Rutin Minum Air Putih, Cara Diet Paling Murah

Minum air secara rutin mungkin dapat menjadi pilihan paling mudah dan murah untuk menurunkan berat badan. Sebuah penelitian menyatakan, minum air putih sebelum makan dapat membantu keberhasilan program penurunan berat badan.

Seperti dilansir Dailymail, orang dewasa yang minum dua gelas sebelum makan kehilangan berat badan sekitar 4 lb atau setara 1,814 kilogram lebih banyak, dibanding mereka yang tidak minum air.

Penelitian itu merupaka salah satu dari 11 studi tentang efek minum air pada pola makan yang di-review oleh para ahli dan dipublikasikan dalam American Journal of Clinical Nutritrion. 

Tiga peneltian lainnya yang di-review juga menyatakan bukti yang jelas bahwa konsumsi air dapat membantu meningkatkan kesuksesan penurunan berat badan.

Menurut  salah satu peneliti yang melakukan review, Brenda Davy dari Virginia Tech, konsumsi air dapat membantu meredam rasa lapar dan menolong para pelaku diet mengurangi asupan kalori.

Hal ini didukung studi lain yang menemukan, wanita yang meningkatkan konsumsi air saat program diet kehilangan berat badan lebih banyak dibanding yang minum air kurang dari 1 liter per hari.

Rebecca Muckelbauer, peneliti dari Berlin School of Public Health, Charité University Medical Center Berlin, Jerman yang memipin review riset tentang air menyatakan, rasa kenyang adalah alasan utama seseorang kehilangan berat badan.

Tetapi ia juga menduga ada alasan lain dibalik fenomena ini yaitu efek thermogenesis yang dipicu oleh air. Ia bilang, minum air juga dapat meningkatkan pengeluaran energi dari dalam tubuh. Dengan kata lain, ada energi yang dikeluarkan tubuh akibat efek minum air.  Diakui Muckelbauer, dugaan ini belum diteliti lebih jauh.

Dari beberapa riset yang ditinjau oleh Muckelbauer dan timnya, tidak semua penelitian membuktikan bahwa mereka yang minum banyak air bisa lebih langsing. Faktanya, orang yang mengalami obesitas minum air lebih banyak dibanding yang tidak kelebihan berat badan.

 

Ia juga mengatakan, warga Amerika bisa mengasup 400-500 kalori setiap hari dari minuman manis. Menurut Muckelbauer asupan itu akan memberi hasil lebih baik, bila diganti air biasa.

Manfaat konsumsi banyak air juga diakui penelitian lain. Satu studi menemukan wanita yang minum air biasa, bukan minuman manis, menurunkan risiko terkena diabetes. Wanita yang minum banyak air juga berisiko kecil terkena batu ginjal.

10 Unconventional Diet Tips: How to lose 50 pounds in three months

The following are 10 unconventional weight loss tips that worked for me. Between January 4, 2006 and March 31, 2006 I lost fifty pounds. These tips work well because almost every tip is focused around completing a small goal. In my opinion, to stay motivated and lose a significant amount of weight, you should complete many goals in a short period of time. The reason I call these tips unconventional is that I had not seen a majority of them before starting my diet.

I will start by recognizing the typical “calories in, calories out” schpeil. Yes, to lose weight you have to eat well and exercise. But there is much more to it than that, and I don’t want to spend time regurgitating ideas you’ve heard before. That brings me to the first point:

Buy a digital scale

This seems easy enough. I recommend that before starting a diet, buy a scale that is accurate to .2 (two-hundredths of a pound). I will explain why below. I also recommend either buying a scale that can record your daily weight, or manually logging your weight everyday. I bought a scale that was accurate to .2 and logged my weight at Sam’s Club for $22. It has been a great investment.

Weigh yourself everyday

You’ll find that almost every other dieter will tell you to weigh yourself only once a week. I recommend the exact opposite. I am very goal oriented and I like to see results everyday. The reason I recommend buying a scale that is accurate to the .2 is that there is a very big difference between weighting 170.8 one day and 170.0 the next day. Losing .8 pounds in one day is excellent. However, if your scale is not accurate enough to report the loss and still shows 170 after a day of healthy eating and working out, you will feel extremely discouraged. A more detailed scale makes it easier to keep a positive outlook. The more successes (days with positive weight loss) the easier it is.

Drink 8 glasses of water everyday

This one is obvious and broadly recommended, however, the reason I recommend it is slightly different. Drinking eight glasses of water per day helps you “feel less hungry.” I can’t prove this scientifically, however, when I am at work, I drink 4 cups in the morning and 4 cups in the evening. On the days that I don’t drink the water, I feel hungrier, earlier. Also, on the days I don’t drink water I feel sleepier, sooner. Don’t feel intimidated by trying to drink 8 glasses of water. Try doing what I do: I have a pint glass I keep at work, it holds sixteen ounces (as all pint glasses do). All I do is drink two pints of water in the morning and two in the afternoon.

Make your diet public

Tell people you’re on a diet. There’s no reason to be ashamed to be on a diet. I found that trying to keep my diet a secret was harder than just telling people. In fact, telling your coworkers, girlfriend, family, etc. will increase your accountability. It motivated me knowing that my coworkers and family knew that I was dieting because I did not want to fail. I also chose a typical “fat picture” and put it on my fridge, in my cubicle, and on my wall. I wanted to have a continual reminder to lose the weight. I know it’s a cliche, but it was important for me to remind myself of my ultimate goal.

I feel I should also note that although I was 50 pounds over weight, when I told people I was on a diet they often said “you don’t need to diet.” I found this surprising because I was obviously overweight. Beware that you will likely hear similar comments. I found it easier to just accept the “compliment” than to try to justify my diet to them. Remember that you are on a diet for you, and that you do not need to justify yourself.

Don’t diet on the weekends

This is another unconventional bit of advice. I was able to lose 50 pounds without dieting on the weekends. I found myself tired, depressed, and unmotivated if I tried to continue my diet into the weekend. I felt that Friday and Saturday (my weekend) was a time to celebrate 5 days of dieting. You may not find this necessary, especially in the first few weeks of a diet. However, as many weeks passed, the weekend became a time for me to celebrate my weekly successes and get myself mentally prepared for another five days of dieting. I considered it a mental recharge.

Don’t sacrifice your life for your diet

On occasion, you will find yourself unable to eat healthy. Whether this is because of lunches with your team at work, birthdays, or special occasions, there will be events that you just can’t (or don’t want to) eat healthy. A diet will feel overwhelming if you have to sacrifice special events in your life. The way I combated this was to exchange a day that I was not going to diet on the weekend. In other words, if I didn’t diet on Tuesday, for example, I would diet on Saturday, instead.

Make the small changes

This is a pretty common tip, however, I have a twist to it. Rather than giving up what most diets say you should give up (soda, coffee, beer, caffeine, etc.) just make healthier decisions. I didn’t want to give anything up, so I decided to make some changes instead. The first switch I made was switching to diet soda. Don’t worry, you’ll quickly get used to the flavor. Before I started my diet, I swore I would never drink diet soda. Now thanks to my girlfriend, diet is the only soda I drink. The second switch I made was to drinking black coffee. Cut out the sugar and creme, and you get the benefits of coffee (caffeine) without the calories. The last major switch I made was to “healthy” beer. I’m a Miller Lite drinker, however, by temporarily switching to Beck’s Premier Light (60 calories per serving) I was able to still enjoy a healthy social life while maintaining my diet.

In addition to making the small changes in your diet, make the small changes in your life: park further away, walk to the end of the train platform and get in the last car, and vow not to take an elevator for an entire week. I also found it advantageous to wear a pedometer and try to compete against myself for how far I could walk in a single day. The furthest I walked in a day was 6.5 miles. I voluntarily walked to work twice a week.

Gain perspective by understanding the fractions

Your diet is an incredibly small fraction of your life. If you live for 80 years, and dieted for four months, that would only be .42% of your life. That’s right, if you diet for four months, it will be less than one half of one percent of your life. On the other hand think of the major benefits you can get from .42% of your life. If it helps you stay motivated, count down the days starting at 120.

Rationalize your workouts

Finding the time to get to the gym can be very difficult. However a 1/2 hour workout is only 2% of your day (assuming 24 hour days). For me, the most motivating thought was comparing my workouts to sitcoms. As a huge Everybody Loves Raymond fan, every time I would sit down to watch an episode, I would remind myself that in the 1/2 hour that I was sitting and doing nothing, I could complete my daily workout.

You’ve lost the weight, what now?

Have a red flag weight

Once you’ve lost the weight, you need to keep it off. This is where the red flag comes in. You need to pick a weight and vow to never get heavier than it again. It is normal for your body to fluctuate five to ten pounds. I recommend picking a weight that is ten pounds heavier than what you “normally” weigh and never weigh more than it again.  Setting a red flag weight allowed me to keep off every pound for over 1 year.

Lastly, for the curious out there…I followed the Weight Watchers diet. I did not pay for the diet, nor did I go to meetings. I found out all the information about the diet on-line. The first place to look is at their patent.

All well known diets are available via Google Patent Search.  For the several months that I was dieting, I also gave up red meat and made sure to drink a lot of milk.  The preceding tips worked perfectly for me and they will work for you, too. Prior to creating my own diet plan, I tried to diet several times and failed every time. I swear by these weight loss tips.  What do you think of them? Do you have a tip that didn’t make my list?  Let us know in the comments.  I will be glad to answer any questions or defend any point.

Healthy Weight Loss & Dieting Tips

In our eat-and-run, massive-portion-sized culture, maintaining a healthy weight can be tough—and losing weight, even tougher. If you’ve tried and failed to lose weight before, you may believe that diets don’t work for you. You’re probably right: traditional diets don’t work—at least not in the long term. However, there are plenty of small but powerful ways to avoid common dieting pitfalls, achieve lasting weight loss success, and develop a healthier relationship with food.

The key to successful, healthy weight loss

Your weight is a balancing act, but the equation is simple: If you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. And if you eat fewer calories than you burn, you lose weight.
Since 3,500 calories equals about one pound of fat, if you cut 500 calories from your typical diet each day, you'll lose approximately one pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories). Simple, right? Then why is weight loss so hard?
All too often, we make weight loss much more difficult than it needs to be with extreme diets that leave us cranky and starving, unhealthy lifestyle choices that undermine our dieting efforts, and emotional eating habits that stop us before we get started. But there’s a better way! You can lose weight without feeling miserable. By making smart choices every day, you can develop new eating habits and preferences that will leave you feeling satisfied—and winning the battle of the bulge.

Getting started with healthy weight loss

While there is no “one size fits all” solution to permanent healthy weight loss, the following guidelines are a great place to start:

• Think lifestyle change, not short-term diet. Permanent weight loss is not something that a “quick-fix” diet can achieve. Instead, think about weight loss as a permanent lifestyle change—a commitment to your health for life. Various popular diets can help jumpstart your weight loss, but permanent changes in your lifestyle and food choices are what will work in the long run.
• Find a cheering section. Social support means a lot. Programs like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers use group support to impact weight loss and lifelong healthy eating. Seek out support—whether in the form of family, friends, or a support group—so that you can get the encouragement you need.
• Slow and steady wins the race. Aim to lose one to two pounds a week to ensure healthy weight loss. Losing weight too fast can take a toll on your mind and body, making you feel sluggish, drained, and sick. When you drop a lot of weight quickly, you’re actually losing mostly water and muscle, rather than fat.
• Set goals to keep you motivated. Short-term goals, like wanting to fit into a bikini for the summer, usually don’t work as well as wanting to feel more confident or become healthier for your children’s sakes. When frustration and temptation strike, concentrate on the many benefits you will reap from being healthier and leaner.
• Use tools that help you track your progress. Keep a food journal and weigh yourself regularly, keeping track of each pound you lose and inch lost from your waist. By keeping track of your weight loss efforts, you’ll see the results in black and white, which will help you stay motivated.

Keep in mind it may take some experimenting to find the right diet for your individual body. It’s important that you feel satisfied so that you can stick with it on a long-term basis. If one diet plan doesn’t work, then try another one. There are many ways to lose weight. The key is to find what works for you.

Healthy dieting and weight loss tip #1: Avoid common pitfalls

Diets, especially fad diets or “quick-fix” pills and plans, often set you up for failure because:

• You feel deprived. Diets that cut out entire groups of food, such as carbs or fat, are simply impractical, not to mention unhealthy. The key is moderation. Eliminating entire food groups doesn’t allow for a healthy, well-rounded diet and creates nutritional imbalances.
• You lose weight, but can’t keep it off. Diets that severely cut calories, restrict certain foods, or rely on ready-made meals might work in the short term. However, once you meet your weight loss goal, you don’t have a plan for maintaining your weight and the pounds quickly come back.
• After your diet, you seem to put on weight more quickly. When you drastically restrict your food intake, your metabolism will temporarily slow down. Once you start eating normally, you’ll gain weight until your metabolism bounces back—another reason why starvation or “fasting” diets are counterproductive.
• You break your diet and feel too discouraged to try again. Just because you gave in to temptation doesn’t mean all your hard work goes down the drain. Healthy eating is about the big picture. An occasional splurge won’t kill your efforts. Diets that are too restrictive are conducive to cheating—when you feel deprived, it’s easy to fall off the wagon.
• You lose money faster than you lose weight. Special shakes, meals, and programs are not only expensive, but they are less practical for long-term weight loss and healthy weight maintenance.
• You feel isolated and unable to enjoy social situations revolving around food. Without some practical, healthy diet strategies, you may feel lost when dining out or attending events like cocktail parties or weddings. If the food served isn’t on your specific diet plan, what can you do?
• The person on the commercial lost 30 lbs. in two months—and you haven’t. Diet companies make a lot of grandiose promises, and most are simply unrealistic. Unfortunately, losing weight is not easy, and anyone who makes it seem that way is doing you a disservice. Don’t get discouraged by setting unrealistic goals!

Low-carbohydrate: Quick weight loss but long-term safety questions

First published in the 1970s, Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution launched the low-carbohydrate diet craze, which enjoyed a resurgence in the late 1990s. The diet is a carnivore’s dream, focusing largely on high-protein meats and poultry (along with eggs and full-fat dairy products), while banishing most carbohydrates such as bread, rice, and pasta. One popular permutation of the low-carb diet is the South Beach diet, which also restricts carbohydrates but urges people to avoid saturated and trans fats (found in meat and processed foods) and to favor healthier, unsaturated fats (found in nuts and fish). It also allows more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, making it a more balanced approach.
The low-carb eating strategy is based on the biological fact that eating carbohydrates raises blood sugar levels, which triggers an outpouring of insulin from the pancreas.

The theory goes a step further, claiming that high insulin levels produce hunger, so people who eat carbohydrates take in more calories and gain weight. The antidote to carbohydrates is fat, which is more satisfying and filling. So, people on a high-fat diet eat less and lose weight. Low-carbohydrate diets also tend to cause dehydration. To make up for the lack of carbohydrates in the diet, the body mobilizes its own carbohydrate stores from liver and muscle tissue. In the process, the body also mobilizes water, meaning that pounds are shed as urine. The result is rapid weight loss, but after a few months, weight loss tends to slow and reverse, just as happens with other diets.

The American Heart association cautions people against the Atkins diet, because it is too high in saturated fat and protein, which can be hard on the heart, kidneys, and bones. The lack of fruits and vegetables is also worrisome, because these foods tend to lower the risk of stroke, dementia, and certain cancers. Most experts believe South Beach and other, less restrictive low-carbohydrate diets offer a more reasonable approach.

Healthy dieting and weight loss tip #2: Put a stop to emotional eating

We don’t always eat simply to satisfy hunger. If we did, no one would be overweight. All too often, we turn to food for comfort and stress relief. When this happens, we frequently pack on pounds.
Don’t underestimate the importance of putting a stop to emotional eating. Learning to recognize the emotional triggers that lead you to overeat and respond with healthier choices can make all the difference in your weight loss efforts.
To start, consider how and when you eat. Do you only eat when you are hungry, or do you reach for a snack while watching TV? Do you eat when you’re stressed or bored? When you’re lonely? To reward yourself?
Once you’ve identified your emotional eating tendencies, you can work towards gradually changing the habits and mental attitudes that have sabotaged your dieting efforts in the past.

Strategies to combat emotional eating

• If you turn to food at the end of a long day, find other soothing ways to reward yourself and de-stress. Relax with a book and a steaming cup of herbal tea, soak in a hot bath, or savor a beautiful view.
• If you eat when you’re feeling low on energy, find other mid-afternoon pick-me-ups. Try walking around the block, listening to energizing music, or doing some quick stretches or jumping jacks. Another alternative is taking a short nap—just keep it to 30 minutes or less.
• If you eat when you’re lonely or bored, reach out to others instead of reaching for the refrigerator. Call a friend who makes you laugh, take your dog for a walk, find a fun activity to do, or go out in public (to the library, the mall, or the park—anywhere there’s people).
• If you eat when you’re stressed, find healthier ways to calm yourself. Try exercise, yoga, meditation, or breathing exercises. Better manage stressful situations by either changing the situation or changing your reaction. See Related Articles below to learn more about stress management. 

Healthy dieting and weight loss tip #3: Tune in when you eat

We live in a fast-paced world where eating has become mindless. We eat on the run, at our desk while we’re working, and in front of the TV screen. The result is that we consume much more than we need, often without realizing it or truly enjoying what we’re eating.
Counter this tendency by practicing “mindful” eating: pay attention to what you eat, savor each bite, and choose foods that are both nourishing and enjoyable. Mindful eating will help you lose weight and maintain your results.

Mindful eating weight loss tips

• Pay attention while you’re eating. Be aware of your environment. Eat slowly, savoring the smells and textures of your food. If your mind wanders, gently return your attention to your food and how it tastes and feels in your mouth.
• Avoid distractions while eating. Try not to eat while working, watching TV, reading, looking at your phone, using your computer, or driving. It’s too easy to mindlessly overeat.
• Chew your food thoroughly. Try chewing each bite 30 times before swallowing. You’ll prolong the experience and give yourself more time to enjoy each bite.
• Try mixing things up to force yourself to focus on the experience of eating. Try using chopsticks rather than a fork, or use your utensils with your non-dominant hand.
• Stop eating before you are full. It takes time for the signal to reach your brain that you’ve had enough. Avoid the temptation to clean your plate. Yes, there are children starving in Africa, but your weight gain won’t help them.

Healthy dieting and weight loss tip #4: Fill up with fruit, veggies, and fiber

To lose weight, you have to eat fewer calories. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to eat less food. You can fill up while on a diet, as long as you choose your foods wisely. The key is to add the types of food that can keep you feeling satisfied and full, without packing on the pounds.

Fiber: the secret to feeling satisfied while losing weight

If you want to lose weight without feeling hungry and deprived all the time, start eating foods high in fiber. High-fiber foods are higher in volume, which makes them filling. They also take longer to chew, which makes them more satisfying to eat. High-fiber foods also take a long time to digest, which means you’ll feel full longer. There’s nothing magic about it, but the weight-loss results may seem like it.
High-fiber heavyweights include:

• Fruits and vegetables – Enjoy whole fruits across the rainbow (strawberries, apples, oranges, berries, nectarines, plums), leafy salads, and green veggies of all kinds.
• Beans – Select beans of any kind (black beans, lentils, split peas, pinto beans, chickpeas). Add them to soups, salads, and entrees, or enjoy them as a hearty dish of their own.
• Whole grains – Try high-fiber cereal, oatmeal, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, whole-wheat or multigrain bread, bran muffins, or air-popped popcorn.

Focus on fruits and veggies

Counting calories and measuring portion sizes can quickly become tedious, but you don’t need an accounting degree to enjoy produce. When it comes to fruit and vegetables, it’s generally safe to eat as much as you want, whenever you want. No measuring cups or calorie tables required.
The high water and fiber content in most fruits and vegetables makes them hard to overeat. You’ll feel full long before you’ve overdone it on the calories.

• Pour a little less cereal into your morning bowl to make room for some blueberries, strawberries, or sliced bananas. You’ll still enjoy a full bowl, but with a lower calorie count.
• Replace one of the eggs and some of the cheese in your omelet or scramble with vegetables. Try tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, spinach, or bell peppers.
• Swap out some of the meat and cheese in your sandwich with healthier veggie choices like lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, cucumbers, and avocado.
• Instead of a high-calorie snack, like chips and dip, try baby carrots with hummus, a sliced apple, or the old-favorite: celery with peanut butter (just don’t overdo it on the peanut butter).
• Add more veggies to your favorite main courses to make your dish “go” further. Even dishes such as pasta and stir-fries can be diet-friendly if they’re less heavy on the noodles and more focused on vegetables.
• Try starting your meal with a low-density salad or soup (just watch the dressings and sodium) to help fill you up, so you eat less of your entrée.

Don’t love vegetables? You’re probably not preparing them right. Veggies can be delicious and full of flavor when you dress them with herbs and spices or a little olive oil or cheese.

30 Diet Tips – To Help You Lose Weight Healthily

You could lose weight with that new crash diet, or opt for the ‘perfect 100 per cent of the time with your diet’ approach. But deep down you will know that these ‘all or nothing’ diets don’t last for long. Nor are they healthy – for body, mind or soul.

Dietitian Lyndel Costain gives her top diet tips to lose weight and keep it off.

1. Stay clued up

Knowledge is power. By arming yourself with the facts about healthy diet, and ignoring the fads, you are more likely to build confidence in your abilities and achieve your weight loss goals.
WLR can help! Long term weight control is about being realistic, and enjoying healthy eating and exercise habits for life – and reaping all the benefits.

2. Have clear motivations

Write down your reasons for wanting to lose weight. Having clearly identified reasons helps your feeling of commitment. Try to include reasons that aren’t just about appearance, for example, ‘will help me feel fit enough to do more of the things of I want to do’ or ‘will help my back pain’. Looking back on them can also be a very useful motivator if the going gets tough.

3. Keep a food diary

Writing down what you eat and drink and any thoughts linked to that eating helps you become more aware of your eating habits and problem areas. Recognising what is going on and understanding more about yourself is a powerful way to start planning changes to your diet and puts you in control.

Keeping a food diary, even intermittently, also helps you stay on track, and lets you look back to see the great progress you’ve made. (You can try WLR's online food diary free for 24 hours.)

4. Weight goals

Losing 5-10% of your weight is an ideal target, according to research. This can be broken down into smaller manageable steps, for example, 4-5lbs at a time. Remember too that just keeping your weight stable is a great achievement in itself these days. Losing modest amounts of weight are not just easier to keep off but bring big health benefits. For example, if you are overweight, losing 5-10% of your weight can halve your risk of type 2 diabetes.

5. Set realistic goals

When making changes to your diet and exercise habits start small and set a few realistic goals. If they are realistic, you are more likely to achieve and stick with them and feel successful, which in turn boosts your self-esteem and self-confidence for ongoing success.

6. Work out how to achieve your goals

Setting a goal ideally includes a plan for how to achieve it, and how to overcome things that might get in the way such as trigger eating (see below), poor food choices at work, eating the kid’s leftovers or too many takeaways. Writing your goals and action plans helps enormously.

7. Trigger eating

Much of the eating we do when we aren’t hungry, or the cravings we have, is a habit-like response to a variety of triggers. These can be external, such as the sight or smell of food, or internal and emotion-led, such as a response to stress, anger, boredom or emptiness.

A food diary helps you recognise this ‘trigger’ or ‘non-hungry’ eating, which in turn places you in a better position to deal with it. For example, make a conscious choice to eat (or not to eat - see below) a food. Or plan ways to avoid triggers in the first place, for example, keep ‘binge’ foods out of the house or join an evening class to keep you away from the TV, crisps and wine bottle!

8. Be a conscious eater

Try to make conscious choices about what you eat, especially when tempted to overeat. For example, ask yourself, ‘I can eat this if I want to, but do I really feel like it?’ You can then choose to eat it (or some of it), or not, as you will have considered the consequences. Not only will it help you feel in control and achieve your goals, it will stop you feeling deprived.

9. Coping with cravings

If unwanted food cravings do strike, acknowledge them – have a chat to them even – then distract yourself, for example, with a chore, a more involving task, go out for a walk, call a friend or colleague, play with the kids, or paint your nails. Like a wave, cravings rise then ebb away. By waiting 15 minutes and ‘surfing’ the craving, you should find they pass away – and your conscious choice becomes simple.

10. Eat regular meals

Regular meals, starting with breakfast, help you to regulate how much you eat by stabilising blood sugar levels and allowing you to recognise natural feelings of hunger and fullness. They also stop you worrying about hunger as you will know your next meal or snack is not far away! And a healthy breakfast, is not only linked to long term weight control success, but a healthier, more nutritious diet overall.

11. Plan ahead

Plan ahead to ensure the right foods are available at the right time. Think about breakfast, lunch, healthy snacks and an evening meal. Have some ready meals in the fridge (serve with extra veg) for those emergency moments. Planning can take extra time and effort, but it will soon become a habit that will really make a difference.
Losing weight healthily can be easy and doesn't have to cost a fortune if you plan ahead. Try our Budget Diet Plan to get you started.

12. Beware ‘all or nothing’ thinking’

You know that feeling when you really overdo the chocolate or a night out and think you’ve blown it so may as well give up – and keep on eating… The blow out isn’t a problem, but your reaction could be.
Lapses are a normal part of change. You can’t be, nor need to be perfect 100% of the time to lose weight. Doing well 80-90% of the time is great progress. Rather than feel you have failed and give up, look at what you can learn from a bad day or week and plan to do things differently in the future. Then forgive, talk positively to yourself about what you have achieved already, and get back on track.

13. Build in some fave foods

It’s fine to build some fave foods into your healthy diet plan. Successful slimmers do it as it helps them avoid feeling deprived. Make sure you choose quality foods that you really feel like eating (do you fancy sweet, savoury, crunchy, creamy at that time?), sit down, eat slowly and savour them.
Deciding on what you will truly enjoy (and knowing that you can have it again another time if you want to) adds satisfaction and means you’re likely to be happy with a small amount.

14. Reward yourself

If you have set yourself some specific goals, for example, to have regular meals, or lose 3lbs in 2 weeks or eat your 5 a day, reward yourself when you have achieved it for example, with a new CD, seeing a movie, a new hairstyle, or outfit. It will also help to plan a big reward for when you have achieved your longer term weight goal. You will definitely deserve it.

15. Get some support

It could be from a friend, partner, colleague at work, self-help group, health professional, health club, slimming group, book, tape or video, diet ‘buddy’ or chat room. Have a good chat with your supporters about how they can best help you. Getting the right support is a vital part of long term slimming success.

16. Keep it balanced

Make meals automatically healthy, balanced and satisfying. Half fill your plate with plenty of vegetables and salad and divide the other half between lean protein-rich foods such as lean meat, chicken, fish, pulses, Quorn or tofu and healthy carbs such as pasta, new potatoes, Basmati or brown rice.

17. Eat without distractions

Don’t let your best efforts to control how much you eat be sabotaged by doing something else during meals. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that women who ate while listening to a story on the radio ate 70 calories more than women who ate with no distractions.

18. Avoid crash diets

They may be tempting, but a crash diet ultimately leads to rebound weight gain and feelings of failure.
The American Heart Association has "declared war" on crash diets, which they say "can undermine people’s health, can’t be followed for long, cause physical discomfort, and lead to disappointment when people regain the weight soon after." Still tempted?

19. Be active

Being more active and staying that way is one of the key strategies for long term success. Finding something you enjoy, and can fit into daily life helps ensure you keep it up. Walking suits many people (see below), but gardening, dancing, team sports, gym workouts, martial arts, any active hobby all count. Doing it with someone else boosts motivation too.

20. Step 10,000

Aim to walk briskly for a total of 45 minutes each day to burn around 2000 calories a week (250 to 300 calories a day). Or buy a pedometer from a sports’ shop or via the internet and build up to doing 10,000, then if you can 15,000 steps – over the day. Research now shows that this level of daily activity is most effective for weight control.

21. More good reasons to be active

Regular physical activity, especially if you include some strength training, not only burns calories and boosts mood and energy levels but can build muscle. Muscle burns loads more calories than body fat, and just a 3 pound increase in the amount of muscle in your body can potentially burn enough extra calories to lose an extra 10lbs over a year.

22. Spice up your cooking skills

Cut fat but not flavour with herbs, spices, lemon juice, tomato paste, wine, low fat fromage frais, olives, capers, chilli, and sauces with less than 5g fat per 100g. Grill, stir fry, bake, steam, char-grill, BBQ or microwave. A low fat cook book helps too – not to mention WLR’s fab recipes.

23. Read food labels – carefully

Check portion size, numbers of portions per package, and calorie content to make sure you aren’t getting more than you bargained for. Check and compare similar products too – as there can be big calorie differences between brands. And remember that ‘low fat’ doesn’t mean ‘low calorie’.

24. Fill up on low energy density foods

Foods like vegetables, salad, fruit, chunky soups, low fat pasta sauces, low fat dairy foods, porridge, vegetable-based casseroles, beans, fish and lean meat are great building blocks of every meal and snack. They have a low energy density (low number of calories per bite), most have a low GI (glycaemic index) and all are not only healthy but help you feel fuller for longer.

25. Drink plenty

Have at least 6-8 glasses or cups of low calorie drinks over the day – more if you are hot or exercising.
The aim is to keep your urine a light straw colour – if it’s dark you need to drink more. Drinking plenty helps you feel fuller and stops you confusing thirst with hunger, and eating when you really just need a drink. Spicy tomato or vegetable juice or a berry fizz (puree some fresh berries and top up with fizzy mineral water) are great, low cal between meal (or early evening) satisfiers to stop the nibbles – or the wine, if you want to cut back.

26. Practise saying ‘no’

We are often pressured to eat when we aren’t hungry. If you really don’t want to eat something, learning to say ‘no, thank you’ takes practise as we may feel we are upsetting others. But you are in fact looking after your own needs. First practice saying ‘no’ at home by yourself. It will soon get easier.

27. Keep food out of sight

Food is everywhere – on TV, magazines, shops, petrol stations - and can trigger cravings. At home, keep weakness foods out of sight, or out of the house! Serve meals onto plates rather than from dishes on the table. And steer clear of buffet meals – studies show they encourage us to eat more.

28. Watch portion sizes

Keep a careful eye on portion sizes, when eating out or serving up your own meals at home.
The WLR approach will automatically help you with this, while you keep your calorie tally over the day. It isn’t always what you eat that can make weight loss tricky, but how much. This can be especially true for dishes like bowls of pasta or fruit smoothies – their intrinsic ‘healthiness’ makes it easy to forget the portion size and calorie content.

29. Eat out wisely

• ‘Bank’ some calories for your meal out
• Try not to view every meal out as an indulgent treat – eating out is now a regular part of life and restaurant food can be high in calories
• Skip high fat butter, dressings, garlic bread, cream or cheese sauces, pastry, deep fried, battered foods and indulgent pudds (unless served with 4 spoons!)
• Pile your plate with vegetables or salad
• Watch the booze – quench thirst with water

30. Believe in Yourself

This final diet tip is just as important as the tips about eating and exercise.
If things go wrong don’t panic. Learning new habits takes time. Think back to when you learned to ride a bike. No-one expected you to do it the first time. You no doubt fell off a lot and needed picking up, with help along the way. Step by step you took control of that bike and learned how to keep it on course.
How you think, affects how you feel, and in turn the actions you take. Believe in yourself every day. Focus on what you want – being fitter, healthier – rather than how unfit you are. Setting realistic goals and having positive expectations will make all the difference.

5 New Diets Everyone is Talking About

Are you about ready to give up on weight loss? You're not alone. Whether it's calorie counting that you detest or the constant cravings that nag you, we've finally found the solution: Stop forcing yourself to follow impossible programs that just won't work for you. Instead, look for one that suits your individual style.

"Diets aren't one size fits all," says Joanne Larsen, R.D., a dietitian in Chicago. "When you find a plan that matches your particular food preferences [likes and dislikes] and lifestyle [cooking at home or eating out] it'll be easier to stick with it and lose pounds." We've done the homework and found the five best new diets out there. And we're convinced that one will work for you.

Eat All Day Long: The Abs Diet for Women

Dining six times a day (have a medium-size breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus a small snack two hours after each) means you'll never go hungry on The Abs Diet for Women, by David Zinczenko (Rodale). The catch is each time you eat you need to choose one or two of 12 "power foods," many of which are low in fat and help build calorie-torching muscle. These foods spell out ABS DIET POWER: Almonds (and other nuts), Beans (and legumes), Spinach (and other greens), Dairy, Instant oatmeal, Eggs, Turkey (and other lean cuts), Peanut butter, Olive oil, Whole grains, Extra protein (the whey powder added to shakes) and Raspberries (and other berries). The program also incorporates strength training for 20 minutes, three to four times a week, with an emphasis on tightening your abdominals. The thinking is that getting rid of belly fat can help you not only slim your waistline but also prevent disease. A recent University of Alabama at Birmingham study reveals that "visceral fat" around the middle is the single best predictor of heart-disease risk.

What's on the menu: Every meal must include a minimum of two "power foods"; snacks should have at least one. For instance, you might eat a spinach omelet for breakfast, a blueberry yogurt smoothie for lunch and a turkey burger on a whole-grain bun for dinner. In between, munch on almonds, cannellini beans dressed with olive oil, or low-fat string cheese.

Potential pitfall: You're given a lot of freedom. Although you get a shopping list and more than 50 recipes, the diet focuses on what you can eat, not on what you can't. If you have trouble resisting temptation, pick a more rigid regimen.

Dig in: This program is best for those hoping to eat better and tone their tummies. The diet can also be modified for people with specific needs, such as those who are lactose intolerant or vegetarian

The Diet Factory - Weight Loss Programs

To save you time, each week we will fully prepare and deliver your total week’s food. You won’t have to do any shopping, weighing out or cooking. The 1000 calorie diet will provide you with breakfasts, lunches and dinners. On the 1200 and 1500 calorie diets you will even receive morning and afternoon snacks.

No fuss. No work. No temptation with other foods.

Your Personalised Programme

When you phone THE DIET FACTORY, one of our Consultants will answer your call. After discussing your needs, your consultant will recommend the best programme for your maximum weight-loss. Any meals you dislike, or foods that you may be allergic to, will be omitted from your diet.


As there are more than 100 meals on THE DIET FACTORY menu, you will be pleasantly surprised by the large range of interesting and varied choices.

 

see our weight loss programmes

Handy "Dinners Only" Service

Are you busy and still have to cook for the family or do you need help with your main meal only? Ask about our dinners only service.

Healthy Weight Loss

You will maintain and even improve your health whilst losing weight, as THE DIET FACTORY uses only the freshest, most natural ingredients. There are no additives such as artificial colours or preservatives and the diet is low in salt, fats and cholesterol but high in fibre.

As well as being tasty and delicious, all your meals will be calorie controlled, containing the correct nutritional balance.

Value For Money

THE DIET FACTORY will prepare and deliver all your meals, at probably the same dollar value as you are currently spending on just the ingredients. Your total food cost is from XXXXXX per day, depending on the calorie level. Free Delivery Your DIET FACTORY Programme will arrive each week at a suitable time for you. Of course there is no charge for delivery.

15 Best Diet Tips Ever

Experts share their top tips for weight loss success.

15 Best Diet Tips Ever

Everyone knows the keys to losing weight: Eat less and exercise more. Sounds simple enough, but in the context of real life and its demands, it can be anything but simple. So how do successful losers do it? To find out, WebMD asked experts across the country for their best diet tips.

Best Diet Tip No. 1: Drink plenty of water or other calorie-free beverages.

 

People sometimes confuse thirst with hunger. So you can end up eating extra calories when an ice-cold glass of water is really what you need.
"If you don't like plain water, try adding citrus or a splash of juice, or brew infused teas like mango or peach, which have lots of flavor but no calories," says Cynthia Sass, RD, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

Best Diet Tip No. 2: Think about what you can add to your diet, not what you should take away.

 

Start by focusing on getting the recommended 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables each day.
"It sounds like a lot, but it is well worth it, because at the same time you are meeting your fiber goals and feeling more satisfied from the volume of food," says chef Laura Pansiero, RD.
You're also less likely to overeat because fruits and vegetables displace fat in the diet. And that's not to mention the health benefits of fruits and vegetables. More than 200 studies have documented the disease-preventing qualities of phytochemicals found in produce, says Pansiero.
Her suggestion for getting more: Work vegetables into meals instead of just serving them as sides on a plate.
"I love to take seasonal vegetables and make stir-fries, frittatas, risotto, pilafs, soups, or layer on sandwiches," Pansiero says. "It is so easy to buy a variety of vegetables and incorporate them into dishes."

Best Diet Tip No. 3: Consider whether you're really hungry.

 

Whenever you feel like eating, look for physical signs of hunger, suggests Michelle May, MD, author of Am I Hungry?
"Hunger is your body's way of telling you that you need fuel, so when a craving doesn't come from hunger, eating will never satisfy it," she says.
When you're done eating, you should feel better -- not stuffed, bloated, or tired.
"Your stomach is only the size of your fist, so it takes just a handful of food to fill it comfortably," says May.
Keeping your portions reasonable will help you get more in touch with your feelings of hunger and fullness.

Best Diet Tip No. 4: Be choosy about nighttime snacks.

 

Mindless eating occurs most frequently after dinner, when you finally sit down and relax.
"Sitting down with a bag of chips or cookies in front of the television is an example of eating amnesia, where you mindlessly eat without being hungry, but out of habit," says American Dietetic Association spokesperson Malena Perdomo, RD.
Either close down the kitchen after a certain hour, or allow yourself a low-calorie snack, like a 100-calorie pack of cookies or a half-cup scoop of low-fat ice cream. Once you find that you're usually satisfied with the low-cal snack, try a cup of zero-calorie tea, suggests Perdomo.