Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Little Things Count When Trying to Lose Weight

You should try not to use the word diet, since for most people it carries a negative connotation. Instead, when talking about what you eat, you should call it your nutritional intake.

Nutritional intake sounds more positive. It should be a way of eating that you could live with for the rest of your life. Avoid major diets that set unrealistic goals or those that force you to cut out entire food groups.

Although some deprivation diets can provide success and weight loss, the effects are normally short lived, can cause you to lack many nutrients and the weight returns when you stop eating that way.

Your body needs a healthy dose of carbohydrates. At least 50 to 60 percent of your total daily calories should come from whole grains, fruits and veggies. You also need close to 15 to 20 percent of your daily calories from fat found in sources such as cold-water fish, nuts and healthy oils such as olive and canola.

One of the best tricks of losing a few pounds is changing the small things. Just one small serving size of coffee creamer can pack 100 calories. If you cut two of these creamers each day, you would lose a few pounds in a year. Other things can be the butter on your toast or your extra ketchup with dinner.

Beverages tend to be the biggest source of weight gain for many Americans. It is easy to consume an extra 300 or more calories a day in coffee and soda drinks. Cut these out, and you could drop up to 10 pounds in a year.

The same is true for burning calories. Many people’s mentality is that if they cannot get to the gym for an entire hour, they skip it all together. The small daily movements and activity can make a huge difference in your waist line. If getting a long workout in is not in the cards, then walk on your breaks or lunch hour. Just a few extra calories burned each day will add up to a serious calorie deficit and help you shed a few pounds.

If your evenings usually are your munching time, pick one low-calorie snack you can have, such as a nonfat pudding cup. Then during your nightly shows, do pushups and sit ups to burn a few more calories. Just keep your body moving when you can, and it will make a difference.

[Via http://fromflabstoabs.wordpress.com]

No comments:

Post a Comment