Posted by Journey

There are as many ways to lose weight as there are people with different body types and eating habits. Nevertheless, some of the more effective weight loss tips include:

1) Eat breakfast. Yes, it’s boring, and advice you’ve already heard from your mom, but skipping breakfast only leads to increased caloric intake later in the day as you attempt to get your blood sugar back on track. Rushed in the morning? Pack a “breakfast bag” the night before and eat it on your way to work. You’ll feel better, guaranteed.

2) Turn off the TV. TV watching burns almost no calories, plus it bombards you with images of people with perfect bodies juxtaposed with advertising images of high fat foods.

3) Manage your stress. Although the jury is still out on the direct link between stress and body mass, we do know that spending more time in the throes of the “flight or fight” response produces a hormonal flood in our bodies that makes our metabolism of food less effective.

4) Make peace with your body. Don’t think of dieting as an “assault” on your fat or a way to fix aspects of your figure that you don’t like. Think of dieting as nurturance and work on accepting yourself, even if you’re not yet satisfied with your health.

5) Keep a food log. Although dieting is a little more complicated than “calories in, calories out” you can’t really address your food consumption until you have a clear idea of what you are actually eating every day.

6) Keep an exercise log and add a few steps to your everyday life, every day. There are lots of simple ways to increase activity without being tormented. A simple act such as parking further from your destination instead of circling the parking lot to be as close as possible can have a positive impact on your health — and your gas consumption!

7) Address emotional eating. Break the cycle of emotional eating by finding other ways to sooth unruly emotions.

Eat to increase metabolism. High fiber foods take longer to digest and therefore help both with blood sugar regulation and feeling fuller longer.

9) Beware of fat removal alternatives. Do you really need to lose weight for health reasons, or are you simply frustrated with certain aspects of your physical appearance? If you’re troubled by extra fat deposits on the thighs, behind your arms, and “love handles,” you may have heard of an anti-fat injection called lipodissolve. Lipodissolve, sometimes referred to as injection lipolysis, is relatively non-invasive and involves injecting fat-dissolving drugs into the body to remove small volumes of fat. But you should do your homework on this treatment. The drugs used, phosphatidylcholine and sodium deoxycholate, are not FDA approved.

In fact, in response to media inquiries, the FDA has warned, “Consumers need to know that this is a buyer-beware situation. These are unapproved drugs for unapproved uses and we can’t guarantee consumers’ safety.” If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. For example, while it might be tempting to try lipo-dissolve or other types of “fat dissolving” injections that promise to make fat disappear with just a few “pin prick” procedures, check out the safety record, FDA approval status and look for cold hard facts about how effective they are. Pretty pictures don’t count.

10) Change your shopping habits. Shop the outside aisles first (where the fruit and vegetables are located) and don’t go shopping when you’re hungry or feeling particularly deprived. If you have trouble resisting the call of sugary treats and extra loaves of fresh baked bread at the grocery store, try one of the online shopping services offered by large supermarkets. It will make it easier to stick to your list, saving you not just calories but money too.

11) Get support. We are social creatures, and eating together is a strong bond. Seek out friends who are also concerned with health and nutrition.