Tips On How To Eat To Lose Weight

Anu Morgan, Author of Get Real About Weight Loss

The one thing everyone seems to hate when dieting is the seemingly endless list of rules and foods to avoid.  Couple this annoyance with having to count calories, fat grams, fiber grams, and carbs and most people give up before ever starting.  The truth is, you can lose weight, and eat healthy with very little effort.

You do not have to, nor should you, make too many drastic changes all at once.  Dietary changes do not have to be difficult.  Below are a few simple tips on how to eat healthier to help you achieve your diet and weight loss goals.

Tip 1:  Eat many different types of foods

The body needs over forty different nutrients in order to maintain a level of good health.  No one type of food (such as protein or carbs) can provide all of the necessary nutrients we need throughout the day.  A healthy diet should consist of three to five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables, three servings of whole grains, dairy, lean protein, and fish.  Make sure all of these elements are in your diet or else your body will begin to feel deprived.

Change your foods with the seasons, and prepare items in many different ways to keep boredom from setting in.  Incorporate foods you may not think you like into recipes you do enjoy.  This will get you to try new foods, which will provide you with an even wider variety of nutrients.

Tip 2: Keep portions under control

It is extremely important to keep portion sizes under control.  One of the most common mistakes people make is consuming too much, even of healthy foods, throughout the day.  Some general guidelines to help you monitor portions are: one serving size of meat is about 3 ounces, which is roughly the size of a deck of playing cards, one medium sized piece of fruit is one serving, and a serving of nuts covers just the palm of your hand.

Tip 3:  Eat regularly during the day

Many people think that in order to lose weight they have to start skipping meals.  This is absolutely not true.  In fact, you should be eating about five small meals throughout the day.  Skipping meals often causes people to consume more food when they do eat.  It may also lead to snacking throughout the day, often on foods that are not recommended for weight loss.  Eating at regular intervals throughout the day actually helps the body to burn more fat and calories because it increases metabolic function due to the need for more digestion.

Tip 4:  Know your weaknesses

In order to design a healthy diet plan, it is important to understand where the problem areas are within your current diet.  One way to examine this issue is to keep a log of everything you consume in a week.  At the end of the week, review the list and look for areas that need improvement.  For example, if your diet is heavy on one particular food group (such as a large amount of protein, or a lot of sugar) try cutting back on these items, or find some healthier substitutions.  Take a look at the number of fresh fruit and vegetable servings you eat each day as well.  If this number is low, work at increasing servings by adding more to your current meals, substituting fruits for desserts or sweets, and snacking on veggie sticks rather than fattier treats.