Top Ten Diet Tips - First Diet Tip For January 2007

Top Ten Diet Tips - First Tip For January

Every month we will post the Top Ten Diet Tips from our extensive reading and research. We are only interested in information that we feel is healthy and realistic in helping you to reach your weight loss goals. However, keep in mind that this is only our opinion. What works for us, may not work for another and nothing posted here should ever be viewed as medical advice. It's really important that you visit your doctor and make sure that you are in good health and can implement any diet safely. If you read something here and implement it, you do so at your sole discretion.

It's January, "National Make A Diet Resolution", right? How about if this year we actually succeed with our weight loss goals? Let's get healthy, slim, and great looking in 2007! I'm ready, are you?

Our First Diet Tip: Eat, Diet, and Exercise To Build Muscle, Which Will Burn More Fat.It is so important to eat in such a way as to maintain and encourage the growth of more muscle. Your muscles are like the little internal fat burners in your body, the more you have the higher and more efficient your metabolism will be. If you just do this one thing this year, you WILL lose weight...period.

Men don't usually have a problem with the idea of gaining muscle, but women often do. Women often believe that if they focus on gaining muscle, they will look bulky, perhaps like the professional body builders, but this just isn't true. Women who eat to gain muscle and engage in weight lifting firm their bodies, slim their bodies and also strengthen their bone mass!

2. Water
We hear it all the time, that we must drink at least eight 8 ounce glasses of water. Did you know that you will improve your weight loss by as much as 25% if you drink the water your body needs? Also, water helps to lubricate your joints making it easier on them when you exercise. Water flushes your body of fat. It is absolutely necessary for succesful weight loss.

3. If You Never Exercise
Exercise is learned habit. I was told to look at it like brushing my teeth. In other words as something I do because it's healthy and something that I would never consider skipping. Absolutely necessary for good health is 30 minutes of aerobic activity a day, every day. Okay, but say you haven't been exercising and just really don't love the idea...yet. Start small. Make a small goal to walk 5 minutes a day. Once around the block, or on the tread mill. (Remove all the clothing that you've stacked on it over the years.) Start small and build up. It won't take long before you will WANT to do more.

4. Use 1% Milk instead of full fat milk. It's healthier and you will lower calories and fat per day.

5. Do a stand up stomach crunch. Hold your stomach in very tightly and count to 20 slowly. You have just done a ab crunch. Try to add stomach crunches several times a day. When you are standing in line, on the telephone, talking to the boss, etc.

6. Trade regular size plates for small plates. Smaller plates will help you with portion control.

7. Vary your diet by the week. It actually helps to stick to certain foods over a period of time and limit the types of foods you eat. However, this is best done by the week. Every week, pick a day to outline the foods you will eat the following week and change the variety by the week.

8. Plan your meals. Write out your meals for a week, including snacks. A plan will help you stay on track. However, keep in mind that weight loss is not a straight line of progress. Life has a way of changing our best plans. So be flexible. If the meal plan changes, make the best choices you can and then move on. Don't beat yourself up for going off the plan.

9. Watch TV Without Food. So often we associate TV with food and it becomes an ingrained habit. Consider starting a hobby that you go do while watching TV. Knitting, cross stitch, ceramics, etc. Keep your hands busy!

10. Every week give yourself a treat. Have a treat day, instead of having a treat everyday, have one special treat a week. You will look forward to it and it will mean more to you if you do it once in awhile.

Look for our Top Ten Diet Tips For February!