How to Avoid Weight Gain

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Be aware of your body. People often gain weight slowly, making it hard to notice until it's a big problem. Those who keep their weight under control are often good at noticing when they've gained even just a few pounds, and can adjust their habits accordingly. This way, you can make small changes is lifestyle for a small change in weight, rather than feeling like you have to make a big change in lifestyle so you can lose a lot of weight (which is what often makes losing weight a difficult and intimidating task).

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   Eat 5-6 small meals daily. Eat every 2 1/2 -3 hours of the day from the time you wake until the time you go to bed. You may think that sounds like a lot of food but eating 5 small meals during the day will really help you lose weight.
   
• Eat protein at each meal or snack: such as chicken breast, turkey breast, lean ground turkey, swordfish, egg whites, etc.
• Eat carbohydrates - Bread, rice, potatoes, pasta/noodles, cereal, chips, corn, peas, cooked carrots. Eat any that you want, but only with protein and eat 1/2 as much as you normally would! Yes, you can have your good fats, like flaxseed oil, safflower oil, canola oil, and sunflower oil. Fats to avoid: butter, fried foods, mayonnaise and whole-fat dairy products.    
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   Exercise. This is the only safe way to increase the basic metabolic rate, so that you burn more calories per hour every hour of the day and night. You need 20 to 30 minutes of non-stop exercise or work at least 3 times each week. It is not recommend to do more than 45 minutes, or more than 5 times a week. This needs to be hard enough to get your heart rate up; as hard as a good fast walk.
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   Drink lots of water. Water helps to flush your body clean of toxins and fat. Remember you should always have a full water bottle with you and drink it throughout the day, it will take away your hunger and help you from overeating at mealtimes.

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   Give yourself a free day. You must not completely deny yourself of all sweets and snacks while dieting, you may be setting yourself up for disastrous fallout. Allow yourself one day per week where you can have a piece of your favorite dessert or drink or whatever your favorite treat may be. Allowing yourself a little breathing room for just 1 day a week can really help you maintain the correct mindset to stay focused and committed to your weight loss efforts.

#Tips

• Drink a lot of water, especially before meals. Not only is it good for the body, it reduces hunger. Do not substitute for fruit juice, that has too much sugar in it.
• Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a citizen and dinner like a pauper. Make your dinner small, and don't eat later than 8 o clock. If you don't eat after 8 o clock, by the time you go to bed the food should have been worked off.
• Here are the most frequent reasons that a dieter doesn’t lose fat, as opposed to weight. Weight may not change much if you are gaining muscle mass while reducing food intake. Adding muscle will help you lose fat. Try and avoid these:
  • Menu is too high in calories from calorie dense foods like snack foods, pizza, desserts, pasta, bread, and dairy products.
  • Activity and exercise levels are too low, or non-existent.
  • Slow thyroid. Check by taking your temperature as soon as you wake up each morning. If your temperature is below 98.6 degrees for 7 days in a row, bring the results to the attention of your physician. He/She can run further tests. About one in two Americans has an under active thyroid.
  • Fewer than 20 grams of protein are consumed for breakfast. Protein regulates insulin levels. When a high sugar or carbohydrate meal is consumed for breakfast, insulin levels in the blood become elevated. In the presence of insulin, fat is stored for energy, not broken down. Hypoglycemia all day long is the result.
  • (Too much fat is consumed. Butter, salad dressing, fried foods.
  • Too much sugar is consumed. Did you know that juice manufacturers are allowed by the FDA to put sugar in juice and label it "unsweetened," because they feel that much of the sugar was leached out during processing?
  • The heaviest meal is eaten at night rather than at breakfast. Way too often people eat too much right before they go to bed, or worse, they eat midnight snacks. If you eat for the activity level that will follow the meal, then you’ll know not to eat a big meal before bed. All you’re doing is sleeping and storing fat (energy).
  • Too much alcohol is consumed. Alcohol slows down the metabolism and is processed like sugar by the body.
  • Too few meals or calories are eaten per day. The body goes into a starvation mode, where it uses muscle for energy needs while conserving fat. Eat at least three staggered meals per day. Never skip a meal, unless it’s at night.
  • Too many in between meal snacks are consumed.
• Hang out with people who maintain a healthy weight. You will probably pick up some good habits, and avoid some unhealthy ones. They're less likely to suggest fast food, or if they do, maybe they'll also suggest a game of soccer or racquetball. Beware, though, people with amazingly good metabolisms, who eat like pigs and don't exercise. It will eventually catch up with them...but it will immediately catch up with you, if you follow their eating and activity patterns.