25 Helpful Weight Loss Tips

The 2 biggest tips anyone could give you regarding weight loss is to, of course, eat healthy and exercise but we’re going to give you 25 additional tips to help you be successful on your weight loss journey. These 25 great weight loss tips are courtesy of the August 2011 issue of Fitness RX. Check out this issue to read the remaining 26 remaining quick weight loss tips.

25 Helpful Weight Loss Tips

1. Have 5-6 small meals a day. Space these meals out every 3-4 hours to keep your metabolism burning the whole day.
2. Plan and prepare your meals the night before so you are set and ready to go the next day. This way you won’t be tempted to eat out or indulge in fattening foods around the office.
3. Eat high-protein foods to provide a constant supply of amino acids which promotes a muscle-building state and keeps your metabolism high.
4. Flush out toxins with a minimum of 8 glasses of water a day.
5. Burn more fat by doing cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Do cardio for at least 30-60 minutes 4-6 days per week.
6. Keep track of your food intake with a food journal. Multiple studies have proven that dieters who keep a food journal loss more than dieters who do not.
7. Build more lean muscle to burn more calories by strength training 2-5 days per week.
8. As you lose, clean out your closet. Toss out all your “fat” clothes to help ensure you keep the weight off.
9. Downsize your dinner plates. Studies have shown that the less food you put in front of you, the less food you’ll eat.
10. Focus on portion control. In the past few decades, the worst trend has been an increase in portion sizes. Cut servings in half when you eat out or order a half-portion.
11. Eat 90% of your meals at home or at least make them self-prepared meals. You are more likely to eat more when you eat out than when you eat a self-prepared meal.
12. Avoid foods that list sugar, fructose or corn syrup among the first four ingredients on the label.
13. Avoid white foods. Large amounts of simple carbohydrates from white flour and added sugar can wreak havoc on your blood sugar and lead to weight gain.
14. Don’t eat in front of the television. Studies have shown that people who eat while watching TV tend to consume more calories than those who don’t.
15. Watch what you drink. Stop the consumption of drinks containing sugars and replace them with water, tea, coffee or drinks with artificial sweeteners. Drinks with sugar add more calories in the diet but do not lead to the feeling of satiety.
16. Avoid high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup, also known as corn sugar, has become a popular ingredient in sodas and fruit-flavored drinks. In fact, high-fructose corn syrup is the most common sweetener in processed foods and beverages.
17. In your food journal, keep track of triggers that hinder your weight loss efforts. This can provide a huge amount of self-awareness of what causes you to break your diet and focus on how you can eliminate these triggers.
18. Weed out the calories you’ve been overlooking. Calories from sauces, dressings, spreads, condiments, etc… These calories add up whether you’ve been counting them or not.
19. Make the switch to ordinary coffee. Fancy frou-frou coffee drinks are often loaded with calories and are generally made from whole milk, sugar, whipped cream, and sugary syrups.
20. Weigh all of the meals you prepare yourself and focus on creating the proper portion size for each meal. Women aim for 3 oz of protein per meal and men aim for 4 oz of protein.
21. Try not to eat out of boredom. Many of us indulge in snack foods when we are bored, frustrated or nervous – so much so that we have forgotten what hunger actually feels like.
22. Order dressings and sauces on the side to control how much you use.
23. Avoid partially-hydrogenated foods. Oils contain high levels of trans fats which an unhealthy fat that you don’t want to over-consume.
24. When eating out, order a kids meal. You’ll keep the calories lower and consume less due to the smaller portion sizes.
25. Substitute foods instead of eliminating them. Try out different reduced-fat brands or find recipes that are similar to your favorite foods but in a healthier version such as Cauliflower Pizza which utilizes cauliflower for the pizza dough instead of flour. The key is to make sustainable changes.

There you have 25 helpful tips to aid you in your weight loss journey. For more quick weight loss tips check out the August 2011 Fitness RX magazine.