Making some key changes in your lifestyle can put you on the right track for losing weight and keeping it off for good.
Set realistic goals. Losing as little as 10% of your body weight can yield substantial health benefits and improve your appearance, so don't reach for the moon! Shoot for modest weight loss and use your success as motivation to continue on your road to a healthy weight.
Gather the troops. Studies show that people who have the support of family and friends are more successful in changing behaviors. Enlist your family and friends to help you make positive changes in your diet and exercise habits.
Keep it small and simple. Set realistic short-term goals in addition to big ones. Start with a few small changes in diet or activity — don't try to do everything at once.
Eat without distractions. Make it a rule at home to eat only at the kitchen or dining room table. Avoid watching television, working on the computer, or talking on the phone while eating. Engaging in other activities while eating interferes with your awareness of feeling full.
Don't skip meals, but do include snacks. Be sure to space your eating throughout the day to prevent getting too hungry. Small, frequent meals along with low-fat snacks like fruits, vegetables, and broth-based soups will help keep you satisfied. Consider Campbell's® soups as a way to curb your appetite before meals and prevent overeating. Campbell also offers an extensive selection of products with healthy levels of sodium (480 mg or less per serving) such as Campbell's® Healthy Request® Tomato and V8® juices, and 40 varieties of Select Harvest® soups (including light and microwavable bowls). In addition, Campbell's® 25 varieties of Healthy Request® soups (including Chunky™, condensed and Select Harvest® varieties) provide 410mg of sodium per serving. Campbell's® Tomato soup also meets the healthy level for sodium at 480mg per serving.
Recognize eating cues not related to
hunger. Pay attention to the triggers that encourage you to eat when you're not hungry and work on ways to change them. For example, if you're tempted by high-calorie snacks in plain view at home or in the office, ask your family or co-workers to keep them out of sight.
Record your progress. Keep a daily diary[
PDF file] to track the foods and beverages you consume throughout the day and your activity too. A diary can help keep you focused on your goals and keep you aware of your progress. Tracking your progress can help keep you motivated and encouraged to continue.
Reward your success. Give yourself a series of non-food rewards for achieving your weekly or monthly goals. Small rewards are more effective in motivating you along the way than striving toward a bigger reward — like buying an entirely new wardrobe — at the end. Treat yourself to a movie after work, a manicure or pedicure, a new award-winning book or film, or a beautiful travel magazine — whatever makes you feel especially good. Buy yourself new sneakers or workout clothes. These rewards may help keep you motivated to stay on track with your workout program.