1. Read Labels With a Discerning Eye
Pay special attention to how many servings are in each container, remembering that the listed number of calories applies to one serving. A 24-oz. can of soda, for example, is equal to three servings, which means that it is packed with a total of 300 calories and a whopping 80 g of sugar. Watch out for high-fat, high-cholesterol foods, too, and don't neglect to check out their trans fat content. Trans fats are industrially created and should be avoided, as they have been shown to cause weight gain, raise LDL ("bad") cholesterol and put consumers at risk for coronary heart disease.
2. Use Your Culinary Creativity
Lighten up high-fat, high-sugar recipes with ingredient substitutions. Replace butter with apple sauce, eggs with egg whites or vegetable oil with fruit juice or broth. Rather than spreading mayonnaise on your turkey sandwich, spread avocado for an infusion of antioxidants and healthy fat. Switch out full-fat sour cream with low-fat cottage cheese or plain yogurt. Rather than depriving yourself of foods you enjoy, use wholesome, low-fat and low-sugar ingredients to clone your favorite dishes.
3. Splurge on Prepared Fruits and Vegetables
According to WebMD, adults need 7 to 13 cups of produce a day to get their daily intake of nutrients and health benefits. In addition, consuming healthy portions of produce can keep you from snacking on more fattening options. If you don't have the time and energy to wash and slice loads of fruits and veggies, spend a little extra on precut fruit salads and chopped vegetables at your health food or grocery store. The convenience factor will encourage you to eat more than if you had to prepare it yourself.
4. Increase Dietary Fiber
Medical research indicates that fiber is an effective weight loss food because it tricks the body into believing it is full and impacts hormones that control hunger. Research from the Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston revealed that a fiber increase of 14 g per day helped study participants cut calories by 10 percent. You can get healthy fiber from a variety of sources, including apples, apricots, kiwis, whole-grain cereals, breads, lettuce, squash and legumes.
5. Institute a Refined Sugar Moratorium
Sugar has been likened to a drug, raising the insulin levels of those who partake, then forcing blood sugar to drop like a rock. The result? You're jonesing for sugar--again--and you can't seem to drop those extra pounds. In addition, excessive consumption of refined sugar has been proven to contribute to severe obesity, diabetes, hypoglycemia and osteoporosis. If you're serious about cutting out--or cutting back--your sugar intake, don't forget to read labels. Staying out of the candy aisle is great, but ketchup, salad dressing, cereals and lunch meats contain forms of refined sugars, too. Read your labels and avoid foods high in sucrose, fructose, glucose, maltose or lactose.
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