Are you looking for a way to lose weight without torturing your body? Now that summer is here, it’s all right to want to slim down, as long as you’re doing it the healthy way. You asked for it, so here it is: ten quick tips to help you shed some pounds without crash dieting or starving yourself.

  1. Drink water. It’s refreshing, calorie-free, and the best thing for your body, so drink up!
  2. Cut fried food. If you want to see results fast, this is one surefire way to do it. Since almost everything that we eat can be fried nowadays, this step is not for the faint of heart. Switch to baked or grilled to eat healthier.
  3. Watch sugar intake. This is another good step to take if you want a quick payoff. If you can’t cut out sweet stuff completely, consider switching to sugar-free products. NOTE: Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that, like sugar, should be consumed in moderation. As with any dietary changes, be sure to consult your physician on this one if you have any questions.
  4. Have fruit for dessert. Go to the grocery store and buy pineapples, peaches, strawberries, grapes, and other naturally sweet fruits. After you finish a meal, have some fruit instead of a sugary dessert–you’ll satisfy your sweet tooth without packing on the pounds.
  5. Eat when you’re hungry, not when you’re bored. This tip hits home for me. Whenever you’re craving some food, ask yourself if you’re really hungry. Chances are, you’re just looking for something to do, so watch a movie or go for a walk or something instead. Occupy your mind instead of stuffing your body with unnecessary calories.
  6. One serving of carbs per day. Yet another tip to help you lose weight fast. I don’t recommend cutting out carbs completely because your body will go into withdrawal, but limiting yourself to one serving a day will make plenty of a difference.
  7. Protein at every meal. Eggs at breakfast, turkey at lunch, chicken at dinner… well, you get the picture. Having a little protein with every meal is a good way to help keep you full and kick-start your metabolism.
  8. Fruit, nuts, veggies. Focus on these three foods, and you’ll be just fine. Be careful about putting processed food in your body, and try to stick to natural foods like these.
  9. No eating after dinner. Make your last meal of the day a big one, and then don’t snack afterward. Most of the time, the late-night food choices you’ll make won’t be healthy ones. Also, the fast tells your body to start getting ready for bed, so not eating late will help you sleep better.
  10. No snacking between meals. If you’re having protein at every meal, you shouldn’t be hungry, anyway. If you absolutely must eat a snack, however, go with nuts or carrots. They have fiber and protein to fill you up without tons and tons of calories.

Note: Be sure to consult a licensed medical practitioner before making any extreme changes to your diet.

What Do You Think?

What do you think of these tips? Have you tried any of them?

Miscellaneous

9 Comments

  1. avatar Kelsie says:

    Ugh. NO. Too much protein will get stored as fat. Not enough carbs and you WILL get tired and not have enough energy to fuel your workouts. Everything you hear about low carb diets is BS, they’re actually linked to breast and colon cancer! Eat veggies, fruits, and WHOLE grains. 20% of your calories should come from protein.

    I have a masters in Dietetics. Currently working on my PhD. This isn’t just garbage that I picked up from reading a Cosmo. This is real, solid information.

  2. avatar Jessica Prieto says:

    Well this is what I USED to do before I had to start doing other things but I lost around 6 pounds in 3 weeks. I used to excercise with alot of cardio , around 1 hour of cardio, then weights and things liek that, and this was all from 9 am to 11 am and then when I got home I wold have 1 portion of chicken made in a pan with no oil whatsoever nad no sauces, a HUGE portion of salad wiht no sauces, it was almost always lettuce , onion, and tomato with lemon and salt, its basically how we do it in COlombia . And a serving of white rice. i would eat fruits only in the morning before excercising and I wouldnt eat fruits after 3 pm. Lots of water and whole grain cereal fro breakfast, or sometimes eggs with toast :p . This all worked wonders :)

  3. avatar Dorothy says:

    what does 1 serving of carbs mean? you mean only one meal with carbs?

  4. avatar celina says:

    I think what she meant with #10 was more like “Don’t grab that bag of chips in the middle of the day!” Definitely something I’m guilty of. I eat really well in my meals, but those snacks sure come back to bite you in your (growing) butt. I don’t want to lose weight, but when I eat badly, I have such low energy and it usually puts me in a foul mood (I’m kinda sensitive lol).

    Anyway, great article!

  5. avatar Jamie says:

    This article makes a lot of sense. I definitely don’t agree with number 10, though. Any healthy “diet” will tell you to stick to smaller meals with snacks in between to keep your metabolism running consistently throughout the day.

    Along the lines of number 4… Fruit smoothies are AMAZING and really simple… Bananas, raspberries, blueberries and pineapple, with a few scoops of vanilla yogurt and ice is my favorite. It’s a great snack or dessert, and if you’ve got local berry fields or stands, it’s pretty reasonable on the price too.

  6. avatar Ema says:

    Thank you so much for this article, bmmorgan! <3

  7. avatar ForestsBabe says:

    Absolutly true! But I kinda disagree with number 10, you should eat small snacks in between meals to keep your metabolism always running. (:

  8. avatar Dawn says:

    That boredom one hits home with me too. In fact, while reading this, I was thinking, “Hm, I wonder if I have any Pop Tarts left?”, and now I realize I’m not really hungry! Kudos to you :D

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