Tips for Weight Loss Success

1. Set reasonable goals. 
2. Eat only in one place, such as your kitchen table.  This will avoid distractions and allow you to concentrate on your meal and enjoy your food.  Avoid eating in front of the TV, this will create a new habit and your mind will connect watching TV and eating.
3. Find things to do instead of eating; like a hobby, get out of the house, and keep yourself busy.
4. Never go to the grocery store hungry, you will be more tempted to buy junk foods and foods not on your plan. Shop with a list.
5. Brush your teeth after you finish eating.  If the taste of the food is gone, you will not be as hungry.
6. Make less food look like more.  Place your food on a smaller plate to make it appear as if you have more food. Pile on the veggies to satisfy your desire for large amounts of food.
7. Store your leftovers in containers you cannot see through.  This will prevent you from snacking every time you open the refrigerator.  Out of sight, out of mind.
8. Before you eat, ask yourself “are you really hungry?”  You may be influenced by sight, smell, sound, or you may be thirsty instead of hungry.  Make sure you are really hungry before you eat.
9. Drink Eight 8 ounce glasses of water daily. This will increase your feeling of fullness.  Drink a glass of water before every meal and every time you feel hungry.
10. Eat slowly and cut food into small pieces.  Put your fork down between bites and savor the flavor.  Remember to talk, talk, talk. It takes about 15 minutes before your brain get the signal that your stomach is full, so the longer it takes to eat, the less you will eat.
11. Have a snack of fruit or vegetables between meals if you are hungry.  The items provide you with fiber and nutrients and are low in calories.
12. Record your weight and keep a graph.  There are many new scales on the market that track your progress for you, consider upgrading your scale. Try to weight in at the same time, with the same clothes on. 
13. Do not dwell on your body size and shape now; concentrate on how good you are going to look and feel by following a sensible eating plan.
14. Do not eat or drink after 8pm.
15. Keep fresh fruit and cut up veggies in your refrigerator so when you feel the urge to eat, you can grab something healthy.
16. Never skip a meal; it will slow down your metabolism in the long run.
17. While cooking, do not taste the foods, those calories add up.
18. Find alternative activities during your most difficult times of the day.  If you know that 5:00PM is the hardest time of the day for you, go out for a walk at that time, change your habits.
19. Incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Walk instead of using the elevator, park father in the parking lot, walk instead of drive.
20. Eat out in restaurants that serve foods allowed in your plan. Check out the menu online if available before you go and have a plan when you arrive.
21. Do not serve your food family style at the table, it will only encourage you to have seconds.
22. Learn to eat to satiation, not until you are stuffed.  Leave the table a little hungry then congratulate yourself for your good sense and willpower.
23. You do not have to clean the plate.  Save your left-overs for lunch tomorrow or throw it away.
24. If you must have snacks in the house, keep them in a place where you do not see them every time you walk into the kitchen.
25. Eat a cup of soup with meals (fat-free chicken broth, veggie soup, etc)
26. Be assertive, train yourself to say “No, thank you” when you need to. There is no reason to eat just because someone is pressuring you.
27. Listen to your stomach and learn to tell the difference between genuine hunger and external cues for eating.
28. Do not automatically reach for food without asking yourself if you are really hungry
29. Do not eat anything boring.  If you do not like what you are eating you will be less likely to feel satisfied
30. Never let yourself get too hungry between meals.  If a meal is delayed past 4 or 5 hours since the last time you ate, have a small snack between meals.
31. To keep from munching while cooking, chew sugarless gum
32. Stay out of the kitchen except to prepare meals and eat to avoid food cues in the kitchen