Lose Weight For Good

Lose It For Good

Provided by Prevention

Not all calories arecreated equal, and neither are all dieters. Weight loss works when it fits your personality, your lifestyle, and your taste in food. Here are top diet researcher strategies that really work.

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Snack on nuts, lose more weight.

Walnuts, pecans, unsalted peanuts, and other nuts keep you feeling fuller longer. They're packed with fiber and good fats, too. Have a handful (no more -- they're also high in calories) in place of your usual midmorning or afternoon snack.

Fool your stomach.

Start meals with a big salad with lots of veggies, no croutons or creamy dressing; have double portions of fruit and veggies at meals and skip or cut back on calorie-dense starches, fats, and fatty meats. Opt for a fruitdessert, with a dab of sorbet or ice cream for flavor. You can also eat eggs for breakfast. If you don't have time to scramble eggs on weekday mornings, hard-boil a few on Sunday and keep 'em up to a week in the fridge for quick, on-the-move breakfasts.

Cut sugar from your diet and get carbs from fiber-dense foods.

Be sure you're subtracting high-glycemic foods when you add low-glycemic options. For example, say no to that blueberry muffin; have the banana and milk. Say yes to a handful of almonds; banish the chips. Love baked potatoes? Go with a sweet potato (with a GI of 54) instead of a white potato.

Exercise and maintain your muscles.

In addition to your regular aerobic exercise, add some strength training. Aim for six to eight moves that target the upper and lower body. Choose a weight you can lift no more than 8 to 12 times. If weights aren't your cup of tea, try Pilates, swimming, or power yoga -- all of which will give you toned, firm, and shapely muscles.

Eat (lean) meat.

Don't skimp on protein -- aim for a moderate portion at each meal. In a study, high-protein dieters got 25 percent of their daily calories from protein -- in a 1,500-calorie diet, that's just 375 calories (the amount you'd get if you had an egg, a 4-ounce chicken breast, and a hamburger made from 4 ounces of 96 percent lean ground beef).

Stay calm.

Develop an inner sense of control that allows you to nip stress in the bud so you don't have to snack your way out of it. Meditation and yoga help. Active coping is also helpful in reducing persistent stress. For example, pay thebills -- rather than passive avoidance, such as refusing to open envelopes from your credit-card company.