20 Simple Guidelines for Losing Weight and Keeping it Off Permanently

For overweight or obese individuals, the ideal weight reduction diet usually results in slow but progressive weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds each week and allows new, healthy eating patterns to develop that will help the individual keep the weight off permanently according to The American Dietetic Association (ADA). The reduction of your caloric intake each day will produce loss of weight without losing any lean body mass (muscle).

Losing weight and keeping it off is not an easy task to do on your own. Joining a weight loss control group can lend support to a person's efforts.

One helpful way of losing weight and keeping it off permanently is through behavior modification. This approach is based on the belief that, in order for one to lose weight and keep it off, one needs to change those bad habits that encourage eating, and the easiest way to do this is to replace them with new, healthy habits that permit weight control. Here are 20 specific steps can help:

1. Never shop for food when you are hungry.
2. Prepare a shopping list in advance. Do not add anything to your list once you are in the grocery store.
3. Chew your food slowly.
4. Restrict eating to two places in your home, such as the kitchen and the dining room.
5. Do not skip meals.
6. Drink 8 or more glasses of water everyday. Eliminate soft drinks and caffeinated drinks from your diet.
7. Develop a reward system for your weight loss.
8. Enlist your family to support you while you are changing your eating habits.
9. Make only one change at a time.
10. Never eat while engaging in another activity, such as watching television.
11. Always sit down when you are eating.
12. Use stairs instead of elevators and escalators.
13. Plan to take a walk or exercise at times you usually snack.
14. Develop a regular exercise program to complement your weight loss meal plan.
15. Make a personal commitment to weight loss.
16. Never drive when you can walk.
17. Become aware of your own eating patterns so that you can identify problems and make changes when needed. It helps to keep a journal of when and where you eat and under what circumstances, such as eating in response to anger, loneliness, frustration, boredom, hunger or at certain times of day.
18. Get rid of all high-calorie snacks that are around the house. Keep a supply of low-calorie foods readily available as snacks.
19. Try not to eat from any fast food restaurants.
20. Avoid foods that contain high amounts of sugar. The following foods should be avoided: cake, candy, chewing gum, cookies, honey, jam, jelly, marmalade, molasses, pastries, pie, pudding, sugar, sweet rolls, sweetened condensed milk, sweetened soft drinks and syrup.

By following these guidelines, you should be able to lose weight and keep it off permanently. At the same time, you would have developed healthy eating patterns and a new, healthy lifestyle. Will you have the next weight loss success story? I definitely hope so. Here's to your future weight loss success and to a new you!