Five Healthy Ways to Lose Weight for the New Year

By
Michelle
 – January 4, 2008
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For a lot of us, the number one item on our New Year’s resolution list is to lose that weight we gained over the holidays. While trying to get your body into better shape is certainly an admirable goal, it’s important to remember that the point of a New Year’s diet should never be simply to shed pounds. It should be about getting healthier, fitter, and trimmer in order to live a happier and fuller life. With that in mind, here’s ten tips on how to lose weight the healthy way for 2008:

  1. Everything in moderation. Don’t overdo your dieting – if you start out with an extreme change to your diet, it’s going to be hard on your body and once you start eating more normally again, you’ll gain the weight right back.
  2. Make those portions smaller. Most of us eat far too much. Americans have become used to larger portions. Just go out to eat at any of the major chain restaurants to see what I mean. Most of us don’t need to consume 3,000 calories a day, and the energy that we consume and don’t use gets stored in our bodies as fat.
  3. Eat healthier food. Most people don’t eat nearly enough fruits or vegetables. Put the Christmas chocolate in the cupboard (it’ll keep), and have an apple instead.
  4. Cook for yourself. Prepackaged food is the major culprit in America’s obesity epidemic. Cooking your own food will allow you to control the ingredients in your food. If you’re too busy to cook all the time, the freezer is your best friend. A pot of soup frozen in individual sized portions can provide a nice alternative to that frozen meal at lunchtime.
  5. Go have fun. Most of us lead extraordinarily busy lives. Handling one or more jobs and taking care of a family can leave you with very little time to look after yourself. Instead of feeling guilty because you don’t have time to go to the gym regularly on top of everything else, why not make your leisure activities contribute to your health? Take your family for a hike at the nearest park, or an ice skating trip in the evening. Many of us eat because we’re stressed, sad, or depressed, and the best way to combat this is to get out and have fun. You’ll be healthiest if you can do the little things to make yourself happy.

Happy New Year!


About the Author

Michelle