Does it Even Exist? Part I

7) Drink water instead of flavored beverages.

While many diets may allow diet sodas and other sugar-free drinks, they aren’t really good for you because of the artificial sweeteners and chemicals they contain. Instead of relying on these drinks, get into the habit of drinking only water all day. This is another habit that may take some time to adjust to it, but before long you won’t even miss those flavored drinks and your body will thank you for all of the water you’re drinking.

See: Are Your Liquid Calories Making You Gain Weight?

8) Include a minimum of two servings of vegetables with lunch and dinner.

Four servings of vegetables each day may sound like a lot, but when you see how small a “serving size” really is, you realize it’s not bad at all. A serving size of vegetables is one half cup of a cooked vegetable like broccoli, or one cup of a leafy vegetable like lettuce. That’s it! That’s really a small amount, and most people can easily eat that much, even if they don’t necessarily love vegetables.

See: Top 5 Healthy Dark Green Vegetables

9) Switch to whole grains.

Replace white bread, crackers, rice, and pasta with whole wheat varieties. Whole grains are much more nutritious, plus they contain fiber which helps slow down the impact on your blood sugar, which can help you lose weight in the long run.

10) Eat 2-3 servings of fruit each day.

Once again, a serving size of fruit is quite small so it should be easy to include them in your daily diet. Choose fruits that you enjoy eating and include them with snacks, or after lunch, or for dessert after dinner. Fruit is also an excellent substitution when you are craving something sweet. The natural sugar calms cravings but is much better for you than refined sugar.

See: Top 5 Healthy Fruits to Eat for Weight Loss

That’s it – these 10 simple power tips can go a long way in helping you shed pounds easily and keep them off for good.

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