Weigh Yourself Monthly Weighing yourself daily is a recipe for frustration and doesn’t yield useful information. It’s more important to look for a long-term trend with weigh-ins once or twice a month. If your goal is to lose 1 or 2 pounds a week, you’ll be satisfied to see those full-pound drops when you step on the [...]

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Chill on the Drive-Through The drive-through is convenient after a hectic day, and you can always order the salad or other healthier option. But once you’re there, can you resist that milkshake or other treat? And if you allow yourself the ease of fast food once, it could become a habit. According to one long-term study, [...]

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Watch the Drinks When counting calories, many of us tend to overlook what’s in our drinks. This is a big mistake when you consider that some fancy coffees and alcoholic beverages have more than 500 calories. Even the calories in fruit juice and soda can add up quickly. What’s worse is that liquid calories don’t curb [...]

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Ease Up on Low-Fat Low-fat products can play an important role in your diet. Just remember that low-fat isn’t the same as low-calorie and it’s not a license to take second and third helpings. If you pile your plate with low-fat cake, you may end up eating more calories than if you had a smaller slice [...]

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Plan Your Snacks While mindless snacking can pad your waistline, thoughtful snacking may do just the opposite. People who eat several small meals and snacks a day are more likely to control hunger and lose weight. Snacking helps keep your metabolism in high gear, especially if the snacks are protein-rich. Nuts are a good, high-protein choice, and [...]

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Lose the Snacks Maybe you count calories meticulously at every meal, but what about all those nibbles in between? There’s the bag of pretzels at your desk, the little slice of cake at an office party, the taste of your son’s ice cream cone. All of this mindless munching adds up and could sabotage an otherwise [...]

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Don’t Rely on Crash Diets Determined to lose 10 pounds fast, you turn to a crash diet. Perhaps your plan calls for nothing but grapefruit or cabbage soup each day. You slash your daily calories to fewer than 1,000 — and sure enough, the pounds melt away. But when you eat so few calories, you train [...]

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How Much Meat Is Enough? A 3-ounce portion size = A deck of cards or the palm of your hand (minus fingers) Lean protein in every meal — like fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, beans — can help with weight loss. But you only need 5-6 ounces in a day. So an egg at breakfast or ¼ cup [...]

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Watch Your Dairy Servings 1 portion size of cheese = four dice That’s 1 serving of dairy. Cheese is high in calcium — and fat. Try low-fat cheeses — they have gotten better in taste and texture. But portion control is still an issue. A healthy diet allows just 2 to 3 servings of low-fat dairy. Michael Daras var conveythis_src [...]

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Cut That Baked Potato Down 1 small potato = the size of a computer mouse That’s 1 vegetable serving. For weight loss, remember this: Restaurants serve giant potatoes with toppings — which means lots of extra calories. Eat a small portion, and take the rest home as leftovers. Choose a sweet potato. It has vitamin C, potassium, calcium, vitamin A, [...]

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