10 Practical Ways to Lose Weight: Switching to Wheat Flour to Drinking Water

You read and hear every day how to lose weight from everyone. Some ideas about weight loss are just outright insane, while others are found in the realm of common sense. Here are ten practical things I do to lose weight. I have lost more than 60 pounds by my method. So try it; it may work for you.

1. Drink water. Drinking a full 8 ounce glass of water when I wake up and then another right before each meal, curbs my appetite. I also drink water throughout the day. If I feel I want chocolate, I don't necessarily deprive myself but I make sure to drink a glass of water before I eat the chocolate, and then wait fifteen minutes. If I still want the chocolate I eat it, but because of the water I feel fuller and don't eat as much of the tasty treat.

2. Change all white flour products to wheat flour. Wheat flour is much more filling and has a lot more flavor. If I am baking something that requires white flour, I substitute half of the white flour for whole wheat. It tastes wonderful and you get more fiber and again it makes you feel fuller. I substitute rice cakes for multi grain cakes, flour tortillas for wheat or multigrain tortillas. They are better for you and they are more filling.

3. I make sure that when I cook I don't make enough for leftovers for the next day. They are just too tempting to want to eat as a late-night snack.

4. I don't eat after 8 p.m. I feel so much better when I don't eat late at night. This can be a hard one because this is when most people eat and relax. So if you're going to have a snack, make sure it is before eight o'clock. This gives your body a break from digesting while you sleep. I always 'feel' so much lighter in the morning whenever I do this.

5. I take a green tea supplement containing caffeine. The green tea supplement helps curb my appetite and the caffeine increases energy.

6. I don't deprive myself. I eat anything that I want except that I make sure that it is in a smaller portion. Only one scoop of ice cream instead of three or one piece of meat instead of two.

7. I use the salad dressing spritzers. The calories on the spritzers are incredibly low, yet the flavor is wonderful. There are only 10 calories in 10 sprays and the flavors taste as good as the regular dressings. Regular dressings have 120 to 150 calories for 2 tablespoons. You can have a tasty salad with as much spritzer as you want without losing the flavor.

8. I purposely leave things upstairs so that I have to take extra walks up the stairs. I used to try to get everything that I wanted from upstairs in one armful but now I take the extra trip. I park far away from any store I go to and walk the extra steps. Every step counts.

9. I don't beat myself up if I have a 'free for all' food day. It happens. As long as it doesn't happen all the time, there is nothing wrong with having a day where you blow it; no need to beat yourself up over it. Everyone experiences this and it's okay as long as you get back to watching what you eat. Love yourself for who you are and love yourself for who you will be when you lose the extra weight. Having a healthy mental attitude about yourself will help tremendously. Read books that make you happy, and laugh. Get your mind off your weight.

10. Enjoy life now. I enjoy every moment of life now. Don't think that you can't enjoy life until you are the size you want to be. You can love life now, and even love it more when you fit in those jeans you've had your eyes on.

Just by changing a few physical habits, as well as some mental ones, you will soon become the size you have always wanted to be.