Don’t deny your cravings. Decide what your favorite must-have-can’t-live-without-food is and include it in your diet. If you love chocolate then include a few Hershey kisses as a snack. Chocolate is good for you by the way. It contains iron. A recent study has shown a small amount of chocolate ingested every day lowers blood pressure. If you have to have something salty, choose air popped pop corn. And if you want creamy and sweet go for nonfat sherbet. You can even have a full calorie full fat treat just keep the portion small.
Give in to avocados. If you love guacamole then have it, just don’t add the sour cream Use low fat baked chips, celery or carrot sticks as your dippers. Avocado has the most fiber of any fruit or vegetable and that’s good. Fiber takes longer to digest which stabilizes blood sugar and it fills you up. If you can’t stand the sight of avocados pick another fiber rich food such as fresh berries, spinach, or nuts
Protein is your pal. It takes more work for your body to burn off protein than other foods. Make sure the protein source is low fat rather than high in fat so you don’t negate the effects.
Three apples a day help you lose more weight. Apples are fiber rich and contain pectin which helps you feel satisfied. Studies have shown that women who follow the same exact diet lose more weight when they ate a small apple before each meal.
Three servings of calcium rich foods help block fat absorption. So take a glass of skim milk, a serving of nonfat cottage cheese and a carton of nonfat yogurt and you’re there. Unfortunately calcium from supplements doesn’t have the same effect as calcium found naturally in foods.
Don’t eat alone. Share your meals with family or with friends. The tendency is to eat less when we eat with people we know. Friendly gossip with co-workers, or chatting about the day at supper with your significant other slows down how fast you eat. The faster you eat the more you have a tendency to gain weight.
Sleep in to a slimmer you. Sleep deprivation causes stress and stress cause weight gain. Make sure you get your beauty rest of at least seven hours per night. A study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that women who slept less than five hours per night were 32% more likely to gain weight (33 pounds or more) than women who sleep seven hours.