My most recent research has led me to find 20 common tips that the experts recommend for losing fat.  I’m pretty sure we are aware of all or most of these tips, but a good reminder now and then doesn’t hurt.

Here we go:

1) Set yourself up for success – sit down and think about why you really want to lose the weight, make a list that you can refer back to whenever things get tough.  Do you simply want to lose a dress size?  Are you doing it to improve your health?  Or do you just want to look and feel better?  There are no wrong reasons as long as they keep you focused and motivated.

2) Make goals – you should again sit down and make up goals that you can strive for.  Be realistic and keep your goals small – baby steps. Rather than saying I want to lose 50lbs, how about you work in 5 lb increments, or choose to lose 1 dress size in 6 weeks, etc.  Focusing on the larger end result can be discouraging and overwhelming which in turn might cause you to quite in pure frustration.

3) Find a support group – try and surround yourself with people who will support and encourage you rather than sabotage your efforts.  Supportive family members, friends and co-workers can help you stay on track and shouldn’t offer up temptations.  Let people around you know how important this is to you and you’ll be surprised how wonderfully helpful they can be.

4) Eliminate processed white carbohydrates – I know this from personal experience.  I can’t even stomach process carbs anymore so I try to avoid them at all costs. Avoid white rice, pasta, potatoes and white bread.  Instead choose whole grain pastas and breads, brown or wild rice and sweet potatoes or yams instead of potatoes.  Check the labels on the bread to make sure you aren’t getting some hidden sugar added and limit yourself to 2 pieces a day.

5) Eat real food not processed – processed foods are not only more expensive but they are filled with tons of chemicals and additives.  Try and stick to the outside isles of the supermarket and avoid anything in the middle sections.  Doing this should not only decrease your grocery bill, it will also make you look and feel a whole lot better.

6) Decrease your sugar intake – This is a tough one for me, I love my sweets!  But, none the less, it do try to limit my sweets.  There are tons of sugar free products on the market that can be substituted if you are desperate, but try and limit these as well as they usually contain other unhealthy ingredients.  Read your labels and watch out for hidden sugars especially in your favorite cereals and yogurt products.

7) Slow down your eating – help your body digest the food you are eating by eating slower.  Put down your fork between bites, talk with your family, chew more (my mom always said 100 times, but I’ve since found that to be an impossible goal), take smaller bites and savor your food.  It takes 9-10 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that it’s had enough. By eating slowly, you’ll find that you won’t be able to eat quite as much as your brain will have received the “Full Alert”.

8 ) Choose organic if possible - this one I find tough with a family of 5 simply because of the expense.  I do try and make better choices and whenever possible I’ll choose organic but most often it’s just out of my reach.  Be careful with organic products as many companies have jumped on the “Organic” bandwagon and not all is as it seems.  The more often you choose quality organic food, the fewer chemicals and additives you’ll consume.

9) Portion control - We all do it, our eyes are bigger than our stomach!  What I do is eat less at meals, but I eat more often throughout the day.  I’ll save part of my dinner for the next days lunch or for a snack later on.  I believe all portions should be no bigger than your fist.  Eating slowly will help as well as taking smaller bites.  You’ll feel like your getting more than you really are.

10) Healthy snacking – don’t be afraid to snack on healthy food throughout the day.  Snacking keeps your metabolism pumping and your blood sugar in check.  You could choose baby carrots and hummas, or protein like tuna in water or simply enjoy some raw fruits and veggies.  Avoid the starchy, high carb, high sugary type snacks.  They are empty calories that will only end up making you crave more of the same junk.

11)  Eating out – when eating out you’ll want to avoid the fried, battered foods and stick to lean protein choices with side salad and veggies.  Make sure to get any dressings and sauces on the side as they can be full of calories and sugar.  Avoid the potato options like fries or mashed, instead see if they offer sweet potatoes instead.  Remember to avoid the bread basket (very hard I know!).

12) Spices instead of sauces – spices are wonderful for adding flavour to your foods without adding sugars and empty calories.  I need to find a really good article for this one….I’d love to know more about spices, what they can do and how you can use them to create delicious foods.

13) Don’t give into temptation – the time will come when you will have to remind yourself why you are doing this.  Pull out your lists and read them again and again until you feel the temptation pass.  By remembering why you are going through this journey, you will be reinforcing your goals and will then be more likely to stick to it.  It’s ok to cheat once in a while, maybe even a great thing to do.  But make it a planned cheat.  Choose one day a week or one or two meals a week where you can go a little crazy, then get back on board to carry out the rest of your journey.  Planned cheating can actually help you stay on track better and it might just fool your body into thinking it’s really not on a diet.

14) Don’t drink away calories - I do it too, drinks actually do count in your daily calories intake so be mindful of what you are drinking.  Juices and soda can be extremely high in sugar and calories, if you need to have these, try and slowly cut down over time.  Coffee and tea is ok but try and limit it to 1 per day (ya right!).  Alcohol, well really, this is a no-no for the first 4-6 weeks.  If you absolutely must have a drink, try and dilute it (spritzer) and make sure to drink a glass of water for every alcoholic drink you consume.   If you just can’t drink another glass of plain water, try and spice it up with lemon or lime.  Both are actually very good for you so you’d be getting double duty of your simple glass of water.

15) Keep moving – you know it!  Exercise will help you achive your goal and keep your body toned and healthy.  Even if you only do 20 minutes 3 times a week, you are exercises will assist in goals – the goal is to challenge yourself a little bit more each time and mix it up by doing different exercises.  Try interval workouts, or I like interval walking/running where I do 1 minute fast and 30 seconds faster.  Keep it simple and enjoyable.  Then try doing some extras like playing with the kids or climbing the stairs.

16) Eat breakfast – this is a big one and probably one of the most important.  By eating a satisfying breakfast you’ll find you don’t end up eating or needing as much food the rest of the day.  Eating breakfast will also kick start your metabolism for the day and help you avoid cravings or binge eating at night.  I prefer making sure my breakfast includes protein as it’s much more filling and has a more last effect than carb based breakfasts.

17) Reward yourself – when you hit your goal, even if it’s a small milestone, reward yourself with a spa day or shopping trip or even just a day to yourself.  Whatever you like most just make sure it’s not food related.  Just like with our kids, we don’t want the emotional response to victories to be associated with food.

18) Do not weigh yourself – I find this one tough but probably better.  The scale can be cruel and even wrong (adding in water weight, pms, etc) which can be very discouraging.  If you need to weigh yourself, limit it to once a week or once every 6 weeks.  Use your clothes as a guide and measure yourself instead.  Then every 6 weeks or so, check out your progress.

19) Clean out fridge and pantry – With 3 kids, I don’t follow this one too strictly.  I make sure we have more healthy stuff than not and seldom even buy junk food.  But if you need to, as you see on every show, clean out the junk, the processed foods and the sweets.  If it’s not in the house, you are less likely to grab the junk instead of the good stuff when hungry.

20) Think and stay positive - you deserve to look and feel your very best! – if you fall off track, don’t panic!  just pick up where you left off and continue.  Stay positive and focused and you will reach your goals.

And last (actually Tip 21) keep a journal of your progress.  Record what you eat, your exercises and improvements, your measurements, your feelings and emotions, everything.  Doing this will also keep you focused and help you continue to push.  We have a hard time remembering even 5lbs ago….how do you feel now?  If you need to, take a picture and continue along the way so you can see the improvements.

~Toresa