how to eat and STILL lose weight!!

If you’re suffering through some miserable, deprivation-themed diet, you’re probably desperate to figure out how to eat and lose weight. There are only so many times you can eat a grapefruit, and celery sticks do not a diet make. So how can you eat more and still lose weight? I can help. Eating smart means you can eat more… here are 10 tips on how to eat and lose weight.

 

 

1. Try for Five, Part 1

Wait, what? You can eat more often than you’re eating now and still lose weight? It’s true! Eating smaller meals more often keeps you from being hungry, so you’re a lot less likely to be tempted to make a hunger-induced mistake (like, oh, cheesecake!)… eating more often also means your metabolism will kick into, and stay in, high gear.

 

2. Try for Five, Part 2

Just like you ought to try for five small meals a day rather than three big meals a day, you should also try for the other five — five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables. Incorporate these power-packed treats into your five small meals a day, and you’ll reap the benefits of natural sugar energy, antioxidants, and fiber (which makes you feel fuller, longer).

 

3. Snack Smart!

snacks are perfectly acceptable, and in fact encouraged, while dieting. So how do you eat and lose weight if you’re snacking? Well, remember those five servings fruits and veggies? You’ll be snacking smart on those, enjoying all the nutrients you need and the fiber (again!) that keeps you feeling full.

 

4. Prepare Ahead

All the healthy snack ideas and small, wholesome meal ideas in the world aren’t going to help you if you don’t stock your pantry and fridge with all the goodies you’ll need to make them. Make a list of all the things you need, and keep them stocked.

 

5. Learn How to Shop

Hey, you know how to shop! So what am I talking about? This is a grocery shopping tip, one that’s as simple as steering your shopping cart in a particular pattern, from the outside aisles of the store directly to the check-out, avoiding the inner aisles altogether. Why? Because the perimeter of the store is where all the good stuff is — the whole grains, lean protein, low-fat dairy, and fresh fruits and veggies — and the inner aisles contain all the junk food. So while you may have nailed the Fall Boot Shopping and Handbag Co-ordination categories, this Grocery Shopping hint is another way to eat more and lose weight.

 

6. Learn Serving Sizes

Let’s try an experiment: grab a box of cereal and a bowl, then pour what you think is one serving. Now measure that against what the nutrition label on the box says is a serving. Chances are, you poured out about two servings of cereal… which is fine, but if you’re counting calories, you’ll need to know how many servings to count! Until you learn to eye serving sizes, heed this tip to eat more and lose weight by measuring your servings.

 

7. Don’t Deprive Yourself!

Deprivation diets don’t work, mostly because we’re humans, after all. We crave what we crave. And if we constantly deprive ourselves, we’re actually more likely to cheat on our diets in a significant and horrible way. Rather than attempting total deprivation, try to learn moderation. An entire dish of chocolate gelato every day isn’t a good idea, but a single scoop once every 2 week won’t hurt… and won’t wreck your diet.

 

8. Count ALL The Calories!

Sometimes you’ll eat more and lose weight just by taking two things off your plate: cheese and condiments. Here’s an example: a plain hamburger contains 240 calories, while a cheeseburger contains 300 calories… that’s 60 extra calories, just because of ketchup and cheese! Who knew?

 

9. Swap for Whole Grains

There are lots of reasons to swap your bland, flimsy white bread for wholesome, tasty whole grain bread (taste is obviously a consideration!)… but most importantly, whole grain bread is loaded with valuable fiber and other nutrients, while white bread is literally bleached of them. Take the swap one step farther and switch to whole grain pasta too!

 

10. Swap The Soda!

Plain and simple, soda has no place in a healthy diet, so my second weight loss tip for women in their 20’s is to skip the soda! Soda is loaded with calories, most of them from sugar. And if you’re thinking you can just swap the regular soda and drink diet soda instead, think again. A recent study  found that people who drink diet soda actually gain 43% more weight than people who don’t drink diet soda. If you want to eat more and lose weight, swap the soda for something better, like water!

Now that you know how to eat more and still lose weight, I hope you’re feeling a little more optimistic about your weight loss… there’s no reason to deprive yourself or starve yourself, especially with all of these amazing tips. Which of these ideas surprised you, and which did you already know? Do you have any other tips to share? Please do!