10 Tips to Start Your Year off Right

iDiet’s own Dr. Susan Roberts was quoted in the January 2014 People Magazine “Half Their Size” issue, providing some valuable weight-loss tips. Here is a more comprehensive list of Dr. Robert’s diet tips and advice to help start your year off right!

Don’t go to the gym  🙂

Many research studies show that it takes a whopping 30 hours or more of exercise for the average person to lose just 1 pound of body fat. Exercise is vital for health so don’t stop what you are doing, but be aware that living at the gym won’t help much with weight loss.

Eating right is critical

Successful, sustainable weight loss is all about eating healthy meals and snacks which are so satisfying that you can eat fewer calories without feeling deprived. For best results use some of that time you are not working out to prepare delicious food that is good for your weight.

Forget counting calories

Counting calories is tedious and doesn’t work as well as using a scientifically balanced meal plan. My favorite, of course, is iDiet – the menus and recipes (a sample is at http://bit.ly/idietmenu) are research-tested to be the best for minimizing hunger and cravings while pounds drop off.

Use your hunger

Being ravenous when trying to lose weight always backfires, but moderate hunger before meals is the perfect opportunity. All you have to do is eat healthy weight-loss food when hungry to reprogram your food cravings — it only takes 2-3 weeks to start craving healthier foods.

Make time to enjoy

Healthy food is only boring if you let it be. Look for weight-friendly versions of the meals you love, and you have a plan for life.

Have an Ice Cream Sundae

Yes, really, no joke. Try this amazing after-dinner treat to satisfy evening munchies: mix 1/3 cup no-added-sugar ice cream with 1/3 cup Fiber One Original cereal, top with a small square of melted dark chocolate, eat and enjoy. Repeat nightly as desired.

Pace your calories

Eating light during the day so you can have a bigger dinner is a popular strategy that simply doesn’t work – it leads to lack of willpower late at night. For 24-hour success, spread your calories across the day starting with a good breakfast.

Make it fun with friends

Create your own group, or join a group program, to swap support and strategies, and even cook or eat together.

Don’t let anyone shame you into cheating

Looking after your health is an important, admirable job so push back against folk who try to get you to overeat, and console yourself with this… in a few weeks they will be asking you how you did it ☺

And when you fall off the wagon…

Don’t beat yourself up. None of us — including diet doctors! — are perfect, and the guilt only makes it worse. Just remind yourself that one bad meal is not a big deal, and get back on your plan.
Dr Roberts is Director of the Energy Metabolism Laboratory at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center and Professor of Nutrition and Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University, and founder of The iDiet Program (www.theidiet.com).