50 Tips for Maintaining Weight

If you add one of these tips a week to your daily-- beware of loving "sabotage."
routine, in one year you will have developed some* Take a walk when you're stressed or angry.
very healthy habits!* Eat two dairy products a day -- be aware of
* Eliminate one tablespoon of fat a day and youyour calcium intake. Select low-fat or nonfat dairy
will lose 10 pounds in a year.products to reduce fat calories.
* Limit alcohol consumption -- each serving* Order dressings and sauces on the side and
contains 100 to 150 calories.apply them with a fork.
* Eat fruit at least twice a day.* Increase your fiber intake -- chose whole-grain
* Keep a food diary about your foodchoices,breads, cereals and pasta products, legumes, and
indicating how hungry you are each time you eat.raw fruits and vegetables.
Pay particular attention to your level of hunger* Add slow-down food to your meals -- crunchy
when you snack.vegetables, a large glass of water, hot soup or
* Perform aerobic exercise a minimum of 30beverages, or fresh fruit to fillyou up.
minutes three times a week. Log this on your* Cook with chicken broth, nonstick cooking
food diary. Gradually increase the length andspray, wine or water.
frequency of your workouts.* Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day.
* Weigh yourself no more than twice a week.* Shrink portion sizes of meats and starches, and
* Slow down your eating speed -- make mealspile on the vegetables.
last at least 20 minutes. Try eating with the other* Ask how the food is prepared when ordering in
hand or taking a sip of water between bites.a restaurant.
* Use smaller plates.* Choose low-fat frozen yogurt or frozen juice
* Bring your lunch to work at least three times abars instead of ice cream. Be careful of the
week.portion size -- these foods still have calories!
* Start to strength train twice a week. Building* Select clear broth- or tomato-based soups over
muscle increases your metabolism and forceswhite soups.
your body to use fat, not muscle, when you're* Keep the junk foods out of sight in your home
cutting back on calories.andworkplace.
* Stop eating while watching television.* Take walking shoes, an exercise band or a
* Have someone else put away leftovers.jump rope with you when you travel to keep up
* Buy a good low-fat, low-calorie cookbook orwith your exercise.
magazine subscription.* If you?re getting off track, try to pre-plan your
* Try two new reduced-calorie recipes a month.food intake for the next three days by writing it
* Eat breakfast daily.down.
* Don't read while eating.* Buy frozen diet dinners with 10 grams of fat or
* Have a sweet treat once a week.less and 800 milligrams of sodium or less.
* Keep healthful snacks at home and at work.* Avoid batter coating or breading.
* Limit your cheese consumption to reduce fat* Use two egg whites in baking instead of one
and saturated fat -- use cheese and lunchmeatwhole egg.
with less than 5 grams of fat per ounce.* Stretch during television commercials -- arm
* Add calorie counting or fat-gram counting tocircles, leg lifts, head tilts, etc.
your food diary for a few weeks if your weight* Eliminate the butter on your rolls or popcorn.
loss is slowing down. Maybe you're missing* Learn to say "no" gracefully when a friend or
something.relative offers you a second helping.
* Substitute herbs and spices for salt.* Choose pizza with vegetable toppings rather
* Shop for food when you are not hungry, andthan high-fat meats, such as sausage and
use a shopping list.pepperoni. Ask for less cheese. Have you ever
* Replace ground beef with ground turkey or soytried tomato pie?
crumbles in dishes such as spaghetti. Don't skip* Choose cooking techniques that keep fat to a
the protein in your meals; find a leaner substitute.minimum, such as baking, grilling, broiling, roasting
* Eat three vegetables a day.or steaming.
* Always eat sitting down.* Add more low-fat soy products to your diet
* Request that your family and friends respectfor the soy protein and health benefits.
your efforts to maintain your weight and keep fit