Simple Slimming

If you don't want to go to the expense of buying a proper program (though it is the preferred method - the good ones are excellent!), then here are some basics to set you on the right track.

1. Try to avoid all pre-prepared and packaged food items. They might be convenient, but they are not good nutrition. Give the freezers and the centre isles in your supermarket a miss. Do your own cooking where ever possible.
   
   
2. Stay away from all takeaway food, especially if it has been cooked in fat (e.g. fish & chips). This includes Macdonalds, Kentucky Fry, etc.
   
   
3. Sugar is the scurge of our modern diet. Avoid soft drinks like the plague, especially Coca Cola. All soft drinks are overloaded with sugar, a 375ml can of Coke has thirteen teaspoons of sugar! Also, the diet and zero versions are just as bad - the sweeteners they use are carcinogenic and not good for your health.
   
   
4. Your diet should major on fruit and vegetables - you can eat them to appetite with no weight penalty. Make dinner each night focus on vegetables and cut back on meat. Eat more fish if you can. If you want a snack between meals, choose fruit.
   
   
5. Cut back on alcohol. Your body turns alcohol into sugar and will add fat to your body.
   
   
6. Take at least some exercise daily. A half hour brisk walk is great, one hour is better. If you are not used to walking, start with ten minutes and work up. Walk or cycle shorter distances rather than use the car. Walk up stairs instead of using the elevator when ever practical. Every little bit helps.
   
   
7. Stay away from the bakery, they make nothing that is good for you. Also cut back on deserts, sweets, chocolate bars.
   
   
8. Avoid chippies and nibbles. They are designed to taste good rather than be good nutrition.
   
   
9. Years ago a 9" plate was the standard. Today it's a 12" plate and we often pile it so high it could feed three people. So try using a 9" plate to help keep the portion modest.
   
   
10. Never watch TV while you are eating, the distraction means you do not notice when you are full and carry on eating as a mechanical function. Reading is bad too.
    
    

These are 10 simple things you can do. If you follow these basics, you will probably find you will make progress. MOST IMPORTANT - use this site to find a friend who can act as a buddy. You help and encourage them and they will help you.

Best wishes for your weight loss efforts.