10 Fat Fighting Secrets

Shedding excess pounds is a cinch when you know the right weight-loss tips. A few simple changes are all that are required to fat-proof your body without dieting. Here you’ll find the know-how you need to get into those slim-fitting jeans fast! Bonus: These stay-thin eating strategies will keep you healthy over the long term.

The debate over how much protein is ideal continues. One thing that’s becoming clearer is that eating a little more protein and a little less carbohydrate can help you maintain lean body mass and adhere to your dietary regimen. Why? Higher protein diets may make you feel fuller on less food. Your body also works harder to digest protein than fat or carbs, which means more calories burned. This is not a license to eat bacon-cheeseburgers, according to Cathy Nonas, R.D., principal investigator for the Centers for Obesity Research and Education and author of Outwit Your Weight (Rodale). Get your protein from healthier choices such as fish, nonfat dairy and soy products. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recommends getting 10 to 35 percent of daily calories from protein.

The rise in obesity parallels a rise in the number of restaurants, the percentage of meals eaten out and the amount of money spent on food away from home. Eating at a fast-food restaurant may be easy to do, but ultimately it’s hard on your body. If you’re eating out every day of the week, try cutting back. When you do eat out, choose grilled food. Skip the high-fat, high-cal fixings such as cheese and sour cream and opt for soup or salad instead of French fries. When you can, eat at home, where you have more control over what’s on your plate.

If you resist sour-cream-and-onion potato chips only to eat an entire bag of rice cakes, you haven’t done yourself any favors. Denying a craving can lead you to eat everything but the kitchen sink in an effort to avoid eating what you think you shouldn’t have. Instead, indulge in a reasonable portion of the food you crave. Take a small serving of the food out of its container, then put the rest away. Sit down and savor the extravagance. Then go do something else—away from food.

Most of us are not eating enough fruits, vegetables and whole grains. A diet devoid of these foods is one of the reasons for the rise in obesity, according to Paula Quaromoni, D.Sc., R.D., assistant professor in the departments of epidemiology and social and behavioral sciences at Boston University’s School of Public Health. In a recent study, she compared women with different eating styles to see if it had an effect on their weight. Turns out those who ate a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains were less likely to gain weight over the years. Those who consumed too many unhealthy snacks, fatty foods and sweetened drinks were more likely to gain.

Don’t throw food in the shopping cart without reading the label. Look at how many calories are in a serving and what a serving size is. Check the saturated fat content and other ingredients like sugar. Ingredients are listed by the amount the product contains, with the most at the top of the list. If sugar tops the list, pick something else: Added sugars do nothing for your figure but make it fuller.