15 Tips for weight loss…that WORK

Think you have to do something really radical and punishing to lose weight and keep it off? Just the opposite is true! It's actually the small, simple changes you make that have the most dramatic and lasting results. I know this firsthand, having tried every diet on earth and yo-yoed for years before discovering that weight loss doesn't have to be grueling, depressing or discouraging. It can be easy, fun, painless and permanent.

To lose 1 pound, you have to create a deficit of 3,500 calories. By incorporating easy ways to cut or avoid 250-500 calories a day, you can lose 1/2-1 pound a week, or 26-52 pounds a year. For some/most of us, that is simply accomplished by omitting our daily Starbucks Frappucchino or fast food meal.

Following are 15 tips for losing 3-80 pounds a year by making one small change in your diet. Remember that the more consistently you follow these tips, the more weight you'll lose, even when other eating and exercise habits stay the same.

You can lose about 1 pound every two months by achieving a caloric deficit of only 60-100 calories a day. Here are four really simple, fun and delicious changes in habit that will get you there easier.

1. Beware the burger blast. Make your own burgers at home with a cut of beef called round or a round steak (the butcher can grind it into hamburger for you). The best part? It's as lowcal as skinless chicken. Or use lean ground beef (95 percent lean or better) for a skinny burger with 400 instead of about 500 calories for standard ground beef.
   
2. Add the whipped cream. Instead of ice cream (350-500 calories per cup), combine a cup of fresh or frozen sweet pitted cherries with 1/4 cup canned whipped cream for a sweet, creamy dessert with just 140 calories.
   
3. Eat more pizza. Instead of ordering takeout pizza (two slices of Pizza Hut's Stuffed Crust Pepperoni Pizza pack 720 calories, 32 grams of fat and 2,240 milligrams of sodium!), fill your freezer with healthful frozen pizzas containing no more than 600 calories and 10-15 grams of fat per pie (e.g., Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice brands).
   
4. Drink up. Have a glass of water with lunch or dinner every other day instead of a soda or an alcoholic drink and you can lose 7-15 pounds a year. To stay full, eat plenty of foods high in water, including fresh fruits, vegetables and healthful (lowfat, low-sodium) soups.
   

Want to lose 11-20 pounds (or more) in a year? This will take a caloric deficit of about 100-200 a day. You can live with that! Try these three tips.

1. Fish for health. Instead of a 6-ounce steak (550 calories), enjoy tuna (250-300 calories) or salmon (350 calories). If you eat fish instead of red meat four times a week, you'll save 200-300 calories each time, or up to 1,200 calories a week. Besides being lower in fat, seafood is also high in omega-3 fatty acids, which lower cholesterol and reduce risk for heart disease. Choose grilled, broiled or steamed fish and avoid fried or blackened versions, which pack in extra fat.
   
2. Snack more for fewer calories. People who snack all day find it easier to lose weight because they actually take in fewer calories. Enjoy healthful snacks like apple slices spread with 1 tablespoon peanut butter (about 160 calories) or 1 ounce lowfat cheese with a piece of fresh fruit (about 130 calories.) Both snacks provide natural sugars to satisfy your sweet tooth plus fiber and protein to keep you full. Opting for healthful, filling snacks that keep you away from vending-machine versions packing 250-500 empty calories each will save you thousands of calories a month.
   
3. Mine sweep for calorie bombs. Losing weight is not about discipline or willpower; it's about taking charge of your environment. So get rid of all that high-fat, high-calorie junk in your kitchen and replace it with healthful, lowfat fare.
   

Looking to lose 21-30 (or more) pounds in a year? Create a 200- to 300-calorie deficit per day using these five tips and watch the pounds melt off!

1. Cook with nonstick pans and spray. Make every meal in a nonstick pan, and you'll automatically save 100 calories every time by eliminating the butter, margarine or oil used to grease the pan. When sautéing or frying, simply coat nonstick pans with a spritz of vegetable oil cooking spray (0 calories). Always use fresh, full-flavored ingredients, and you won't need fattening butter or oil to add flavor. Talk about a painless way to lose weight!
   
2. Savor each bite. Eat more slowly to let satiety register -- it takes your stomach 20 minutes to send "full" signals to the brain. You'll save 100 calories each time you stop eating when you're almost full instead of eating until you're stuffed (about 200 calories a day).
   
3. Eat by the clock. Believe it or not, the biggest cause of Believe it bingeing is under eating. Your body gets hungry every three to five hours, so you need to eat five to six healthful, lowfat mini meals daily to stay full and curb cravings. Cut nighttime snacks and say adios to 15 pounds a year; have a fruit snack instead of a vending-machine snack and subtract 20 pounds; plan meals ahead and knock off 22-30. (For a complete guide on grazing via mini meals, including yummy recipes, see next month's issue.)
   
4. Use the dilution solution. Love regular soft drinks but hate the pounds the sugar packs on? (A 32-ounce soda has about 400 calories!) Do as my friend does and cram your cup with ice every time you have a soda, and you'll drink at least half as much. For my friend, that meant consuming about 200 fewer calories every other day. After a period of time her taste buds adapted. so all she really wanted was sparkling water. By making this one simple shift from soda to sparkling water, she cut 400 calories a day.
   
5. Defrost the freezer. Forget all the nasty things you've heard about frozen dinners! Supermarkets stock hundreds of lowfat and delicious frozen meals -- from meatloaf and mashed potatoes to Thai and Indian cuisine. Just add vegetables and fruit to boost nutrients. You'll save 300-500 calories every time you prepare a frozen dinner instead of ordering fast food or cooking a high-fat meal. Enjoy four frozen dinners a week and lose a minimum of 18-30 pounds a year.
   

And for you big "losers" out there who are looking to lose 31-40 (or more) pounds in a year, this one's for you! With these three easy tips, you'll have no trouble reaching even a big weight-loss goal in 12 months.

1. Shop by the book. Make weekly shopping a habit by setting a specific day and time when you can always go. Without healthful foods on hand, you may be tempted to improvise by hitting fast-food and convenience stores, where nearly everything is high-fat and high-calorie. Good grocery-shopping skills are the flip side of good meal-management skills. One of my clients saved at least 400 calories per meal by incorporating just this one change and lost 30 pounds in less than a year!
   
2. Keep "happy hour" at home. Spend a few hours at a bar on Friday night, and you could easily consume 3,000 calories in drinks (300 calories per mixed drink) and snacks (an order of nachos has 2,100 calories). For a healthy happy hour at home that has just 750 calories (you'll save 2,250 calories a week), stock up on sparkling water or wine and create a lowfat feast.
   
3. Satisfy your sweet tooth. Deny your sweet tooth and bingeing is sure to follow. Satisfy your cravings with a low-calorie treat -- about 120 calories -- that you can enjoy every single day. My faves are Starbucks' frozen Mocha or Java Fudge Frappuccino Blended Coffee Bars. Limit rich desserts (most have about 500 calories) to once a week, and you'll save about 380 calories a day for six days, or 2,280 calories a week.
   

 

Good Luck!

Have an AWESOME and HEALTHY day!

Fit-NOW-Girl