The 10 Easiest and Most Effective Tips for Weight Loss

1. Stop Snacking

Snacking is the number one saboteur of weight loss. Period. Why? Because people just end up eating way too many calories when they’re constantly popping snacks into their mouths. The other problem is that most “snacks” are based on refined sugar — very calorie dense and not very satisfying. When’s the last time you felt full after eating that fun sized bag of candy? Mindless snacking is absolutely pointless and totally destructive to weight loss. Don’t do it.

2. Don’t Drink Liquid Calories

If snacking is the number one weight loss saboteur, then liquid calories are a close second. They pose the exact same problem: It’s just too easy to consume way too many calories when you’re guzzling down sugary drinks that don’t satiate you at all.

This includes sports drinks. Gatorade isn’t inherently bad, but the fact is that the vast majority of people do not need sports drinks. Unless you’re actually depleting your glycogen stores with more than 60 consecutive minutes of hard training, sports drinks of any kind are just not necessary. 

3. Limit Yourself to 3 Meals a Day Max

This relates to tip number 1. If you eat 3 meals per day or less, it’s muchharder to accidentally overeat. There’s a popular myth that one needs to eat every two hours to keep the metabolism roaring at full speed. Understand: That is completely false and unsubstantiated by science.

4. Eat slowly and Stop When You’re Approximately 80% Full

Most people simply need to eat less food how to lose weight, and that means not stuffing your gullet to the brim. Slow down, and stop eating when you’re 80% full, or satisfied. I firmly believe if everyone in America took just these 4 initial tips to heart, the vast majority of overweight people could lose what they need to.

5. Eat More Protein

For the most part, what you eat matters very little if calories are controlled for. The one exception is protein. Protein does three key things that can help with weight loss:

1. It keeps you fuller for longer
2. It’s metabolized less efficiently than either carbs or fat, meaning you can get away with eating more of it
3. It helps preserve lean muscle mass, thus helping a greater portion of weight loss come from body fat stores.

Science shows that these benefits cap out at around .8g protein per lb of body weight per day. I recommend trying to hit that daily mark as often as you can.

6. Eat More High Volume Foods

There’s something that’s unavoidable: Hunger always wins. It doesn’t matter if your dietary strategy is perfect on paper — if hunger becomes too ravenous, everyone will eventually cave to it. The solution? Focus on foods that are higher volume and keep you fuller for longer. High volume foods are usually healthier choices in general, too:

• fibrous green vegetables
• lean protein
• low fat dairy
• low sugar fruit
• potatoes, and other roots and tubers

[Source: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/the-10-easiest-and-most-effective-tips-for-weight-loss.html]