How many times do you start a diet with good intentions and end up failing for one reason or another? However, there are some simple tricks that can help keep you on the right track toward your weight loss goals.
1. Avoid grocery shopping while you're hungry.
2. Eat your meals before feeding your family. By doing so, you will be full and more able to resist temptation of what high calorie food that could sabotage your dieting efforts. This may sound like a silly tip, but it works.
3. Plan out your meals ahead of time and make a list of the foods you need to make them and stick to that sheet.
4. Keep a food diary and jot down everything you eat. You might be surprised how each tablespoon when cooking or just a teaspoon of peanut butter for example can add up when counting calories.
5. Eating on smaller plates instead of oversized ones can provide an illusion to your mind that you are eating more than you actually are.
6. If you finish a meal and still feel not quite full, you might like to try waiting 10 minutes before looking for something else to eat. Often, that hunger urge will pass.
7. Brush and floss your teeth directly after dinner to resist snacking later. Sometimes, it is good to be lazy and keep a clean mouth to avoid flossing and brushing again.
8. Drink water with your meals to help dull your appetite. Six to eight glasses a day acts as a diuretic and will clean your system out of impurities.
9. Learn to stop eating in front of the television. Eat your meals only at the table.
10. Make a habit of weighing yourself once a week at the same time. Your weight does change at certain times of the day.
11. When you feel the urge to pig out, you might try eating something sour like a pickle or lemon to suck on. This bitter taste in your mouth could help you eliminate those cravings.
12. Those times you need a sweet, you also need to substitute that urge for fruit, but be aware of the calories and the portion you can have.
13. Avoiding the hunger for pastry, cakes, cookies, and ice cream is easier when it is not in your house.
14. Did you know that plates that are green, gray, or brown will help you eat less than orange or yellow ones? This sounds ridiculous, but studies have shown that those colors make a difference in visual appeal and the amounts that will go into your mouth.
15. Visualization is a helpful technique. When you feel like giving up your diet, close your eyes and picture yourself with 10 extra pounds. Now see yourself in your mind with another 10 pounds. Keeping that picture in your mind, you might try asking yourself if you really want to stray off that diet. Instead, close your eyes again and see yourself at your ideal weight.
16. Once a week reward yourself with a treat. If that treat is a sweet, enjoy that one designated day and eat your piece of cake, pie, ice cream--only in moderation. The same principle goes for those treats that are fatty like regular potato chips, tortilla chips, or alcohol, etc.
17. Eat with a small pronged fork like a cocktail fork can help with your efforts. You will not be able to shovel that much in your mouth with a smaller shovel.
18. Eliminate breads and watch the pounds drop off your frame more. This honestly works.
19. Chew everything at least 10 to 20 times before swallowing.
20. If you love salads, I suggest that you do not mix your dressing in with your salad fixings. Instead, keep a little dressing on the side of your plate and dip your salad into the dressing to avoid a calorie overload.
21. Eat regular cooked meals that will fill you with nutritious real food--not convenience foods loaded with preservatives and unrealistic portions to satisfy your hunger.
22. The more you eat, the more you want. Personally, I found it hardest initially to eat less. The longer you diet, the more I believe your stomach shrinks and the less you need to eat to fill full.
Dieting is hard enough that is why I wanted to share these helpful tips with you. Hopefully, they will keep you strong and going!
