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TOP 7 TIPS FOR DIETING SUCCESS
Thinking of losing a few extra pounds? Again? In the past, you
may have started off with great enthusiasm, giving yourself one
pep talk after another. You diet and exercise for several weeks,
but shed only a few pounds. Then you start to lose motivation and
drop off the regime. The problem is not your lack of willpower.
You just need to fine-tune your approach. To help you stop slipping
off the weight-loss program, here are seven super tips for diet
success:
Slow, Steady
and Healthy Wins the Race
After several weeks of dedication, it's easy to feel down when the
scale has barely dropped. Expecting too much weight loss quickly
is the biggest diet mistake. It leads to self-doubt and low self-esteem.
Switching from tried and true approaches to a fad diet at this point
can also make the situation worse. Rethink your expectations. Weight
reduction that is planned and steady is achievable. A normal loss
should be less than two and a half pounds per week. Aiming for more
than that is unrealistic and unhealthy.
Art of Diet
Tip 1:
Make "slow, steady and healthy" your diet chant. Take
into account the water retention and the muscle mass gained from
doing more exercise. Both will add to the scale. If you don't believe
that a few pounds are much of a load, empty out one, two, five or
ten pounds of margarine or shortening onto a plate. This will help
you see the significance and to motivate you to stick with your
long-term goals.
Eat Breakfast Every Day
Running late for work again? Don't bolt out the door on just a cup
of coffee. Skipping breakfast is bad news. You'll feel hungry later
when you are too busy to eat well or have less access to healthy
foods. You're more likely to eat something junky on an empty stomach
when your blood sugar is low. Instead of reaching for a donut, grab
a salad, fruit or raw vegetables. Another problem with missing breakfast
is that you'll feel hunger pangs in the early hours. Your body will
think it's in a famine, store fat and not release other fat from
storage! That's the opposite of what you want.
Art of Diet Tip 2:
Make time for breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day
for sustained energy. If you're short on time, keep something healthy
to eat on the run: fruit and almonds, a bag of fresh washed spinach,
or other veggies. Our forum on www.artofdiet.com is a great place
to find and share on-the-go and morning meal options.
Keep Track of All Snacks
Compulsive snacking between meals leads to unwanted calories and
fat. A few potato chips while you clean the house, a sliver of cake
while putting away the groceries or eating a chocolate bar when
you're depressed add to your waistline. With snacking, there are
tendencies to eat fattening or sugary things while your attention
is focused on other activities: watching TV, doing laundry or reading
the paper. Snacks may not seem like much volume. But grazing on
the wrong foods prevents you from reaching and maintaining a proper
weight.
Art
of Diet Tip 3:
Snacks are great. It's best to eat five or six small meals a day
so your body avoids famine and fat-hoarding. Make snacks a part
of your diet success. But you need to be choosy. Set ground rules,
such as no snacking unless it's a balanced food item. Choose fruits
or raw vegetables. Always record all of the food consume in your
journal. If you cheat, you're only cheating yourself. With a little
self-restraint and tracking what you eat, you'll make better food
choices.
Eat Favorite Meals Sparingly
Your family is having a favourite meal. It smells so delicious.
Yes, it's hard to ban temptations from your diet. The problem with
pizza, meaty dishes and lasagna is that they are very glycemic,
high-fat and lot of calories. Plus, heavier meals are over-consumed
and eaten late in the day. Later while you sleep, these extra and
unburned calories are converted to fat and stored. This is not what
you want.
Art of Diet
Tip 4:
One solution is to treat yourself to a tiny serving of the main
meal with a large serving of vegetables or salad. Eat a lower calorie
and reduced fat adaptation. Have the entire family eat an all-vegetable
and raw food version of a family favorite. It's fun to experiment.
Who knows, they might even like the healthier editions.
Better Strategies for Eating Out
Eating at a restaurant a few times a year will not blow your diet.
But in today's busy world, the average person eats one out of every
four meals outside of the home. You need to develop strategies for
coping with eating out or on the run.
Art
of Diet Tip 5:
Plan ahead. Find restaurants that serve foods that are best for
you. These are places that serve good salads or light meals. Salad
bars are great too. Ask for sauces and dressings on the side. You
control what you consume. Adopting all these ideas religiously will
produce better dining habits.
Limit Late Night Foods
Most comfort foods are high in carbohydrate calories. This is no
nutritional accident. Carbohydrates help release serotonin, the
happy and comforting neurotransmitter. This makes you feel calmer
and more satisfied. However, late-night eating is for sumo wrestlers
only. Your body converts unburned calories into fat while you sleep
and stores this in your fat cells. These fat cells can expand up
to 1000 times their normal size. To avoid this expansion, eat low-carbohydrate
and low-calorie foods in the evening.
Art of Diet
Tip 6:
Watch your late night eating by monitoring your snacks. Three hours
before bedtime is a good cut off time for dense carbohydrates. If
you feel stressed and hungry, you'll crave carbohydrates because
you're low in serotonin. Reduced levels of this chemical are also
linked to obesity. If you're concerned, see a health care professional.
Mood drugs are not necessary. Many herbal teas can help your body
regulate serotonin levels.
Weight Loss Coach For Diet Success
Great athletes use coaching to heighten their performance levels.
A coach can observe, support, and point out ways to improve performance
and reach goals. It's a true partnership between you and another
100% supportive person. The common goal is your success and well-being.
Now, the power of coaching is available for weight loss too. This
gives you personal leverage to create the health results that you
desire. Nutritionists and weight-loss support groups are helpful,
but coaching is more personalized and results-oriented. With your
coach, you'll define your values, lifestyle goals and develop a
personal plan of action for the body you've always wanted. The results
- gain self-confidence, speed up weight loss, maintain your body
weight, increase vitality and improve your fitness!
Art of Diet
Tip 7:
For weight-loss help, consider coaching for better results. Along
with my diet knowledge, I've been a fitness enthusiast for over
twenty years. I can help you reach your weight-loss goals and attain
greater vitality.
I know about the challenges of eating right and exercising. My
father is an incredible chef and my mother's cooking was absolutely
delicious. As a result of overindulging in my parent's fabulous
meals, I was one of the three fattest kids in school. For years,
even after leaving the nest, I was overweight. I tried many diets
and exercise routines. I slimmed down a lot, but couldn't lose the
last 20 pounds. I'd starve and even tried fad diets while I trained.
But the bulge still wouldn't budge. Then I discovered the 'secret'
behind the foods that made me fat. Now, you too can find out the
secrets in my weight-loss coaching and book, The Art of Diet.
EXCLUSIVE ART OF DIET OFFER!
Email coaching@artofdiet.com for your FREE
coaching consultation. Be one of the first
30 people to respond by July 1, 2003
and receive a FREE no-obligation session. Discover the difference
weight-loss coaching makes. Now, you too can have the body you've
always wanted.
Alex Hart
May 20, 2003
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