Simple Weight Loss Tips

Simple Weight Loss Tips Courtesy of CNN.com Health Section – author Jacque Wilson and Registered Dietician Dawn Jackson-Blatner

Table. Plate. Chair.
Every time you put food in your mouth, you should have three things: a table, a plate and a chair. These three items ensure you're not sneaking snacks from the refrigerator late at night or gulping down 1,000 calories in your car from a fast food joint. Eating mindfully, research shows, helps people pay closer attention to the enjoyment of eating and to feelings of fullness.

Willpower is a mental muscle. Exercise it.
Willpower is a limited resource, psychologist Sean Connolly of San Antonio says, but we all have it. The trick is in knowing how to use it efficiently. Like any muscle, your willpower gets tired. So you have to plan, Connolly says, and know what you will do in situations that offer a healthy choice and an unhealthy choice. You also have to be prepared for emergencies, such as at the end of a long work day, when your willpower is exhausted and the drive thru window beckons.

Be realistic.
One of the biggest obstacles to losing weight is unrealistic expectations, says psychologist Gary Foster, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University. It's nice to aim high, but successful losers drop an average of 8.4% of their body weight. If you weigh in at 200, that's about 16 pounds. And losing those 16 pounds improves your health dramatically. In other words, hoping to weigh what you did in high school will derail your plan before it starts.

Do a cart check.
You know the MyPlate diagram -- the one that shows how your plate should be split into fruits, grains, vegetables and proteins? Your cart should look the same, Blatner says. When you think you're finished shopping, do a quick eye check to make sure it's filled with about 25% protein, 25% whole grains and 50% produce. Choice is the enemy of weight loss, Blatner says. She recommends planning out two healthy breakfasts, two healthy lunches, two healthy snacks and two healthy dinners for the week. Buy the ingredients you need for each and then rotate them throughout the week.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/04/health/easy-weight-loss-tips/index.html?hpt=hp_bn13

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