Lose Weight and Get Fit

Losing weight is all about eating less and exercising more. For each of us, the key is fooling yourself into losing weight. That is why so many fad diets work for a while and then tend to stop working. You wise up to your own tricks and stop following them. So the thing to do is acknowledge that you are tricking yourself and keep yourself amused by finding new ways to do so. Here are some of my tricks:

• Eat very slowly. Put your fork down between every bite and take your time chewing. This will allow yourself to feel full.
• Control the amount you put on your plate and never take seconds. In medical and weight loss parlance this is called portion control. Don't bother to weigh your food. You all know what is too little on a plate and what is too much.
• Don't eat anything that is not on your plate. No dinner rolls, etc.
• Keep snacks with you in a small zip lock bag. Put in the snacks you will allow yourself throughout the day in the bag in the morning and limit yourself to just that for the entire day. Carrots, apple slices, or something totally different. I keep a bag of small chunks of beef jerky because even though it has a large salt load, I find very small amounts very satisfying.

These are just a few of mine. Find your own tricks. You are limited only by your imagination. Make yourself rules that you can follow relatively easily to start rather than creating goals you can't possibly reach. Also don't beat yourself up if you disobey a rule once. If you disobey a rule two or three days in a row, rethink the rule and make up a different one that you can obey.