You can't just change your habits for a week
or two and go back to the way you were. You can successfully manage your
weight, but it means a lifetime commitment and permanent changes in eating
behavior. Weight takes time to gain, and it takes time to lose. But, once
the weight is gone, it's well worth it.
10 Tips to Help You:
1.
Use non-stick spray or low-calorie butter substitute to pan-fry or
sauté foods. Bake or broil instead of frying.
2. For
breakfast eat high-fiber foods, such as bran muffins instead of the
morning donuts.
3.
Use sugar substitutes to sweeten foods and beverages.
4.
Order from the light menus now offered at many restaurants, or
purchase low-calorie or reduced-fat products at the grocery store.
5.
Try a meal plan using "exchange lists" based on foods grouped
together according to similar food values. Most exchange lists include
several "free" foods: those lower than 20 calories per serving, such as many
low-calorie, sugar-free foods and beverages.
6.
Never skip meals. Eat three to six times a day in smaller portions to
keep from getting hungry.
7.
Use a smaller plate at mealtime to satisfy your psychological need to
see a full plate.
8.
Eat and chew slowly. Learn to stop eating before you feel full. (It
takes 20 minutes for the stomach to tell the brain that it is full!)
9.
Weigh yourself on a regular schedule, but don't become a slave to
your scale.
10.
Reward yourself with pleasures other than food such as buying some
new clothes, getting a different hair style, seeing a movie, or visiting a
friend, etc.
