11. CHEW SLOWLY & ENJOY YOUR FOOD
Guaranteed if you follow this little secret, You will feel full and more satisfied if you take the time to savor your food and chew it slower. Don’t get in the habit of eating while standing or eating quickly. Sit down preferably at the table and chew.
Eating slower like this will help you enjoy your food more, pay attention to what it is you are actually eating and get a better sense of when you are actually full.
12. EAT YOUR LARGER MEALS EARLY IN THE DAY AND SMALLER MEALS LATER
You will feel better and lose weight quicker if you eat a large breakfast and eat a smaller dinner. Also as you have been asleep for hours your body has been fasting and earlier in the day is the best time to refuel and provide your body with the energy that is needed.
You may also want to eat the majority of your carbs earlier in the day, saving a salad and lean meat protein for dinner.
Eating larger meals during the part of the day when you are most active will help you to feel satisfied throughout the day and curb cravings for unhealthy snacks.
13. CONSIDER EATING SALMON OR TUNA FOR BREAKFAST
Yes this may seem odd, but it is one way to work in Omega-3 fatty acids that are good for you and add some variety to your daily diet. After a few months you may tire of eating eggs and bacon for breakfast. Substituting fish will give you the protein and healthy fish oils you need.
You can try canned salmon or tuna in croquettes for a healthier sausage substitute. Or you could simply eat cold leftover salmon the next morning with dill sauce.
14. USE LETTUCE LEAVES INSTEAD OF BREAD
This tip can seem a bit odd at first but if you try it you will probably grow to love it. Instead of eating breads and buns with your sandwiches and hamburgers, why not try leaves of lettuce?
You can make a double cheeseburger with onions, pickles and tomato wrapped in a whole lettuce leaf. Or you can make tasty wrap sandwiches with lettuce instead of tortilla and bread.
This will help increase your good carb and fiber intake while giving you more variety in your diet.
15. EAT FRUIT FOR DESSERT
Okay, we all want a little dessert sometime, but how do you have your dessert and your low-carb diet too? Why not try cheese with fruit slices or berries? Better yet, why not try cream with berries? You could even try sweet pineapples or strawberries with cottage cheese?
Berries are sweet and high in fiber and nutrients and dairy products are high in protein. If your low-carb plan will allow it, this is a sweet and tasty alternative to more sugary desserts.
An added benefit is that the protein in the dairy products and the fiber in the fresh fruit will make these desserts more filling.
16. SKIP FRUIT JUICE AND EAT FRESH FRUIT
Fruit juice can be very tempting as a replacement for soda, but just how healthy is fruit juice? If you read the labels you will soon realize that in many of the commercial juices available at your local grocery store there is very little actual fruit juice.
What you will find is lots of sugar water and other ingredients. And as we know that all the excess sugar that we consume, if not used will convert into body fat.
Why not skip the juice altogether and eat a fresh piece of fruit? Not only does fresh fruit contain less sugar than juice, fresh fruit has fiber that is good for you and will help you feel fuller longer.
17. MEAL REPLACEMENTS IN MODERATION
New innovative meal replacement shakes and protein bars go on the market almost every day. It is an estimated 20 Billion dollar a year industry so it only makes sense. It is so convenient and in this day and age of always being on the run it is a lifesaver when trying to have a successful diet. These are all the tools of a successful diet so make use of them but keep it in moderation as these products often time contain high amounts of hydrogenated oil and sweeteners.
So be careful. The bars especially may be only slightly healthier than a Snickers candy bar. Occasionally, they may not be that bad for you but as a rule you probably don’t want to indulge in more than 2 meal replacement shakes or bars every day.
18. IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE IT PROBABLY IS
Low carb doughnuts and muffins? You can find these prepackaged low-carb labeled goods at your neighborhood grocery store and at many low-carb lifestyle specialty shops. That does not mean that you should make a habit out of eating them.
While low-carb pastries may be tempting remember that they still contain all of the usual carbohydrate suspects: sugar or a sugar substitute and flour.
They may be healthier than your typical muffin as an occasional treat, but remember to stick with the basics for continued low-carb success.
19. AT THE GROCERY STORE – SHOP THE OUTER AISLES
It will be easier to stick with your low-carb lifestyle if you learn the one common thread in all grocery store designs: the healthy foods are on the perimeter aisles.
Think about it, when you go into the grocery all of the healthy stuff, fruits, vegetables, meats, and dairy products are arranged around the stores walls. You only rarely need to enter the center aisle areas in those few stores that stock butter and cheese in the center near the frozen foods. For the most part all of the foods that you need for your low carb diet can be found on the perimeter of the grocery store.
Train yourself to start on one end of the outer aisle and work your way around. It will be much easier to avoid carb cravings and fill your basket with healthy items if you do so.
20. INVEST IN GOOD RECIPE BOOKS
Can’t figure out what to eat? Need some variety in your diet? Turn to a cookbook. Granted, not all recipes in a cookbook are low-carb fare, but you will be surprised at the number of low-carb and low-carb friendly recipes you can find in your standard Betty Crocker Cookbook.
Cookbooks are sometimes lifesavers and great reference tools that often contain handy tips on purchasing cuts of meat and preparing meats, fruits and vegetables in new and exciting ways.
Plus, new low-carb cookbooks are hitting the shelves all the time. So be sure to take advantage of these resources to try something new, different and delicious.
BONUS TIP:
21. TAKE A GOOD MULTIVITAMIN
We can’t all do it right all of the time. Even the most conscientious food combiner may miss some healthy vitamins, minerals and trace elements in their diets. To help make sure you get everything that you need, consider taking a good multivitamin.
Check with your doctor first for recommendations and you should be tested for anemia to see if you need a vitamin with iron. However, the longer you eat low-carb and the more red meat you eat, the less anemia will be a problem and you should be able to take vitamins with less iron.
Your success is totally up to you. Assuming that you are an otherwise healthy individual, your body will do its part. Just remember to adhere to the low-carb diet plan that is right for you and add some variety to your meals to help you stay faithful to your health and weight loss goals.
Conclusion
As we have reached the end of the 20 secrets to dieting success it is important to realize that this list is not exhaustive and definitely not all there is to know about dieting success. The most important thing with any sort of dieting is consistency and setting goals.
Without goals you are headed for disaster as you don’t know where you are going or headed. Just saying “ I want to lose weight” is simply not enough. You need to have a set number of where you want to get to and when you want to achieve it by. Only then will you achieve true and lasting dieting success
I hope you have enjoyed reading these tips and learned all the tools with which to achieve your goal of dieting success.
The key now is to implement what you have learned. Have fun and let’s make this diet a success!