Lose Weight without Dieting

Hello Fit-NOW Friends!

I found a list of slimming techniques on the WebMD website to incorporate into our everyday life to help lose the weight. We deserve to take care of ourselves little by little.

1. Set the timer to 20 minutes when you start to eat to encourage you to enjoy each bite for the full 20 minutes. This will help trigger the signal to your body that you are full, instead of wolfing down your food quickly that could cause overeating.

2. Add a broth-based soup to your day and you'll fill up on fewer calories. Think minestrone, tortilla soup, or Chinese won-ton. Soup's especially handy at the beginning of a meal because it slows your eating and curbs your appetite. Start with a low-sodium broth or canned soup, add fresh or frozen vegetables and simmer. Beware of creamy soups, which can be high in fat and calories.

3. Whole grains such as brown rice, barley, oats, buckwheat, and whole wheat also belong in your stealthy weight loss strategy. They help fill you up with fewer calories and may improve your cholesterol profile, too. Whole grains are now in many products including waffles, pizza crust, English muffins, pasta, and soft "white" whole-wheat bread.

4. Choose vegetable toppings for pizza instead of meat and you may be able to shave 100 calories from your meal. Other skinny pizza tricks: Go light on the cheese or use reduced-fat cheese and choose a thin, bread-like crust made with just a touch of olive oil.

5. Replace one sugary drink like regular soda with water or a zero-calorie seltzer and you'll avoid about 10 teaspoons of sugar. Add lemon, mint or frozen strawberries for flavor and fun.

The liquid sugar in soda appears to bypass the body's normal fullness cues. One study compared an extra 450 calories per day from jelly beans vs. soda. The candy eaters unconsciously ate fewer calories overall, but not so the soda drinkers. They gained 2.5 pounds in four weeks.


6. Women who do yoga tend to weigh less than others, according to a study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. What's the connection? The yoga regulars reported a more "mindful" approach to eating. For example, they tend to notice the large portions in restaurants but eat only enough to feel full. Researchers think the calm self-awareness developed through yoga may help people resist overeating.

7. Eat home-cooked meals at least five days a week. A Consumer Reports survey found this was a top habit of "successful losers." Sound daunting? Cooking may be easier than you think. Shortcut foods can make for quick meals, such as pre-chopped lean beef for fajitas, washed lettuce, pre-cut veggies, canned beans, cooked chicken strips, or grilled deli salmon.

8. Catch the eating pause. Most people have a natural "eating pause," when they drop the fork for a couple of minutes. Watch for this moment and don't take another bite. Clear your plate and enjoy the conversation. This is the quiet signal that you're full, but not stuffed. Most people miss it.

9. Choose a 10-inch lunch plate instead of a 12-inch dinner plate to automatically eat less. Cornell's Brian Wansink, PhD, found in test after test that people serve more and eat more food with larger dishes. Shrink your plate or bowl to cut out 100-200 calories a day -- and 10-20 pounds in a year. In Wansink's tests, no one felt hungry or even noticed when tricks of the eye shaved 200 calories off their daily intake.

10. Restaurant meals are notoriously fattening, so consider these special orders that keep portions under control:

• Split an entrée with a friend.
• Order an appetizer as a meal.
• Choose the child's plate.
• Get half the meal in a doggie bag before it's brought to the table.

Complement a smaller entrée with extra salad for the right balance: half the plate filled with veggies.

11. Choose marinara sauce for pasta instead of Alfredo sauce. The tomato-based sauces tend to have fewer calories and much less fat than cream-based sauces. But remember, portion size still counts. A serving of pasta is one cup or roughly the size of a tennis ball.

12. Lose 10 pounds in a year without dieting by burning an extra 100 calories every day. Try one of these activities:

• Walk 1 mile, about 20 minutes.
• Pull weeds or plant flowers for 20 minutes.
• Mow the lawn for 20 minutes.
• Clean house for 30 minutes.
• Jog for 10 minutes.

13. When you've kicked the soda habit or simply made it through the day without overeating, pat yourself on the back. You've moved closer to a slimming lifestyle that helps people lose weight without crazy or complicated diet plans. Phone a friend, get a pedicure, buy new clothes -- or on occasion, indulge in a small slice of cheesecake.


Until Next time!

Keep healthy, keep safe and keep going!

Have an awesome day!

♥Fit~NOW~Girl♥