While it may be tempting to drastically cut calories and impose unrealistic eating expectations to hasten weight loss, a slow and steady approach is more effective and easier to maintain.  Change just one meal a day.  Rather than redoing your plate at every meal, try eating just one healthier or smaller meal a day.  You won't feel deprived with this gradual change, which will give you time to adjust to your new way of eating. Eliminate or replace one snack a day.  If you always have a cookie at your 3 p.m. coffee break have a peach instead or simply skip the sweet treat altogether.  Or trade your large mocha for a cup of green tea with a squeeze of lemon. Dieting properly is a great way to start living a healthier lifestyle. However, you'll see the best results if you also begin a healthy exercise regimen at the same time. Studies show that combining diet and physical activity  will have positive benefits for your overall health and for weight loss.  Aim to be active for at least 60 minutes per day. You can break this up into small sections to make it manageable. For example, try walking to work and taking the stairs instead of driving and taking the elevator. Go outside. People who exercise outside report that they enjoy it more. Explore your neighborhood, or go hiking in a nearby state park. Call a friend. When you make plans to exercise with a friend you will be more likely to stick to the plan. Ask a buddy to join you at yoga or go for a long walk with you after work. If you're not getting enough sleep, you might be more susceptible to weight gain. When you're low on rest, your body produces more cortisol, which is the stress hormone. This can make you more likely to reach for comfort foods instead of making healthy choices.  Try to get seven to nine hours of sleep per night. People who do tend to have a healthier body weight than people who clock only five to six hours per night. Avoid using devices that emit blue light, which can keep you awake, at least 30 minutes before bed. These devices include smartphones, tablets, laptops, and televisions.  Get on a schedule. If you try to go to bed at the same time each night and wake up at the same time each day, your sleep will be more restful and effective. . There is a clear link between stress and weight gain. When you are stressed, your body releases more cortisol, which causes your body to retain more fat. This tends to happen especially in the abdominal region. To get the most out of your healthy diet, you need to work on reducing your stress levels.  A great way to reduce stress is to make sure that you are exercising regularly. This releases endorphins and generally improves your mood. Take deep breaths. Focusing on your breathing is a very effective method for reducing stress. Breathe deeply in and out, slowly inhaling and exhaling. This will slow your heart rate and help clear your mind. Having a reward system in place can help keep your enthusiasm high while dieting and prevent you from going off track.  Schedule a "cheat" day.  Allow yourself one day a week when you can forget your dietary restrictions and eat whatever you want.  It'll give you something to look forward to and keep you from feeling deprived. Be careful of labeling a food as "forbidden."  Human nature makes us desire something we can't have even more.  Avoid saying that you can "never" have a certain food on your diet plan.  Allow for exceptions to reduce the allure of certain tasty treats. To track your success in taking off the pounds, set up a system that will let you see how  you're doing.  That same food diary you started at the beginning of your plan to track your eating habits can be used to track what you're eating on your new plan.  Compare your entries from week to week to see trends, triggers and successes. Use an online program.  Enter all the information about your new plan (starting weight, goal weight, daily menus) into an electronic program that will keep your progress at your fingertips.  Many of these programs offer healthy recipes and community forums where you can connect with others who share your goals. Conduct weekly weigh-ins.  It's not just what your food diary says that matters, it's what the scale says as well.  Set a certain time each week to weigh yourself and make note of the results. Part of living a healthy lifestyle is knowing how to set realistic goals. Avoid making impossible demands of yourself, such as "I will lose 15 pounds this month." Instead, set smaller, more achievable goals. Healthy weight loss is generally considered 1 – 2 pounds per week. Give yourself manageable goals, such as "I will exercise six days this week." That progress is easy to track, and you can reward yourself for achieving these mini-goals. Avoid food-based rewards — instead, your rewards might include buying new exercise outfit or shoes. You may be tempted to try and boost your weight loss by skipping meals, or you may simply get so busy or distracted that you forget to eat. Whatever the reason, skipping meals only serves to sabotage your diet. It may cause you to overeat later in the day or it may cause your body to cling to fat and slow down your metabolism. Aim for three meals with one to two snacks every day or four to six small meals. Eating while watching TV, looking at your phone, or while running out the door is common practice these days, but it may cause you to eat more. When it's time to eat a meal, remove all distractions and take a seat at the table. Focus on the food in front of you and take in its smell, how it looks, it's taste and texture. Try setting your fork down between bites to ensure you take your time and chew thoroughly. Some diets are meant to be lifelong and others are simply short-term to achieve a weight loss goal.  Many diets are fine temporarily but may not be healthy over the long run. Be careful of "yo-yo" dieting. "Yo-yo" dieting, also known as weight cycling, is the phenomenon by which you lose weight on a diet, regain it after the diet ends and embark on a new diet.  Repeated "yo-yo" dieting can increase the risk for mental distress, life dissatisfaction and binge eating; over time it can damage the cells that line the blood vessels increasing your risk for heart disease. Ending a diet can be a relief, but if you simply return to your old ways of eating, you can easily gain back the weight you worked so hard to lose.  Instead, think about putting a maintenance plan in place to keep you at your new weight. If you've been on a liquid diet or one that seriously restricted caloric intake, you must be careful and add foods back slowly so as not to shock your system.  Incorporate homemade soups, fruits and vegetables over a period of a few days before settling into a healthy eating routine.
تقدَّم تدريجيًا. تحرَّك. استرِح. حِد من التوتر كافئ نفسك بين الحين والآخر. راقِب تقدمك. ضع أهدافًا صحية. لا تفوّت أيًا من وجبات الطعام. كُن منتبهًا أثناء تناول الطعام. توقَّف بمجرد الوصول إلى هدفك. ارجع عن النظام الغذائي تدريجيًا.