How often have you witnessed frustration over weight loss progress?

Most diet plans fail because they’re simply not sustainable, leaving many in disappointment. The reason I never promote “dieting” or restriction of any kind is because of the vicious cycle that it creates. Many people feel guilt once they inevitably fail at keeping a strict diet. This guilt, of course, leads to an indulgence on the very food they tried not to eat (ie. comfort eating).

Weight loss isn’t so much about what you eat, it’s about how much you eat.

And the key to knowing how much to eat is by learning when our bodies have become satisfied.

Therefore, in an effort to promote guilt-free eating here are a few “weight loss hacks” on how to eat smarter while still enjoying the foods we all love:

• Eat slower each meal
• Drink a glass of water right before each meal
• Splitting each meal in half (turning 3 meals into 6 smaller meals) helps keep your metabolism going and while keeping you fuller throughout the day
• Try eating a small bowl of salad with each meal to keep fuller
• Try drinking at least 2-3 liters of water to help ignite metabolism, proper digestion, and staying full between meals
• Remember, calories are not just limited to food! To save calories, try substituting soft drinks, juices, and other sugar-filled liquids with water or tea every once in a while
• There’s a difference between eating to where you’re “full” and eating until you’re satisfied. This can simply be address by listening to your body.
• Try putting your fork or utensil down after every bite
• A bag of chips has 1,200 calories and doesn’t fill you up. An apple has 95 calories and fills you up way faster (fiber). Eat the apple, first.
• BONUS TIP: A friend once recommended eating with your non-dominate hand! Not only is this a fun, quirky challenge but more importantly you’ll feel less inclined to overeat.

Notice how most of these tips are centered on feeling satisfied after eating. If you currently feel overweight, this means you currently have an opportunity to eat smarter (not stricter!) These eating tips don’t take a ton of effort to keep you feeling satisfied, so why not give it a try?

Commit to eating smarter today and enjoy your food, guilt-free.

Key Takeaways:

• Many diets fail due to non-sustainable restrictions.
• Strict diets send people into a vicious cycle of guilt
• The key to knowing how much to eat is by learning when our bodies have become ‘satisfied’.
• Focus on stopping when “satisfied” to lose weight