The latest diet craze or weight loss plan can tank your enthusiasm with a litany of prescribed food types, recipes and exercise. Meticulous calorie counting -- reading food labels and measuring out servings -- can be a drag. Try an easy approach to weight loss by following no-fret tips recommended by medical and fitness professionals.
Skip the Soda
Cut soft drinks from your diet. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, regular soda and fruit punch have 150 calories you don't need. Opt for water instead. Perk it up with a squeeze of lemon or lime or add a splash of fruit juice.
Fill Up
Harvard Medical School indicates that some foods low in calories are rib-stickingly good. Enhance meals and snacks with whole grain foods. Think brown rice, oatmeal, lentils, beans and whole-wheat breads.
Don't Fry
Fried foods are heavy in fat, an undesirable nutrient that weighs in at a hefty 9 calories per gram. Sautee food in a nonstick pan lightly sprayed with cooking oil. Simmer food in broth. Bake, broil or roast meat entrees -- and skip the breading.
Downsize Portions
MayoClinic.com points out that restaurant portions can be double the size of your average serving -- and this means more calories. Put smaller portions on your plate. Never feel obligated to "clean" your plate.
Coffee Calories
Mayo Clinic nutritionist Katherine Zeratsky notes that sugary coffee drinks can have the same number of calories as your dessert. Take it black or with nonfat milk and a sugar substitute. A cup of coffee with 2 tbsp. nonfat milk has 12 calories.
Dairy Patrol
Milk, yogurt and cheese are excellent sources of protein and calcium. But whole milk is also a source of fat, and ergo, calories. Choose reduced-fat and nonfat milk products when you shop the dairy aisle.
Drink Water
Good news from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggests that drinking two cups of water before each meal leads to weight loss in older adults. Water fills up your tummy and makes you less likely to consume as much food.
Take a Walk
Regular physical activity contributes to weight loss -- but it doesn't have to be exhaustive or require a gym membership. According to the American Council on Exercise, or ACE, more walking is better for weight loss. All you need is a minimum of 30 minutes a day. Take it even easier by breaking up your walking plan into 10-minute chunks.
Clean Up
You know you have to do housework anyway, so make it a part of your weight loss plan. Any type of physical activity burns calories. Mow the lawn. Clean the windows. Sweep the floor. Vacuum the floor. Take a long stroll around the mall whenever you go shopping.
Relax and Enjoy
If you're doing it right, you'll loose weight at a slow but steady pace of 1 to 2 lb. per week. A pound of body fat is equal to 3,500 calories. Create a 500-calorie deficit each day by cutting calories and amping up your level of physical activity, and you'll lose 1 lb. a week -- guaranteed.
References
- Harvard School of Public Health: The Nutrition Source: Healthy Drinks
- Harvard Medical School: Calorie Counting Made Easy
- MayoClinic.com; Counting Calories: Back to weight loss basics; Dec. 19, 2009
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Could drinking water lead to weight loss?; Jenifer Goodwin; August 2010
- American Council on Exercise: A Walk a Day
- MayoClinic.com; Fitness for less: 4 low-cost ways to shape up; August 19, 2010
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