Weight loss tips

1. Read food labels

Paying attention to food labels is an absolute must if you want to lose weight. Counting calories is impossible without this skill. You should know how to find a food's caloric content and its serving size. Comparing labels is essential for making informed food choices.

2. Snack

It's important to maintain blood sugar levels by eating about every three hours. If it's been five or six hours since your last meal, you need to start planning snacks. Getting too hungry will backfire on your efforts to eat healthier and control portions. Aim for a healthful, satisfying snack, such as an apple and some reduced fat cheddar cheese -- the apple is high in fiber and low in calories, and the cheese will provide protein for an energy boost and a sense of satiety.

3. Water Water Water

The rule of thumb of eight glasses a day is a great goal, but why not aim for even more? Water can help with weight loss in several ways: First, if you tend to carry "water weight" (i.e. you're often bloated), drinking more water can help alleviate this problem. Second, replacing high-sugar, high-cal drinks -- such as soda -- with water can cut hundreds of calories. Lastly, staying well-hydrated will help you feel more satisfied (which may prevent overeating) and improves your overall sense of well-being.

4. Don’t Skip Meals

Skipping meals is one of those dieting mistakes most of us make at one time or another. But meal skipping does your diet more harm than good. You'll be more likely to eat too much later on, plus your body may go into "starvation mode" if you skip too often -- which will cause it to actually hang on to weight rather than lose!

5. Get Exercising

Working in some exercise each day will give your metabolism a boost. Anything that gets your heart pumping faster will do. Start out today with a brisk walk or a bike ride. Work your way up from 10 minutes a day to 30 minutes a day and you'll make a significant difference to your overall health, fitness, and weight loss in a matter of months ... or even weeks!

6. Start a Diary

Keeping a food diary, even if it's just jotting down what, when, and why you eat in an old spiral notebook is an excellent first step toward losing weight. You can also keep track of your exercise efforts, too. Take a look at it every so often to find problems areas and identify changes to be made.

7. Eating Whole grains

Eating more whole grains -- as well as more produce -- could be the best health and weight loss decision you ever make. Not only do grains, fruits and veggies provide nutrients you may be missing that improve your health and possibly reduce disease-risk, they're automatically low in calories and fat, and high in fiber, so you can eat more of them, more often, and not gain weight. The fiber in whole grains and produce will help you feel fuller longer, which can in turn help you better control portions and avoid overeating.

8. Size isn’t everything

Paying attention to portion sizes may be the most eye-opening weight loss experience you ever have. For example, take a look at the serving size listed on your favourite pasta. Measure out this serving. Place it on the dish you usually use. Is it miniscule compared to your usual serving? When you begin measuring portions you will realize just how oversized our idea of a "helping" is and where all those extra calories come from that are causing you to gain weight.