Think Small, Lose Big

From the Editors of Prevention

Surprise! Losing weight is all about thinking small. That’s because it’s the little changes you make -- like drinking more water and switching from big portions to small meals and snacks throughout the day – that count the most toward your weight loss goal.

Here are some of our favorite, easiest tips:

Drop 3 Pounds Without Trying
Put that cola down! And head for the sink instead: Dieters who swap sugary beverages for water lose an extra 3 pounds a year, on average, compared with those who continue to chug the sweet stuff. Sure, cutting out soda saves calories, but it’s also possible water helps rev your metabolism, because well-hydrated cells may process carbs and fat more efficiently.

Fast Lane to Weight Loss
Start ringing up your own groceries: Women who use the self-checkout lane are about half as likely to make impulse buys that could add pounds. Your savings: 7,200 calories a year – 2 pounds of weight gain.

The Sweet Side to Sweets
You may curse your sweet tooth, but there’s an upside to this weakness: It also gives you a hankering for more nutritious goodies. Those with an affinity for sugary treats eat 15% more fruit than those who prefer salty snacks.

Sneak In a Power Workout
Next time you’re waiting for your computer to boot up or the microwave to finish zapping lunch, jump or jog in place as fast as you can for 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Six minutes of high-intensity exercise a week boosts fitness levels just as effectively as 6 hours of lower-intensity activity, reports a recent study from Canada.

Munch on Mini-meals
Eating small meals frequently throughout the day – every 3 or 4 hours – helps keep your blood sugar up, so you don’t experience energy crashes or get so ravenous you overeat,” explains Kathy McManus, RD, director of the Department of Nutrition at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Each meal should have some carbs, protein and healthy monounsaturated fats – like a salad topped with 4 ounces of chicken and drizzled with olive oil. One meal never to skip? Breakfast. Studies show that not only are breakfast eaters more alert, but they tend to lose more weight when dieting than breakfast skippers.

Don't Fear Fat
Believe it or not, a little bit of fat can do wonders for your waistline. A 2004 Harvard study found that women dieters who followed a moderate-fat diet (about 35% of total calories) lost 10 pounds, compared with those on a low fat diet (20% of total calories), who gained 6. “A moderate-fat diet will leave you feeling more satisfied, so you’re less likely to nosh on empty calories such as fat-free cookies,” explains study author McManus. But this isn’t an excuse to follow Atkins: “A diet too high in fat not only increases risk of heart disease, but may also leave you feeling sluggish and tired, so you don’t have as much energy,” says McManus. Aim to get most of the fats in your diet from healthy monounsaturated fats such as olive oil, peanut butter and nuts, which studies show can help fight heart disease and will help you feel full.

You Snooze, You Lose
Losing weight may be as easy as catching enough Zs. Research suggests that a solid night's sleep boosts levels of leptin, a hormone that suppresses hunger. Previous research has shown that people who get by on 4 hours of sleep a night or less are much more likely to be obese. So when researchers at Laval University in Quebec tracked the sleep habits of 740 people for 10 years, they decided to monitor weight and levels of leptin. They found that women who got 6 to 7 hours of nightly shut-eye were 11 pounds--and men 16.5 pounds--heavier than those who slept 7 to 8 hours. Lead researcher Jean-Philippe Chaput speculates that a lack of sleep could disrupt people's circadian rhythms, which control the release of hormones such as leptin.