SUPER WEIGHT-LOSS TIPS

To lose weight in a healthy way, we must control caloric intake and increase the amount of calories burned with some form of exercise. Regardless of the eating plan component of your weight-loss program, the following tips will help you accomplish your goals of healthy weight-loss and weight maintenance:

1. Drink two quarts of water each day. This helps control your appetite. Sometimes a feeling of hunger is actually thirst. Additionally, water is necessary to carry away the breakdown by products of fat.

2. Carry a little sport bottle at all times. If you feel hungry, take a drink. This works great, for example, when you're at your desk or computer as it helps to curb your appetite.

3. Use small plates and eating utensils. You will feel that you have eaten more, because the portions will look bigger. This will reinforce your mental perception of eating a "full plate."

4. Slow down your eating pace every way you can. For instance, if you are right-handed, eat with your left and vice versa. Put your fork down after each bite and don't pick it up until you have completely swallowed the last bite.

5. Chew every bite at least thirty times. Your food will taste better and you will be much more satisfied. Don't swallow until all the flavor is gone from of each bite.

6. Brush your teeth after every meal. You will be less tempted to eat if you do. Brush and floss after your evening meal; many people agree this helps avoid late-night cravings for snacks.

7. Both sodas and juices are loaded with calories that are simple carbohydrates. These trigger insulin production and hunger and are pretty much "empty calories," lacking other important nutrients such as protein. Drink water instead.

8. Pay attention to when and what you are eating. Ask yourself: "Do I really want to eat this?" Never eat on the run-wait until you arrive. Otherwise, your body won't even realize you have eaten.

9. Don't keep junk food snacks around the house. Eat healthy snacks like carrots, celery-even beef jerky. Avoid eating lots of fruit, which are high in carbohydrates; reasonable quantities are ok.

10. Eat lots of fiber. Fiber is great for helping you feel full as well as helping to cleanse your digestive track. The natural cleansing helps improve both your energy level and overall feeling of wellness.

11. Before going to a restaurant or party, think about what you will eat. When you get there, remember your plan. Alcoholic beverages can add lots of calories. Drink a glass of skim milk or some healthy snacks before you leave.

12. Don't get discouraged when you plateau. Realize this up front. Plateauing is healthy and necessary. During these times, focus on drinking more water and a little extra walking each day. Remember the three laws of success in dieting: "Consistency, consistency and consistency."

13 Use visualization. Picture yourself as you would like to be and focus on that picture as often as possible. Find an old photo that you like of yourself when you were thinner. Have copies made and put one in your purse or wallet, on the refrigerator door, at your desk, on the bathroom mirror and anywhere you can think of to help you visualize your new, thinner self.

14 Above all-WRITE IT DOWN. Keep an eating diary. Carry a piece of paper folded up or an index card in your pocket, purse or wallet and write down everything you eat during the day. Look up the foods in a reference book at home in the evening and add up the calories actually consumed. This is a great learning tool. You don't have to do this all the time, but it's good to do during the early stages and when you plateau.