How to Lose Weight Fast and Eat Lean: 12 Sure Fire Principles of Eating Lean

First, you have to stop treating food as your enemy. Your life process depends on it, and the sooner you accept that no foods are inherently bad and that you can create a good relationship with food, the sooner your battle with excessive weight gain will be won. Also, make sure that you lose weight your way; what put the most recent Hollywood starlets into their size three jeans won't necessarily work for you. As with most of everything else in life, you need to make a plan.

Here are 12 suggestions to consider when making that plan on how to go leaner in your diet and lose weight.

1. Take inventory of what you are eating right now. You are wondering why those extra pounds are sticking to your body when you have been so diligently eating low fat foods, lots of vegetables and fruits and avoiding empty calories that are in junk food and alcohol. The one way to know for sure what is not working is keeping a food diary of what you eat for about a week. This will keep you on top of what you eat, show you your habits and will assist you in creating an eating routine that works for you.

2. Balance your fat intake. Do not obsess about every gram of fat because all fat is not bad fat. Make it a goal to learn the difference between high fat and low fat foods. You still have room in your diet for high fat foods you have to know what they are and eat less of them. Key word again is moderation.

3. Make sure that you actually enjoy what you eat. When sitting down for a meal, try to slow down and enjoy your meal. Eating shouldn't be done in a rushed fashion as it is not good for digestion and you lose to enjoyment of the taste and the very enjoyment of eating.

4. Know your environment. It's wise to go places that inspire a healthy life style. Parks and outdoor activities are much healthier than hanging out in malls and eating fast foods on the go. Pack a healthy meal and plan some activities.

5. Buyer Beware- shop right. Make sure that when you shop you chose food items that are different from what you normally buy. Read labels of ingredients and calorie intake per serving, particularly saturated fat levels, and remember that substituted your items for healthier ones will cut down on your caloric and fat intake.

6. Know the difference between hunger and thirst. Sometimes we feel hungry when we are indeed thirsty. Drink a glass of juice or water and wait to see if the hunger craving subsides. If your hunger disappears after a few minutes then you know that your body was not craving food but hydration.

7. High Fiber intake will prevent you from overeating.High fiber intakes take up more space in your stomach, so you feel satiated as if you have just had a meal without the calorie overload. The National Cancer Institute recommends 20-30 grams a day. That's done with just a few servings of fruits, vegetables, cereal and whole grain bread. A supplement would also be helpful in adding more fiber, but as with all supplements, it is not a substitute for healthy foods.

8. Eat small meals throughout the day. You don't have to starve yourself to stay thin-that is faulty reasoning when it comes to weight watching. Eating small meals during your day will keep your hunger satisfied and prevents binge eating later on in the evening hours. It is recommended that you eat small meals every four hours so that your evening appetite is not ravenous.

9. Eat until you are satisfied and not full. Satiety is the amount of enjoyment you get from eating. Try to eat a variety of foods with different flavors, colors and textures. Instead of a Cheeseburger and Fries( with same color and texture) think of maybe a lean chicken breast decorated with baby carrots and yellow peppers followed by a tossed garden salad and a side of fettuccine.

10. Try to avoid skipping meals. Once again this goes back to not having to starve yourself to be thin. Deprivation of food is the one of the main causes of diet failure, so instead of denying your body of adequate calories for energy and nutrients, make sure that you always have breakfast and follow the regimen of eating small meals throughout the day.

11. If you absolutely have to eat it- eat it- only sometimes. As mentioned above food deprivation is the number one diet killer for most of us and doing it never has worked and never will. You can still eat a few of your favorite foods just in smaller portions. The key is moderation not elimination altogether.

12. Make sure that you actually enjoy what you eat. When sitting down for a meal, try to slow down and enjoy your meal. Eating shouldn't be done in a rushed fashion as it is not good for digestion and you lose to enjoyment of the taste and the very enjoyment of eating.

Dieting doesn't have to be painful or a long period of self-deprivation or deprecation-you can monitor your fat and calorie intake fairly easily while still enjoying the foods you love- and that makes eating right more of a lifestyle than a chore.