Consuming less calories each and every day can be quite a task, so below are some helpful tips you can use in your journey to lose those excess pounds!

1. Leave one-third of each item on your plate, wait until your cravings have disappeared (usually within ten minutes—you’ll know it’s time when you bring each item from the plate to your mouth, the thought of actually putting it into your mouth, chewing and swallowing seems almost revolting) THEN throw the remaining food away in the trash.

Since all our mothers taught us not to waste food, this will force us over time to develop good eating habits (eating smaller meals, eating more slowly and eating more frequently). Remember Mom, these extra calories can either end up “in the waste” or “on the waist.”

2. NEVER have seconds.

3. Follow the Chinese proverb: “Eat until you are eight-tenths full.”

4. Use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate.

5. NEVER super-size your food portions—unless you want to super-size your clothes.

6. Eat the low-cal items on your plate first and then graduate. Start with salads, vegetables and broth soups, eating meats and starches last. When you get to them, you’ll be full enough to be content with smaller portions of those high-cal, high-fat and/or high-GI items.

7. NEVER eat right before you take a nap or go to sleep.

8. Keep a food journal.

9. Cut out all high-cal, sugar-loaded drinks such as soda, sweet tea, Gatorade, lemonade, etc.

10. Take your own “bagged” lunch to work.

11. Eat at home rather than going out to eat.

12. When eating out, “halve it” and bag the rest for tomorrow’s lunch or dinner. A typical restaurant entrée will have 1,000 to 2,000 calories.

In America, we tend to eat with our eyes—if the plate isn’t LOADED with food, we don’t feel satisfied. We need to learn to eat with our nose, mouth and stomach—being happy and fulfilled with MUCH smaller portions of healthy but very flavorful food.

13. When eating out, never take more than a bite or two of any bread, rolls or chips while you wait for your order to arrive.

14. When eating out, order only one dessert to share NO MORE THAN ONCE PER WEEK and don’t finish more then half of it between the two of you.

15. Get calories from foods you chew rather than beverages. Have fresh fruit and vegetables (with their skins—if edible) instead of fruit or vegetable juice.

16. See what you plan to eat. Plate your food instead of eating right from the jar or bag.

17. Sit down when you eat.

18. Eat a small amount of fresh, raw food (celery, carrot, cucumber) right before your meal and another small amount of fresh, raw food (parsley, apple, banana) right after your meal.

19. Mix one tablespoon pure apple cider vinegar in an 8-oz glass of water and drink this right before each main meal 20. Get enough B vitamins, vitamin C, calcium and potassium in your
diet (from natural foods and/or dietary supplements).

22. Use mustard rather than mayo.

22. Eat more homemade soup.

23. Dilute fruit and vegetable juice 50:50 with water.

24. If you want to be VERY aggressive about losing weight and if OK with your personal physician, you can pursue a cleansing fast five to nine days each month. The first one to two days of the fast, you can drink as much water, hot green/white tea and/or diluted fresh fruit and/or vegetable juice (as above) as you want but the only solids you can eat are salad greens, cabbage and/or celery tossed with just a bit of extra-virgin olive oil and fresh lemon juice. The next three to five days you can drink as much water, hot green/white tea and/or diluted fresh fruit and/or vegetable juice as you want but must eat nothing solid. The final one to two days you reintroduce salad greens, cabbage and/or celery as above.

Before and after your workouts each day, drink an 8 oz glass of diluted fresh fruit and/or vegetable juice mixed with a few tablespoons of rice-, soy- or whey-based protein powder. If you become constipated and feel uncomfortable during the fast, you could use water-based enemas.

If you’re serious about losing a few excess pounds, then avoid these pitfalls!

1. Skipping meals. Many otherwise healthy eaters “diet” during the day but then “binge” at night.

2. Don’t “graze” yourself into becoming fat. You can easily pig out on 600 calories of pretzels, chips or cereal without even realizing it.

3. Ignoring “Serving Size” information on the Nutrition Facts panel. 1–2 ounces is an appropriate serving size for cheese, nut butters, nuts, olives and seeds; 2–3 ounces for avocadoes, whole grain bread, cereal, grains or pasta; 4–6 ounces for cottage cheese, eggs or meat; 6–8 ounces for fruits and vegetables; and 8–12 ounces for beans, lentils, potatoes and yogurt. Another simple option would be to use those natural measuring devices given to you by the Creator (your hands)—your thumb is a good estimate for servings of avocadoes, cheese, olives and nut butters; your four main fingers held together for meat or bread; your palm for cottage cheese and egg; your cupped hand for dry whole grains, nuts and seeds; and your closed fist for fruits, vegetables, potatoes, beans, yogurt and cooked noodles/pasta/rice.

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This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what exactly is on your mind. This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like.

This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what exactly is on your mind.

This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what exactly is on your mind. This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what exactly is on your mind.