Healthy Eating for Weight Loss

The biggest problem for many long term dieters is that typical diets often offer boring, flavorless foods. This is one of the reasons that so many people have such a hard time staying on a diet, even though they sincerely want to lose weight. The good news is that a healthy diet doesn't have to be boring. You can eat plenty of delicious, but nutritious foods and still lose weight. In fact, healthy eating for weight loss is best accomplished by eating a variety of different foods. Here are some simple tips that will help you lose weight without hunger or deprivation:

1. Never Skip Meals.

Skipping meals is a sure fire way of failing, no matter what diet you are on. Most people who skip breakfast, for instance, find themselves grabbing a high-calorie snack mid-morning. Or gorging themselves at luch. Healthy eating for weight loss works best when you eat 5-6 small, but frequent, meals during the day. This will balance your calorie intake during the day, help you to digest your food easier, keep you from having hunger pangs, and keep your blood sugar levels balanced.

2. Eat Fresh Foods.

Whenever possible purchase fresh foods in place of packaged, processed, or convenience foods. These are often higher in sodium and fat. On top of that, much of the nutritional value of the food is destroyed in processing. People are amazed at just how easily they lose weight when they start making their own home cooked lunch rather than popping in to the local fast food restaurant or deli by their office. Fresh foods are the most important ingredients of healthy eating for weight loss.

3. Check Your Portion Sizes.

Keep an eye of the sizes of the portions that you are eating at each meal. For example 1/2 cup of pasta is equivalent to one serving. In most restaurants you will find that a dish of pastas is almost 4 servings! Obviously, if you eat out very often, you're going to have a difficult time keeping the pounds off. Don't be afraid to ask for a doggie bag to take any leftovers home with you. When I go out to eat, I quite often bring enough home for a couple of lunches. An alternative is to ask for a child's size portion instead.

4. Keep Track of What you Eat.

Why not keep a food journal? This will help you pinpoint your eating patterns so you can modify any problem areas. You might also want to speak with your doctor or a registered dietician and ask them to review your journal. See if they can make any suggestions which will help you with eating a healthy diet to aid in your weight loss.

These suggestions are very simple to implement, but can have a very powerful effect on your weight. Healthy eating for weight loss doesn't have to be hard or require you to constantly count calories or carbs. Once you take these tips and make them daily habits, you will find that losing weight is a natural process.

Healthy eating for weight loss does not have to mean time-consuming menu preparation or boring meals. To discover delicious alternatives you never knew could be healthy, be sure to check out my Eating Healthy for Life blog at: http://www.eating-healthy.org