Maintain a Healthy Weight (or Heck, Even Lose It!) Without Dieting

Picture taken from: Good House Keeping

Today's Big Sis Tip comes from our dear friend, Allie LeFevere. Allie has written on our site before and we just loved her amazing advice that we asked Allie to contribute to our site again. Allie gave us a couple of helpful tips as to what to do when you are trying to maintain a healthy weight.  Allie is a health and life coach that resides in Chicago, and she has other helpful tips and articles on her site! 

Thank you, Allie! You're the best! 

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Maintain a Healthy Weight (or Heck, Even Lose It!) Without Dieting

Diet.

Ugh. The word makes me shudder.  It has the same horrible ring as 'moist'.  [I can't believe I typed that.] 

I'm gonna put it out there right now.  Diets don't work.  I repeat, they DO NOT work.  Diets are gimmicks to trick you into thinking you can be lazy, eat by weird rules and still look a 10 in your skinny jeans.  You can no carb or no fat until the cows come home, but if you feel deprived, you'll be off the bandwagon quicker than you jumped on.

I get it, losing weight or maintaining a healthy one can be the pits.  Especially if you love 3rd helpings or have 2am Jimmy John's on your speed dial.  What?!  Ew, no. I like totally get a veggie sub when I order.  Right.

Well here's your pie in the sky:  weight loss should be and can be natural, easy and enjoyable.  That means fad and starvation and processed food-free.  Try these tips on for size and you'll never have to use the D-word again. 

TIME YOUR MEALS.  I'm guilty of standing and inhaling (ahem, eating). Being raised by a hairdresser Mom who ate hovered over the kitchen counter in between clients, devouring in 5-minutes-or-less became my norm.  But you're not a 10-year old girl anymore, so you've got a new habit on the horizon -- set your timer for 30 minutes.  Sit at your kitchen table or hovered over the coffee table if you live in a cramped apartment for 30 minutes and savor every last bite of your dinner.  You'll eat slower, eat less and naturally slim down because you'll give your bod time to process its satiety hormone.  

TURN IT OFF.  The cell phone, lap top, iPad, TV, pager (do those still exist?!)  Regardless, if it beeps, buzzes or could possibly distract you from enjoying your meal, then it has no place at your table. Giving your food full attention, allows you connect with and process what you're eating.  You should love every single bite, so when you tune in, you'll figure out really quick if you're truly enjoying or just shoveling in what's on your plate.  

SLEEP MORE.  An extra hour of sleep a night could help you lose up to 14 pounds in a year.  Say, what?!  That fact will get you into bed real quick.  Also, sleep deprivation can increase your appetite, causing you to graze through your snack stash. 

PINKY'S OUT.  Drinking green tea can temporarily boost your metabolism and help you burn more cals.  It's not a miracle portion, so don't go on a 9 pot bender, but it points your system in the right direction. 

USE SMALLER DISHES.  When I was a kid, I used to dump all my cereal in a GIGANTIC bowl, aptly named 'the trough' and literally ate it for hours.  Awesome idea when you're 7, but not now.  You eat more on huge dishes, so shrink their size and you'll cut extra cals and still feel full.  

EAT SMALLER PORTIONS.  Um, duh. right?  Well if you come from an Italian family like me, smaller portions is blasphemy.  So I'll tell you again -- eat smaller portions.  This no brainer is an easy way to maintain a healthy weight.  Just don't go back for a 5th and 6th smaller portion.

GO 80-20.  Most of us never learned satiety and instead we eat until we're stuffed.  So let's dig back into 3rd grade math (without cheating off Suzie Miller who ALWAYS had the right answers. Suck up.).  Try eating until you're 80% full, not about to explode. This should be a cinch since now that you're eating slowly on your smaller plates. 

And sure, these tips might help you ditch the D-word, but this isn't a magic trick.  They only help if you're crammin' healthy food on your plate and gettin' your sweat on a few times a week.