10 proven ways to lose weight and keep it off.

Follow 10 habits of successful (weight) losers.

Below is how members of the NWCR (National Weight Control Registry) lost an average of 72.6 lbs and kept it off. The information comes from 6 research articles describing NWCR members’ eating, exercise, and other habits to lose weight and keep it off.

Eating habits

1. Limit calories and fat

• Eat a low calorie diet. (How many calories?)
• Keep your fat intake below 30% of your total calories. (Top 5 sources of saturated fat and trans fat)

2. Eat 5 small meals a day and start with breakfast

Break up your calories throughout the day. Eat 5 small meals a day or 3 meals and 2-3 healthy snacks throughout the day.

Eat breakfast

Of 2,959 members surveyed:

• 90% eat breakfast at least four days a week. (Why breakfast is important)
• 78% eat breakfast every day.
• Only 4% never eat breakfast.

Cereal (hot or cold) and fruit is the most common breakfast among NWCR members. 13 quick, healthy breakfast ideas

3. Monitor your food intake

Track your food to lose weight.

• How to keep a food journal
• Top 5 reasons to keep a food journal

4. Eat consistently throughout the year

NWCR members who followed consistent eating patterns throughout the year were 1.5 times more likely to maintain their weight and maintain more weight loss.

Weekdays vs. weekends

• 59% of members follow similar eating patterns during the week and on the weekends.
• 39% are stricter during the week compared to the weekends.

Holidays vs. non-holidays

• 52% of members are stricter during non-holiday times as compared to holidays.
• 45% eat similarly on holidays and during vacations as they do the rest of the year.

The greater the inconsistency in members’ eating habits, the greater the risk of gaining weight.

5. Limit restaurant meals

NWCR members limit their restaurant eating to 3 meals (average) a week. Less than one meal a week comes from a fast food restaurant.

• Tricks to eating healthy and saving calories at a restaurant
• Easy tips for portion control at the restaurant
• How to spot unhealthy food on the menu

Exercise habits

6. Exercise 60 minutes a day

90% of members exercise to lose and maintain their weight. On average, they exercise approximately 60 minutes a day.

• What if I don’t have time to exercise 60 minutes a day?
• What is the least amount of exercise I can do to lose weight?

The most common form of exercise is walking. (Members walk approximately 28 miles per week).

• Top 5 reasons to walk to lose weight
• How many calories do I burn walking?

7. Burn 2600 calories a week

On average, members burn 2621 calories a week through exercise. In actuality some members burn less than 1000 calories and some burn more than 3000 calories.

Range of calories burned

Of 3683 members:

• 25% report burning less than 1000 calories per week through exercise.
• 75% burn more than 1,000 calories a week (the minimum amount recommended)
• 52% burn more than 2,000 calories a week.
• 35% burn more than 3000 calories per week.

Members who get more exercise maintain a greater amount of weight loss. How to increase your exercise

Other habits

8. Weigh yourself weekly

75% of members weigh themselves at least once a week.

At a one year follow-up, members who started weighing themselves less frequently were more likely to gain weight than those who continued to weigh themselves regularly.

Weighing yourself can help you catch small weight gains before it gets to be overwhelming. Rules for weighing yourself 

9. Watch less than 10 hours of TV a week

• 62% of members watch 10 hours or less of TV per week.
• 36% watch less than 5 hours of TV per week.

Members who watched 10 hours or less of TV each week burned 576 more calories each week than those who watched more TV.

Many people claim they don’t have time for exercise. You can make time by limiting your TV time. With the abundance of ‘screens’ in today’s society, focus on limiting all screen time outside of work (movie, smart phone, pad/tablet, computer, and TV screens).

10. Don’t give up

It’s never too late to start losing weight and it’s never too late to get back on track. You can lose weight if you were overweight as a child, if your parents are overweight, or if you’ve failed in the past.

• You can lose weight even if you were overweight as a child. (72% of members were overweight by age 18)
• You can lose weight even if your parents are overweight. (46% of members have one parent who is overweight).
• You can still lose weight even if you’ve failed in the past.

91% of NWCR members have failed at their weight loss attempts many times. In fact, members have lost an average of 270 lbs in their lifetime before successfully losing weight and keeping it off.

 http://www.fitnessforweightloss.com/how-to-maintain-your-weight-loss/

How many calories are in fruit?

Calories in fresh, canned and dried fruit:

Below are the approximate number of calories in a variety of fruit (fresh fruit, canned fruit, and dried fruit).

Fresh Fruit

Apple

• Small – 80 calories
• Medium – 95 calories
• Large – 120 calories

Banana

• Small – 90 calories
• Medium – 105 calories
• Large – 120 calories

Blackberries

1 cup = 60 calories

Blueberries

1 cup = 85 calories

An easy way to add fruit to your day is to add blueberries, strawberries, or any other berries to your cereal in the morning.

Cereal and fruit is the most common breakfast among more than 2300 adults (NWCR members) who have lost an average of 70lbs and kept it off. Will eating breakfast help me lose weight?

Cantaloupe

1 cup (cubes) = 55 calories

Cherries

1 cup = 95 calories

Clementine

35 calories

Grapefruit

• Small – 30 calories
• Medium – 40 calories
• Large – 50 calories

Grapes

1 cup = 60 calories

Honeydew melon

1 cup (diced) = 60 calories

Kiwi

40 calories

Mango

1 cup (pieces) = 100 calories

Orange

• Small – 45 calories
• Medium – 65 calories
• Large – 85 calories

Peach

• Small – 50 calories
• Medium – 60 calories
• Large – 70 calories

Pear

• Small – 85 calories
• Medium – 105 calories
• Large – 130 calories

Pineapple

1 cup raw chunks = 85 calories

Plum

30 calories

Raspberries

1 cup = 65 calories

Strawberries

1 cup = 50 calories

Tangerine

• Small – 40 calories
• Medium – 50
• Large – 65 calories

Watermelon

1 cup (diced) = 45 calories

Fruit closest to it’s natural form (for example, fresh fruit and unsweetened frozen fruit) will be naturally higher in fiber and lower in added sugar than canned and dried fruit.

Canned Fruit

Fruit cocktail

• 1 cup (canned in juice) = 110 calories
• 1 cup (in light syrup) = 140 calories
• 1 cup (in heavy syrup) = 180 calories

Peaches

• 1 cup (in juice) = 110 calories
• 1 cup (canned in light syrup) = 135
• 1 cup (in heavy syrup) = 195 calories

Pineapple

• 1 cup chunks (in juice) = 150 calories
• 1 cup crushed pineapple = 150 calories

When purchasing canned fruit, choose fruit that is canned in lite/light syrup, 100% fruit juice, or its own juice.

Fruit canned in heavy syrup can have up to twice as many calories and twice as much sugar as fruit canned in lite syrup or 100% fruit juice.

Dried Fruit

Raisins

1/2 cup = 215 calories

Dried Cranberries

1/3 cup (sweetened) = 140 calories

Dried Apricots

1/4 cup = 100 calories

Dried Apples

1/2 cup = 105 calories

Dried Figs

1/2 cup = 185 calories

Dried cherries

1/2 cup = 225 calories

Adding dried fruit and nuts to plain oatmeal is a great way to add variety and flavor:

• Add raisins, walnuts, and cinnamon to your oatmeal.
• Add dried cranberries and sliced almonds to your oatmeal.
• 13 quick, healthy breakfast ideas

 http://www.fitnessforweightloss.com/how-many-calories-are-in-fruit/

How to cut back on sugar in your diet.

Gradually cut back on foods that contain added sugar

Many foods and beverages contain added sugar (sugar added during processing). Use the tips below to gradually reduce:

• the amount of added sugar you consume
• the frequency of consumption.

Over time, aim to reach the recommended limit on added sugar.

Eat whole fruit instead of fruit juice

Start eating whole fruit instead of fruit juice. For example:

• Eat an orange instead of orange juice
• Eat an apple instead of apple juice
• Eat a banana or any other whole fruit instead of fruit juice
• Squeeze juice from a lemon into water instead of drinking lemonade

Save 9-16 grams of sugar per substitution

Apple juice vs. apple

• Apple juice (8 oz.) = 27 g sugar (average)
• Medium apple = 18 g sugar

Orange juice vs. orange

• Orange juice (8 oz.) = 21 g sugar
• Medium orange = 12 g sugar

Lemonade vs. fresh squeezed lemon juice

• Lemonade (8 oz.) = 24 grams sugar (average)
• 5 fresh squeezed lemons = 8 grams of sugar

Fruit juice contains added sugar. Whole fruit contains only naturally occurringsugar; no sugar is added. Whole fruit also contains fiber and nutrients from the skin and pulp which is generally lacking in fruit juice.

How to start weaning off juice

Here are a few ideas to start weening off juice:

• Limit your juice to a 4 ounce glass
• Dilute your juice with water
• Dilute your juice with sparkling water if you prefer a carbonated beverage
• Buy ‘light’ or ‘lite’ juice which is already diluted (the first ingredient is usually water).

Limit regular soda and energy drinks

Stop drinking soda and energy drinks. Most of the added sugar Americans consume comes from soda and other sugary beverages including energy drinks and fruit juice.

• A 20-ounce bottle of regular soda contains 65-75 grams (16-18 teaspoons) of sugar! (Sugar in regular soda)
• A 16-ounce energy drink can contain 62 grams (16 teaspoons) of sugar!

Just one of either drink is double (more than double for women) their recommended daily limit (6-9 teaspoons) of added sugar

Eat plain cereal and add fresh fruit

Choose plain cereal instead of sugary cereal, and add fruit if you’re missing something sweet. For example:

• Buy plain oatmeal instead of flavored oatmeal. Then add fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, or blackberries).
• Buy regular Cheerios instead of Honey Nut Cheerios and add strawberries and/or banana slices.

You can save 8 grams of sugar per serving by eating plain Cheerios vs. Honey Nut Cheerios.

• 3/4 cup of plain Cheerios has 1 gram of sugar
• 3/4 cup of Honey Nut Cheerios has 9 grams of sugar.

Sugar in cereal adds up fast!

• 1-1/2 cups of Honey Nut Cheerios = 18 grams (72 calories) of sugar!
• 3 cups = 36 grams (144 calories) of sugar!
• 4-1/2 cups = 54 grams (216 calories) of sugar!

How to start weaning off sugary cereal

Start combining your sugary cereal with plain cereal. For example, combine 1/2 cup of Honey Nut Cheerios with 1/2 cup plain cheerios to limit your sugar intake and get used to the less sweet taste. (Healthy breakfast ideas)

Follow a Top 3 Ingredient Rule

Read the ingredient list on food or beverage package. If sugar is among the top 3 ingredients, don’t purchase the item…or start limiting the frequency of these purchases.

Ingredients on a food label are listed in order of greatest amount to least amount. If sugar is listed as the first ingredient, the product is made up primarily of sugar; it contains more sugar than any other ingredient.

Sugar might be among the top 3 ingredients, even if you don’t see the word ‘sugar’. Watch out for code names for sugar:

• Corn syrup
• Corn sweetener
• Cane juice
• Brown rice syrup
• Maltose
• Dextrose
• More code words for sugar

Modify your coffee drinks

Skip or limit the sugar in your coffee or espresso drink. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Add cinnamon and/or nutmeg to your coffee instead of sugar
• Order coffee without sweetener or with ½ the sweetener
• Order an espresso drink with ½ the syrup.
• Order an espresso drink without whip cream on top
• Downsize your espresso drink; order a 12 oz. mocha instead of a 16 oz. mocha
• Order a mocha with ½ the chocolate

Be picky about your cocktails and mixed drinks

Skip or limit drinks with soda or juice mixers

Use club soda as a mixer, muddle fresh ingredients, or drink alcohol on the rocks.

• Use sparking seltzer water or club soda as a mixer in drinks (0 calories, 0 grams sugar).
• Muddle fresh ingredients for flavor instead of adding sugary mixers. For example, muddle cucumber, basil, mint, or fresh fruit and add it to your drink.
• Limit your drinks to distilled spirits on the rocks. Distilled spirits such as gin, vodka, tequila, whiskey, and rum have 0 grams of sugar.
• Order tequila on the rocks with fresh lime juice instead of a margarita.

At least start reducing the amount of high calorie, sugary mixers you pour into your drink. Reduce the amount first by 1/4, then 1/2, then maybe 3/4 to gradually get used to a less sweet taste. Pretty soon, the ‘old’ sugary drink will taste too sweet.

Skip or limit liqueurs

Limit your intake of drinks mixed with sugary/sweet liqueurs. Examples:

• Cream liqueurs (Bailey’s Irish Cream)
• Crème liqueurs (Crème de menthe)
• Coffee flavored liqueurs (Kahlua)
• Fruit flavored liqueurs (Grand Marnier, Triple sec)
• Nut-flavored liqueurs (Amaretto)

Liqueurs are part of many popular mixed drinks: margaritas, daiquiris, pina coladas, long island ice teas, dessert cocktails, etc.

Limit candy and desserts

Grain-based desserts (cakes, cookies, pies), dairy based desserts (ice cream) and candy account for 25% of the added sugar Americans consume.

Tips to limit candy and desserts:

• Eat half the dessert you’d normally eat
• Share dessert at a restaurant instead of ordering your own
• Eat dessert less frequently. (If you typically have dessert 5 day a week, start cutting back to 4 days a week, then 3 days, etc.)
• How to conquer cravings
• Tips to eat less candy (Halloween)

Find healthier dessert options. For example:

• Mash up frozen bananas instead of eating ice cream
• Eat frozen grapes to satisfy your sweet tooth
• Eat a piece of dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate

Other ways to cut back on sugar

Watch out for fat-free products

There are generally two ingredients that make food taste good: fat and sugar. If fat is removed, chances are sugar is added.

Skip the jelly and jam

Add slices of banana to your peanut butter sandwich instead of jelly

Reduce sugar in recipes

If you bake, reduce the amount of sugar the recipe calls for by 1/4 to 1/2. For example, if the recipe calls for 2 cups of sugar, use 1 to 1-1/2 cups of sugar instead.

Hydrate with water instead of sports drinks

Drink water during the day to hydrate. Use sports drinks as they were intended; to rehydrate the body and improve athletic performance during extended periods of exercise.

The purpose of a sports drink is to provide exercisers with energy to help improve their endurance and athletic performance.

Sugar in sports drinks is easily digestible and provides a quick source of energy (fuel) to someone exercising one hour or more. The water and salt in sports drinks help rehydrate the body and replace sodium lost through sweating.

http://www.fitnessforweightloss.com/how-to-cut-back-on-sugar-in-your-diet/

10 reasons why you need a support team to lose weight.

Achieve your goals, receive encouragement, share ideas, and always have a friend

A support team is essential on your journey to permanent weight loss. They can help you achieve your goals, offer support and encouragement, and help you push through challenges.

1. Achieve more with accountability

Share your personal goals and deadlines with your support team and have them hold you accountable. Sharing your goals creates a certain amount of pressure to:

• Follow through with your plan
• Achieve your goals
• Accomplish what others are expecting from you (and what you’re expecting from yourself)
• Not let others (and yourself) down

Just like your boss holds you accountable for work goals and deadlines, it can be helpful to have someone hold you accountable for personal goals and deadlines.

Set BEST goals and share them with your support team. Simply telling another person your goals can create enough pressure to help you achieve them. 11 other ways to hold yourself accountable for your goals.

2. Stop procrastinating

Accountability can create a sense of urgency to achieve your goals; you’ll be less likely to procrastinate and make excuses when you know somebody will be following up with you.

• Solutions for the most common exercise excuses
• Humorous quotes about excuses

“Accountability breeds response-ability.” ~Stephen R. Covey

It’s easy to make excuses and procrastinate if nobody is holding you accountable for your actions. Find an accountability partner who won’t accept excuses.

In Step 2 of my 5-step plan for permanent weight loss, I suggest setting one-week goals. This will also help create a sense of urgency; one week is enough time to achieve a small goal, but not long enough for much procrastination.

3. Receive encouragement

With a support team, you’ll have people around you to share in your excitement and achievement of your goals. You’ll have your own personal cheering section and hear things like:

• “Congratulations!”
• “Good job!”
• “Way to go!”
• “You can do this!”
• “I’m so proud of you!”

If you’re not getting positive support from your friends and family, look elsewhere for weight loss support.

• Where to find weight loss support
• Why people might sabotage your weight loss efforts

4. Focus on the positives

A support team can help you focus on the positive changes you have made so far on your journey.

In general, we’re usually too hard on ourselves. We tend to focus on the negatives and the things we haven’t done instead of the positives and things we have done. Your support team can help remind you of those things you have done.

5. Stay motivated

A support team can provide you positive encouragement and help you continue moving forward, especially when you’re feeling down or don’t feel like your hard work is paying off.

Motivation is not constant. It’s hard to stay positive and motivated, especially if you’re not seeing the results you’re looking for. Weight loss takes hard work and results come slowly (at least the results that last).

• 10 ways to stay motivated when you’re not losing weight
• 5 things to know about motivation

6. Talk about and share ideas and information

Share:

• Your favourite exercise or recipe book
• An app you’re using to track food or exercise
• The name of a good personal trainer or therapist
• A new exercise you learned
• Creative ways to fit in exercise
• Tips on how to eat healthier
• New healthy recipes

7. Brainstorm solutions to your challenges

Share your current challenges and discuss solutions to overcome them.

• Brainstorm ways to handle certain situations
• Learn what has (or hasn’t) worked for others in similar situations
• Discuss ways to overcome your challenges
• Listen to ideas you haven’t thought of

Everyone has different experiences, perspectives and ideas that might help you overcome your obstacles and challenges. They may share ideas you haven’t thought of.

8. Ask for advice

People generally don’t like unsolicited advice or being told what to do. However, if you want advice or feedback, you have a group of people to ask/solicit.

Listen to the advice you receive. Be open to it (after all, you asked for it), and apply any advice you think might work.

9. Receive an objective perspective

If you’re working with a professional (a wellness coach or therapist), they can:

• Provide an unbiased, outside perspective on your situation
• Help you come up with solutions to your challenges
• Listen without judgement
• Give you ‘homework’ or something to think about between sessions

10. You always have a friend

With a support team, you will never be alone on your journey to permanent weight loss; you will always have someone you can talk to. Even if you participate in an online forum and have never met your support team, you can still ‘talk’ to someone, share things, and feel heard.

If anyone on your support team has been through or is currently on their own journey to permanent weight loss, you have the added bonus of talking with someone who can understand what you’re going through.

http://www.fitnessforweightloss.com/10-reasons-you-need-a-support-team-to-lose-weight/