We got these from Health magazine.
- Put your scale to work – early and often! Researchers at Duke University found that people who climbed on the scale daily were more successful at maintaining or losing weight. According to health psychologist Dr. Daniel C. Stettner, regular feedback helps catch weight-gain early, so you can get back on track. But if you start becoming too obsessed with weighing yourself – say you hop on the scale several times a day – force yourself to cut back to just once a week. Friday weigh-ins are good because they reflect the efforts you’ve made all week long and help keep you motivated over the weekend, when the urge to splurge is stronger.
- Log your eating habits. Ever grabbed a doughnut in the morning, had a mocha in the afternoon and then munched on some chips when you got home? These so-called "snacks" add up to about 1000 calories – well over half the amount you’re allowed for the entire day, and you haven’t even had a real meal yet! But keeping track can help. You’re more likely to curb your calorie habit if you see how many mochas you consume over a month. A simple notebook will work. Just log onto the website "Calories Per Hour.com" and see how many calories are, for example, in that cup of macaroni and cheese you had for lunch. Jot it down in your notebook. Then start to cut out 100 calories a day. This’ll help you drop those extra pounds.
- Step it up! Walking an extra 2,000 steps a day can help anyone shed flab, so invest in a pedometer. You don’t need anything fancy – as long as it has a "reset" button it’ll do the trick. Wear it for 3 days and average your steps to see how many you take in a typical day. Then try to add another 2,000 steps a day – that’s about a mile. You can do this by walking at lunch, choosing the stairs over the elevator and parking a few blocks away from your destination. Soon you’ll have fun seeing how many steps you can rack up. And while you’re having all that fun, the weight will start to fall off. It’s a win-win situation!
