1. Read The Labels Closely – You will often see labels such as “Half the calories!” or “Reduced fat!” Be careful with these and read the serving sizes. What a lot of these companies do is to reduce the serving size, not the actual amount of calories in their product. So yeah, you’re only consuming half the amount of calories on this cool new redone product, but that is because you are only eating half the amount as you normally would.
2. Take Your Time Eating – This one is pretty simple. Take your time while eating, don’t gulp tings down. If you have a nice leisurely meal, you will not eat as much as if you ate fast. Give your food time to digest and “kick in.” If you take your time, you will notice that only 2 pieces of pizza will fill you up than the 3 or 4 that would if you gulped them down.
3. Keep It Out Of Your House – You really don’t need that bag of candies, now do you? What’s the simplest way to insure that you don’t eat them? Don’t buy them. If you don’t have them sitting around your house than you will not be able to give into the temptation of eating them.
4. Have A Healthy Snack – It’s 4 in the afternoon and you are getting hungry. Dinner won’t be served for another 3 hours, and you need something to eat. Don’t take out the chips bag or reach into the cookie jar. Rather, make yourself a nice little snack. An apple and a small chunk of cheese tastes very nice. Some cheese and pretzels do, too. A granola bar. A couple cheese and crackers. Maybe a nutragrain bar. The idea is to eat a healthy snack that will fill you up until the next meal, and not be constantly snacking.
5. Walk Your Dog – Do you have a dog? Well, all dogs need to be walked, even though a lot of owners don’t do it. It not only provides great exercise, it is also refreshing and can provide other benefits. We’re not talking about a long mile walk (though if you can, bravo), maybe just up a couple streets and back. Give yourself and your dog a chance to stretch your legs and work off a couple of calories. Meet some other people while you’re at it and enjoy the outdoors!