Question: What is YOUR Best Diet Tip?

We all have that one little diet secret that has helped us lose weight or stay on track! I want to know your BIGGEST and BEST diet tip.
Don’t be a frenemy and keep it under wraps!

I think it’s important to feel confident, be happy and help others. Post your tip in the comment section below and some good karma will come your way!

Buying fresh fruit and vegetables from the farmers market motivates me to try new healthy recipes!

Every once in a while, invite a friend over for a meal instead of eating at a restaurant. Restaurants aren't usually concerned about the amount of butter and oil going into dishes. They just want it to taste good! Know what you're eating

Making sure at least one meal per day is a fresh salad

Sharing dessert with a friend will cut calories in half! Imagine the difference after one, three or even FIVE years if you did it EVERY time!

Here are a few of your answers from twitter:

@MelissaJadeL 250-calorie meals, five times a day. my fave: boca burger w/ soy cheese + veggie bacon, w/ a little organic ketchup.

@MelissaJadeL hahaha Don’t Diet ! Just eat clean 80 % of the time & when you indulge make sure you ENJOY it

@MelissaJadeL NOT obsessing and thinking about dieting all the time, just choosing healthy meals etc & getting on with other things.

@MelissaJadeL eat only when I’m hungry and until I’m satisfied, not full! And hydrate all day long!

Click here to follow me on twitter

Kirby

to lose weight the most effective thing ive done is keep a food diary! Write down what you eat/ what time and how many calories it was. then total them up at the end of the day.. you will be AMAZED at how many pointless calories you eat. Also what excercise you do, and inspirational quotes/pics etc. You end up not eating all the little junk food things throughout the day just cos you wont want to see it all written down on the page!
Mel

Thanks for the tip Kirby!!
Im

Always having vegetables ready to eat in the fridge so when u go to snack it’s healthy and easy. Even steaming some in the morning and grazing on them when u feel like it helps and since you went to the effort of preparing them u feel obliged to eat them rather than something unhealthy!
Mel

I am DEFINITELY going to do this!! Thanks
mtaltal

I do something similar but with fruits. I keep a ton of fruits around and try to make sure that whenever I’m craving something sweet I go for a fruit!

I’m a mindless eater, so I find that having tea around helps too. If I’m just watching TV or reading on the computer, simply holding the warm mug is comforting and will usually prevent me from grabbing a bag of chips or something.
Danielle

I snack all day instead of having large meals. I eat about 6-7 mini meals a day. This helps keep my metabolism up! Just make sure your snacks are healthy ones! I also don’t eat carbs past 4pm. You start to slow down as night approaches so you’re not using up all the energy from carbs.
Sheri

Water, water, water!!! I make sure to have a water bottle around me at all times. When I do that, I eat considerably less because my stomach isn’t empty!
Courtney

I love myfitnesspal, an app that I got for FREE in the Android Market! It’s so helpful because it not only counts calories, but also fat, sugars, carbs, vitamins and other nutrients. It also takes into account how much weight you want to lose, your gender and your lifestyle to decide how many of these nutrients you should get each day. It’s super easy to find your food items too (:

My other diet tip is; whenever you go to make a meal decide what vegetable or fruit you’re going to eat with it first. I’ve found that I’m less likely to eat fat loaded mac and cheese and other side items and choose healthy NECESSARY things instead (:
Georgia

I have on my bed side table pictures of celebs bodies i like so when i roll over to snooze the alarm you think twice and get motivated to get out of bed to go to gym! i also put post it notes on my mirror to remind me when im doing my make up to have lemon & water and apple cider vinegar etc..
Andrea

- only eat sweet things outside, DO NOT bake and DO NOT buy and bring home. This prevents binging, but allows you not to feel deprived and lets you have a treat from time to time.

- for inspiration, don’t aim for bodies like Miranda Kerr- often, you’ll be discouraged. Find a celebrity that has approximately the same body shape and build as you, and aim for that body. For example, even though I’m overweight now, I do have quite a muscular build, so right now my goal is to look like Hilary Duff, and then continue to lose some weight.

- have little post-its on which you write your current weight very largely. Right under it, in smaller, write the next number towards your goal weight. Aim for a difference that’s not too large, like 2 kilos and stick it somewhere you can see it. for example- 66(your current weight)and under it 64( number towards your goal weight). The more you lose, the more post-its you have and can record your efforts.

hope this helps Good luck to you all!
Charlotte

A really good one I use all the time when I’m cooking and I’m not really sure about the calorie content of a meal. Obviously this still means using the healthiest ingredients possible, but the ultimate portion control technique is your hand.
The size of your palm and about 1.5cm (15mm) thick is your protein
The size of your full hand is your salad or veges
The size of your fist is your carbohydrate. This could be steamed veges, or a low gi complex carb such as sweet potato or quinoa etc.
This size meal works for everyone as its adjustable according to your size, since its your hand. It doesn’t mean you have to eat all of it if you don’t want to, just don’t go over it. If you’re still hungry, then have some water and wait 30mins. If you still want it, then have a piece of fruit or something like that.
But always think about whether you are actually hungry or if its just your head talking!

Don’t deprive yourself or you’ll end up bingeing. My friends and I eat out a lot, so I always tell one of them to stop me if I start to eat too much!
Also to do with eating out, look up the menu online and decide what you’re going to order before you get there, and decline to even look at the menu. That way you’re not tempted. Also don’t be afraid to get little changes to your meal like ask for your dressing on the side of your salad, or ask for steamed veges instead of chips etc. If you really want something that’s not really a healthy item, get it but ask for a smaller portion.
I keep a water bottle with me at all times, in my bag, in the car, on my desk, next to my bed, just everywhere! even if you’re not thirsty, just take a sip every now and then. Its also a good idea to have a healthy snack in your handbag, like some almonds or a piece of fruit. That way if you’re out and about you always have something just incase.
Eat off smaller plates, eat slowly and put your fork down between bites. Take a sip of water, talk to someone and count to 10-20 in your head before you take another bite. Savour your food. It’s ok to have junk food occasionally if you do it this way because then you won’t overeat and it’ll stop you from bingeing.
Hannah

I don’t eat anything in the evening! My last meal is at about 3 pm such as fish or lean meat with vegetables and rice.
Then I just drink a lot of water so I don’t get hungry and I can looking forward a nice breakfast the next day At breakfast I prefer porridge with nuts, an apple and raisins and a mug of coffee. Before having my breakfast I drink a glass of warm water which helps my digestion
But the most important tip I can give is; being disziplined!
hope a lot of people will try my “diet” and get good results
Charlotte

Another one I should mention is that when I’m cooking at home and I feel like pasta or rice or a heavier carbophydrate like that, I sub some of it out and add extra veges. So I only use 1/2 or a 2/3 of the original amount of pasta or rice.
http://www.heartfairs.blogspot.com HeartFairs

my tips are:
1. replace a few solid meals with liquid and you’ll trim down, the best is a smoothie of fresh papaya (or pineapple) + coconut milk + water blended with a pinch of organic salt
2. eat chocolate or junk whenever you want happily & without any drama

I like to visit your site sometimes, thanks!
Lee-la

I echo the food diary info. There’s a website I use to help me “zig-zag” calories:
freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm# They also have a macro-nutrient guide as well (so if you’re eating 1500 calories that day you can see how many grams per meal you should be eating of carbs, etc).
Another thing I do is I’ll eat 5-6 small “meals” a day. One of the best ways for me to do this is to make something, cut it in half and eat part of it then and part of it later. Cutting stuff in half is a big thing for me.
I’ve also consciously slowed down my chewing/take breaks while eating so I don’t just shovel stuff in and miss the “I’m full” cue.
Also, and I feel bad cause it might seem like I’m spamming, but I follow http://www.bodyrock.tv/. There are tons of quick, high intensity work outs as well as really good diet tips. I’ll occasionally do the diet challenges, like, “no sugar” for the week or adding a tomato to every meal of the day.
Lee-la

Oh, I forgot another site. fitday.com is also a really good site for tracking calories/macro-nutrients.
Sheri

I saw this today and thought of this post. They have some great ideas! http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/little-ways-to-lose-big-pounds-2505312/
E

This is such a fantastic string of comments! Thanks Mel!

My work has me constantly juggling different routines. Some weeks I can spend all day working at home, others I barely set foot in the house…. It’s “easy” following a healthy routine staying at home, not so much when out and about 18 hours at a time.
So I found that to stop my hunger pangs i keep hard-boiled eggs in my purse, They’re already perfectly packaged, last more than you think, are tasty and curb my appetite. I carry two, everyday and eat all the white and half the yolk of each egg. Plenty to get my amino-acids and minerals from the yolk
Plus, they’re super easy to make! I boil them 6 at a time and keep them in the fridge to pack them whenever I know it’s going to be a strenuous day.

Also I pack a small amount of raw almonds, but I usually go for the egg hehehe..
And don’t worry about getting too much fat with the yolks, egg has a really bad reputation… but there’s nothing to worry about. If you boil them, the fat structure in the yolk will remain intact and it is scientifically proven to actually lower LDL (bad cholesterol) levels.
This does not apply to fried eggs though!