Any dieter can substitute a number of healthy alternatives to diet pills to help lose weight. The old formula of eating right and getting proper exercise can't be bested by any pill. Weight is lost by burning more calories than you eat, so knowing how many calories to take in without weight gain is essential. Exercise regimens also need to be simple and convenient enough to fit into your everyday routine.
Fill Up With Fresh Produce
Replace calorie-rich, processed snacks with fresh fruit and veggies for healthy, low-calorie alternatives to diet pills. The dietary fiber and nutrition in a variety of fresh produce supplies needed vitamins and minerals with as much tasty variety as you can stock your refrigerator. MayoClinic.com suggests that you start your shopping trips in the fresh produce section to supply snacks and side dishes as well as salads. Having celery sticks, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes and broccoli florets on hand with low-fat yogurt dip will stave off hunger pangs between meals and help keep you on your diet course.
Track Calorie Needs
With ingredient and nutrition information labels on food packaging, you can track your calorie intake. The University of Maryland Medical Center notes that men can eat 13 calories per pound of body weight without gaining weight and women can take in about 10 calories per pound without special exercise. Those numbers rise to 15 calories per pound for men and 12 calories per pound for women if a half-hour of brisk walking, swimming or cycling is added to the mix. Exercise incorporated into your daily routine, such as a brisk walk to the post office or to run other daily errands, will seem natural and be easier to maintain.
Supply-side Menu Planning
Since you can only eat what is available, choose only those foods for the fridge that fit into your diet plan. Fiber-rich, whole grain foods, low-fat dairy products and fish or poultry choices instead of red meat all have better protein-to-fat ratios. The Harvard School of Public Health states that fish such as salmon supply protein in nearly the same amounts as red meat but with only a one-fourth the fat.
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