Easy Weight Loss Tips to Help You Keep Your New Year's Resolution

It is the seasons for New Year's resolutions and losing weight is usually among them. Whether you need to lose 10 pounds or 100, there are small steps you can take to achieve weight loss. Changing your habits one at a time can lead to a healthier lifestyle and easy weight loss. Try a few of these easy weight loss tips.

1. Take a before picture and look at it daily. Many people start weight loss efforts because they have a moment, see a photograph or their reflection in a mirror and say enough is enough, it's time to try a diet.

2. Set a goal and make it realistic. You will likely lose one pound at a time, so celebrate each and every weight loss success.

3. Don't try to diet with friends. Everyone experiences weight loss differently and you can't compare yourself to others. Women, don't diet with your husband or boyfriend. Men lose weight more quickly and you will find it really annoying.

4. Allow yourself snacks and more small meals to keep from being hungry and overeating.

5. Count Calories. Sure, it's no fun but to experience significant weight loss you must consume fewer calories than you burn.

6. Get active but don't think you can eat more because you exercise. Exercise does burn calories, but if you are on a weight loss program, you need to create a calorie deficit and the calories burned by exercise can help. Don't eat more to compensate.

7. Buy a pedometer. A pedometer measures the number of steps you take per day. Monitor you activity for a week or so, then find ways to add steps to your daily routine. To really help with weight loss you will need to add at least 3000 steps, but over the course of a day this is not impossible.

8. Watch your portion size. This is a real killer. Many foods that are fine and a good part of a healthy diet are tasty and delicious and you just eat too much of them. A serving of pasta is ½ cup. Use a measuring cup. A serving is not a cereal bowl full.

9. Think about something else. Keep busy. If you eat too much when you are bored, watching TV or at the computer find another way to occupy yourself. Habits like these are hard to break, but must be recognized and conquered in order to lose weight.

10. Cancel your membership in the clean plate club. This is really hard if you were raised to not waste food. Take smaller portions but when you can't control your portion size put half (or more) away for another meal or just throw it away. You can do it.

11. Eat off a smaller plate. When you cut your portion sizes you can easily fit your food on a smaller plate and look at a full meal without noticing it is smaller. Treat yourself to some bright new dishes to change how you look at your meal and consider them a reward for your weight loss.

12. Do more housework. Housework burns calories. It keeps you busy and you generally won't eat when you are cleaning and dusting. It also gives you a sense of accomplishment. On the same theme, use a push mower to mow your lawn, shovel your own driveway and rake your own leaves.

13. Portion out your food in the kitchen and leave the extra food there. Take your plate to the table and eat only what is on it. No seconds and keep the extra food out of sight and out of mind.

14. Wait until your stomach is growling to eat. We rarely experience real hunger. Most of us eat long before our body requires it.

15. Eat slowly. It takes 20 minutes for your body to realize it has been fed, so make your food last.

Good luck with your New Year's resolutions. Small changes can make big differences and help you reach your weight loss goals.