How To Lose Weight Without Dieting

Eat A Variety Of Foods It’s the spice of life for optimal health. A body needs over 40 different nutrients that should come from nutrient-rich foods. The amount to eat depends on your weight (or ideal weight). You won’t get what you need if you eat from a narrow range of foods.

Eat Whole Grain Bread Yes, bread and other whole grains. The average American diet is weak in this category. We’ve become carb-averse. But, according to the Department of Agriculture’s most recent Food Pyramid, we need 6 to11 servings of this category.

Eat For Your Ideal Weight Determine what it is, realistically, and eat for that weight, taking into consideration your sex, age, height, and activity level.

Know What A Portion Is A 3-ounce portion of fish or meat is about the size of a deck of cards. One serving of ice cream is ½ cup, a serving of pasta or cereal is 1 cup, and a fruit serving is a medium apple, orange, or pear, or 1 cup of berries or cut up fruit.

Eat Regular Meals And Often Out of control hunger leads to all kinds of crazy behavior like overeating and giving in to the temptation to grab what’s fast and tastes good, instead of what’s healthy.

Eat What You Want Giving up foods we like creates a temptation to give in. Reduce, don’t eliminate. If you love dessert, eat it but have less of it and not as often.

Pay Attention To Fat Intake If you regularly eat high-fat meats and whole milk dairy, you’re getting too much fat. Replace high fat foods with low-fat dairy and lean meats.

Know Your Demons To correct bad eating habits, you need to recognize what those bad habits are. Keep a journal of everything you eat for 3 days. You might be surprised at exactly how much butter you’re putting on your toast, or how much mayo is in your tuna salad, or how big a piece of pie you’re eating.

Make Small Changes Drastic diet measures are usually not sustainable over time. Start by trying to control excesses and deficiencies with small, incremental changes you can live with over the long term. For example, get into the fruit habit by eating fruits you really like.

Exercise Along with not smoking and healthy eating, it’s a major component of longevity. But start gently; if you jump into an exercise program that’s too much for you, you’re not likely to keep it up. And always speak to your doctor before starting any exercise program. With consistency and realistic goals, your transformation will happen over time. By Mary Marino, Writer, Blogger, and Editor of fashionista.com