Introduction: Losing weight is never easy, that's why a lot of people choose the easy way out and try quick solutions. However, You can permanently lose weight with natural methods, and this can start by changing the way you eat. While it may take some time and effort on your part, the results that you will get will all be worth it eventually.
Difficulty: 3
Things You'll Need: pad for listing, plates of smaller sizes, food measuring instruments and strong determination
Step 1. The most important place to start when you change your eating habits is right in your kitchen. Your refrigerator and kitchen pantry, at that. Now have a look at yours. What does it contain? Most refrigerators and pantries contain a lot of unhealthy foods, and this might hold true for you as well.
Step 2. Hide all unhealthy foods. While you necessarily don't need to chuck out all the unhealthy contents (cheeses, butter, soda, sugary drinks, etc) out of your refrigerator, but of course you can do so if you wish - and that would be better. What you can do, however, is to rearrange the contents in your refrigerator, in such a way that you keep the unhealthy foods out of sight. Place all healthy foods (if you don't have healthy foods yet, then now is time to shop for them - this, we will talk about in the second step) in front and in plain sight so that there are better chances of you picking them over unhealthy ones.
Step 3. The next thing to do after cleaning your refrigerator is to purchase healthy food products and items and stock them up. Before going out to do the groceries, take out your note pad and list down what you usually need to buy. Scan through your list again and try to see if there are items there which you can cross out or replace with alternatives that are healthier. Bring this list with you every time you buy food.
Step 4. Be sure to practice good shopping habits everytime you go grocery shopping. This means strictly sticking to your list and learning to read and compare labels of different food products and brands as well. Learn how to do these things, and master them.
Step 5. The next important step, of course is preparing food. How you prepare your food can play a role on how healthy your meals are, so make use of cooking methods that are healthy like steaming, boiling, grilling, baking and roasting foods. Don't forget that you can also serve food raw (think salads.) To make food tasty, you don't need heavy creams or msg - laden seasonings. Herbs and spices can do the trick without taking the health away from your healthy foods.
Step 6. Serve Food Right. Lastly, you should also learn how to serve food right. Food should be served (and eaten) in small servings throughout the whole day. You should also start controlling the portions of what you eat in order to avoid over eating. Use smaller plates and measuring spoons or cups if you have to. If you find yourself hungry mid - day, snack on some fruits or vegetable sticks or other healthy items which you will now definitely easily find in your rearranged refrigerator or pantry!
Tips - Do the groceries with a full stomach. This helps you avoid the temptation of grabbing all sorts of food items and stuffing them into your cart.
- Plan your grocery shopping route and begin at the fresh products section. Fill up your grocery cart with fruits and vegetables in season. Making healthy items your priority leaves you with lesser cart space for unhealthier items.
- Kepp some fresh fruits and vegetables (pre cut, if you like) in your refrigerator as quick snacks. This is a great alternative to chips and cookies for snacks.
Warnings - Eating habits can be the most difficult things to change, so make sure that you shop and prepare a variety of healthy foods in order to avoid getting bored with what you're currently eating. There are numerous recipes for healthy and delicious meals, and you can try them out, making your eating experience not just a healthy one but an exciting one as well.
Resources - www.weightloss.about.com
Difficulty: 3
Things You'll Need: pad for listing, plates of smaller sizes, food measuring instruments and strong determination
Step 1. The most important place to start when you change your eating habits is right in your kitchen. Your refrigerator and kitchen pantry, at that. Now have a look at yours. What does it contain? Most refrigerators and pantries contain a lot of unhealthy foods, and this might hold true for you as well.
Step 2. Hide all unhealthy foods. While you necessarily don't need to chuck out all the unhealthy contents (cheeses, butter, soda, sugary drinks, etc) out of your refrigerator, but of course you can do so if you wish - and that would be better. What you can do, however, is to rearrange the contents in your refrigerator, in such a way that you keep the unhealthy foods out of sight. Place all healthy foods (if you don't have healthy foods yet, then now is time to shop for them - this, we will talk about in the second step) in front and in plain sight so that there are better chances of you picking them over unhealthy ones.
Step 3. The next thing to do after cleaning your refrigerator is to purchase healthy food products and items and stock them up. Before going out to do the groceries, take out your note pad and list down what you usually need to buy. Scan through your list again and try to see if there are items there which you can cross out or replace with alternatives that are healthier. Bring this list with you every time you buy food.
Step 4. Be sure to practice good shopping habits everytime you go grocery shopping. This means strictly sticking to your list and learning to read and compare labels of different food products and brands as well. Learn how to do these things, and master them.
Step 5. The next important step, of course is preparing food. How you prepare your food can play a role on how healthy your meals are, so make use of cooking methods that are healthy like steaming, boiling, grilling, baking and roasting foods. Don't forget that you can also serve food raw (think salads.) To make food tasty, you don't need heavy creams or msg - laden seasonings. Herbs and spices can do the trick without taking the health away from your healthy foods.
Step 6. Serve Food Right. Lastly, you should also learn how to serve food right. Food should be served (and eaten) in small servings throughout the whole day. You should also start controlling the portions of what you eat in order to avoid over eating. Use smaller plates and measuring spoons or cups if you have to. If you find yourself hungry mid - day, snack on some fruits or vegetable sticks or other healthy items which you will now definitely easily find in your rearranged refrigerator or pantry!
Tips - Do the groceries with a full stomach. This helps you avoid the temptation of grabbing all sorts of food items and stuffing them into your cart.
- Plan your grocery shopping route and begin at the fresh products section. Fill up your grocery cart with fruits and vegetables in season. Making healthy items your priority leaves you with lesser cart space for unhealthier items.
- Kepp some fresh fruits and vegetables (pre cut, if you like) in your refrigerator as quick snacks. This is a great alternative to chips and cookies for snacks.
Warnings - Eating habits can be the most difficult things to change, so make sure that you shop and prepare a variety of healthy foods in order to avoid getting bored with what you're currently eating. There are numerous recipes for healthy and delicious meals, and you can try them out, making your eating experience not just a healthy one but an exciting one as well.
Resources - www.weightloss.about.com
About the Author:
We can help you find info on your portable laptop! Check out some of our other advice on your laptop!
