Losing weight can seem overwhelming—you have to figure out how to eat healthily and fuel your body properly, plan an exercise regimen that works for you, get plenty of sleep, and ultimately make hundreds of choices each day that will either bring you closer to your goal or throw you completely off track.
But if navigating these choices seems confusing, that's where Eat This, Not That! comes in. What really works are making little lifestyle tweaks, simple moves that help you slash calories, boost nutrition, and build a healthy foundation.
We've gathered up some of the easiest, most effective tricks to help you shed those unwanted pounds and slim down for good.
Put this plan into play and soon enough, you'll start to look and feel better. Here are the 9 best weight loss tips!
The great news is that just about everyone who drinks green smoothies loses weight. In fact, most people who follow my Smoothie Diets to lose weight report up to 3-8 pounds of weight loss in their first week!
1. Toss Out the Top
Making your sandwich with two slices of bread is so last year. Aid your slim down efforts by opting for whole-grain bread over white and preparing your sandwich "open-faced" style—the fancy name for kicking the top piece of bread to the curb.
Doing so keeps about 70 to 120 calories off your plate. If losing some bread leaves your tummy rumbling, beef up your meal by munching on a cup of baby carrots or sugar snap peas. These pop-in-your-mouth veggies are loaded with fiber and water, which can help aid satiety and weight loss efforts.
Whether you are just trying to lose the last 5-10 lbs or you want to lose 30 lbs or more, I encourage you to watch this FREE video presentation and try my Smoothie Diet Program to see how effective detox smoothie diets to lose weight can be.
2. Buy a Fruit Bowl
You know that hitting the recommended five to nine daily servings of fruits and veggies can make it easier to slim down, but that doesn't make it any easier to accomplish. A simple way to make it happen? Buy a fruit bowl.
You're more likely to grab fruits and veggies over less-healthy options if they're ready to eat and in plain sight. Katie Cavuto MS, RD, the dietitian for the Philadelphia Phillies and Flyers, suggests keeping washed and prepared veggies like cucumbers, peppers, sugar snap peas, and carrots in the front of the fridge so they aren't overlooked.
Bananas, apples, pears, and oranges fare well as sweet snacks and should be kept on the counter where everyone can see them.
3. Eat Mindfully
We know you love binge-watching your favorite reality series, but it's important to enjoy your meals sitting at your kitchen table—not in front of the television. Why? Carolyn Brown, MS, RD, of Foodtrainers, told us that in addition to commercials of unhealthy food and drinks increasing our cravings, TV is so distracting that it makes it harder to realize when we're actually satiated.
Science agrees with Brown: A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that paying attention while eating can aid weight loss efforts while distracted eating can lead to a long-term increase in food consumption.
4. Switch to Green Tea
Green tea is packed with compounds called catechins, belly-fat crusaders that blast belly fat by revving the metabolism, increasing the release of fat from fat cells, and then speeding up the liver's fat-burning capacity.
In an American Physiological Society study, participants who combined a daily habit of 4-5 cups of green boosted their exercise endurance by up to 24 percent, revving weight loss.
5. Get Smaller Plates
The bigger your plate, the bigger your meal, Brown reminds us. How so? While smaller plates make food servings appear significantly larger, larger plates make food appear smaller—which can lead to overeating.
In one study, campers who were given larger bowls served themselves and consumed 16 percent more cereal than those given smaller bowls.
Swapping dinner for salad plates will help you eat more reasonable portions, which can help the pounds fly off your frame!
To kick even more calories to the curb, use small red plates. Although the vibrant hue may not match your dining room decor, the color can help you eat less, according to a study published in the journal Appetite.
Researchers suggest that the color red reduces the amount we're likely to eat by subtly instructing the mind to stop noshing.
6. Never Do a Sit-Up
There's a reason Eat This, Not That! hired celebrity trainer Mark Langowski to develop Eat This, Not That! for Abs, our e-book system for getting a six-pack in six weeks:
He said it wouldn't include a single sit-up. "I have been a personal trainer for over 13 years—during this time, I have learned a lot about a lot, but the most important topic that I discovered was 10 years ago when I found out how damaging sit-ups are to the discs in my spine," he told us.
"It was after listening to genius professor Stuart McGill, who is head of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo, that I realized I had been doing more harm to myself and my clients by having them do traditional sit-ups." Instead, "throughout the workout section of the Eat This, Not That! For Abs, I explain how to train the entire body in a way that is activating the core muscles in every exercise you do.
A squat may look like a leg exercise, but did you know you are also working your core muscles when done properly?" Compound exercises, such as squats and deadlifts, work for muscle groups while challenging the core—giving you the rock hard abs you dream of.
7. Blend a Plant-Based Smoothie
Protein-enriched drinks lend you a monster dose of belly-busting nutrition in a simple yet delicious snack.
But most commercial drinks are filled with unpronounceable chemicals that can upset our gut health and cause inflammation and bloat.
Not to mention, the high doses of whey used to boost protein levels can amplify the belly-bloating effect. So what should you have instead? Try vegan protein, which will give you the same fat-burning, hunger-squelching, muscle-building benefits, without the bloat.
Lose weight in less than 30 seconds, with the 100+ proven recipes in Zero Belly Smoothies!
8. Repetition Is Key
"Repetition builds rhythm. Be boring. Most successful losers have just a couple of go-to breakfasts or snacks," says registered dietitian Lauren Slayton. "Make an effort to pinpoint these for yourself. 'Hmm, I'm starving what should I have?' doesn't often end well. You can change the rotation every few weeks, but pre-set meals or workouts on certain days will help tremendously."
9 Beware of Health Halos
Do you consider products from specialty supermarkets to be healthier than those from other grocery stores? Or do you think that dishes from organic restaurants are all waistline-friendly? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you could be derailing your weight loss efforts.
When people guess the number of calories in a sandwich coming from a "healthy" restaurant, they estimate that it has, on average, 35 percent fewer calories than they do when it comes from an "unhealthy" restaurant, according to a study in the Journal of Consumer Research.
Remember that the next time you reach for that package of Whole Foods' Organic Fruit & Nut Granola.
One cup of this seemingly healthy snack contains almost 500 calories.
Yikes! To stay on track at the grocery store, check out these best supermarket shopping tips ever.
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