4 Easy and Proven Diet Tips

Most everyone recognizes the importance of maintaining a healthy weight; but for some of us, we have no idea of where to begin. Holman Honda, your neighborhood new Honda car dealer, serving the Weston, Ft. Lauderdale and Deerfield Beach, Florida areas, wants to help and has provided a few tips below one can use to get started on a healthy track.

Whether you want to lose that last 6 pounds or 60, losing weight is not a simple endeavor. The only thing that is simple is getting side-tracked by quick weight loss fads and gimmicks. The best path to weight success is focusing on proven techniques used by those who have maintained substantial weight loss successfully.

One source to check is the National Weight Control Registry (www.nwcr.ws/default.htm). The registry tracks about 10 thouand people who have lost weight and continue to maintain it.  In fact, in order to qualify, you must have lost at least 30 pounds for one year or more. The registry’s website includes research studies explaining how registry members got the weight off and keep it off.  Success stories of featured participants include their weight loss tips, which emphasize accountability, support systems and consistency.

 Keep track of what you eat
Most of the registry’s success stories reference food logs or other records. Tracking food intake can be an eye-opening experience. One registry member tells his story that once he begin tracking what he ate, he realized he was consuming 4,000 to 5,000 calories a day — a major contributor to his 325 weight.

Track your food the old-fashioned way with pen and paper, or get a free account at a website like www.sparkpeople.com or www.myfitnesspal.com; both of which also have smartphone apps for keeping track while on the move.

Establish a strong support system
The success stories emphasize the importance of a support system. One participant even met his wife while taking part in a weight loss support group. Surrounding yourself with like-minded people who are also making healthy choices and respect your new lifestyle is extremely vital. Otherwise, you’ll be overcome by temptation and sabotage your progress.

In addition to support from family and friends, you can find weight-loss friends on the internet. Both www.sparkpeople.com and www.myfitnesspal.com have busy message boards where dieters get together to chat and celebrate each other's accomplishments.

Set reasonable fitness goals
Each of the National Weight Control Registry success stories mentions exercise. You simply can’t lose weight without the physical activity to help burn calories. One way to make exercise more do-able is to set a fitness goal that isn’t related to the scale. Instead, aim to complete your first 5k run or a sprint triathlon, for example.

Once again, the world-wide-web is a great plus. The Couch to 5K program at www.coolrunning.com takes the guesswork out of creating a training plan — and once again, there are smartphone apps that will help by telling you when and how much to run and when to walk while you’re training.

Fix your own meals
More and more restaurants are publishing nutrition information these days, however if you want to know what really goes into your food and contol your caloric intake, you need to prepare most of your own food. Success story Gary, who lost 75 lbs and has maintained it for over eight years, says that he doesn't eat fast food and prepares most of his own meals himself using as many organic ingredients whenever possible.

When it comes to losing weight, there’s no simple fix; however, consistency, dedication and hard work will help get you on your way to realizing your goals!