13 Aug 7 Proven Diet Tips

1. Drink 1 glass of water before eating you meal.  One study found that those who sipped 2 cups of tap water 30 minutes before their main meals lost an average of about 3 pounds more weight over a 12-week period than those who were simply advised to visualize having a full stomach before eating.  The theory is that the water expands the stomach inducing fullness.
2. Count your bites.  Start by counting the number of bites with each meal for a week to establish you baseline.  Once you have your baseline established, reduce you bite count by 20-30%.  Also consider chewing more slowly.
3. Eat more beans.  Beans are excellent sources of plant based protein and fiber. Consider eating a lentil based salad or replacing one meat based meal a week with a bean heavy dish.
4. Think twice before grazing.  Mindless snacking increases the likelihood of losing track of your total food intake.
5. Resit clever branding.  Advertising and marketing groups can be very tricky.  Beware of slick labels touting the food as “healthy,” “low fat,” “high protein,” or for exercisers.  When foods are portrayed as healthy people tend to eat twice as much.
6. Lighten up at night.  Consume a larger portion of your daily calories in the morning for breakfast.  It may be that we tend to burn more calories earlier during the day, and store more as fat in the evening.  “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.”
7. Plan ahead.  Walking in a restaurant and ordering on a whim is probably not the best weight loss approach!  People that pre-order online tend to order fewer calories and less fat.  At least consider reviewing the menu on-line.  Decide what you are going to eat before you enter the restaurant.  The smells of food and the influence of the “upsell” can have detrimental effects on your diet.

Here’s to the Journey!