HealthyLife Articles

Category: Weight Control

Healthy Weight

Weight Control

In a culture where “thin is in,” it can be a challenge to focus on being healthy at any weight.

Healthy weight is not just about weight in pounds. It includes being physically active, eating nutritious foods, and following a mindful and healthy lifestyle.

Persons at a healthy weight have a lower risk for diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other chronic diseases.

If you are overweight, losing 10% of your weight will help lower your risk for many

chronic diseases.

(Your weight in lbs) ÷ 10 =

(lbs to lose 10% of your weight)

Not getting enough sleep can change the body’s metabolism, making it harder to lose weight. Less sleep leads to less energy to exercise and more time for snacking. Aim for 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep a night.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Painless Ways To Eat Less Without Starving

Weight Control

It’s not always what you eat that determines whether or not you lose weight. Sometimes, small changes in the way you eat can help eliminate those extra pounds. Try these suggestions.

* Eat smaller amounts of food more often, and eat at least half of your intake earlier in the day (to increase your metabolism). You’ll burn off more calories that way. (Eat no more than six times a day-including snacks-however.)

* Use small plates, so portions look larger.

* Put less food on your fork or spoon, and take smaller bites. Chew slowly, and pause between mouthfuls.

* Wait 10 minutes before snacking. (The urge might pass.) Don’t prepare snacks for other people.

* If you feel like binge eating, put on tight clothes-it will discourage you.

* Choose more high-fiber and high-water foods like celery, watermelon, and plain popcorn. (You get more to eat without eating very many calories.)

* Mentally imagine yourself thinner–it’ll keep you going.

* Keep low-calorie snacks easily available.

* Never skip breakfast.

* Don’t eat anything after dinner.

* Brush your teeth after every meal. (You’ll be less inclined to continue nibbling.)

* Eat only if you feel relaxed to avoid “nervous munching.”

* Take the light bulb out of your refrigerator–it will cut down on “search-and-consume” forays.

* Drink lots of water every day, to suppress appetite.

* Never starve yourself all day in order to eat a special dinner. (You’ll be more likely to overeat.)

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
How To Help A Heavy Child Lose Weight

Weight Control

A heavy child or teenager carries a psychological burden, especially if he or she is the only family member with a weight problem. What’s more, people who are heavy as children have more difficulty in controlling their weight later on, as adults.

Concerned family members can take positive actions that help the child lose weight and promote emotional support at the same time. The basic premise is to make weight control a group effort and not focus on the child. In other words, rather than single out the heavy child for his or her eating habits, the entire family should try to adopt a healthy diet and other weight-control habits. Focus attention on these activities.

* Family participation in fitness or sports activities. Going for a hike or bike ride as a family not only creates an opportunity to exercise, but can bring family members closer together.

* Make it a household rule to limit the amount of high-calorie snack foods brought into the home.

* Teach all family members how to prepare healthy meals and snacks. Make a commitment to avoid high-fat foods for everyone’s well-being.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Portion Control

Weight Control

Size matters.

Compared to years past, people are eating larger portions. The super-sizing of foods is one reason people’s waistlines and body weights are super-sizing , too.

20 years ago:

1.5 ounce muffin

210 calories

Today:

4 ounce muffin

500 Calories

Get the facts

One portion of a food or beverage is often more than one standard serving. Get standard serving sizes fromwww.choosemyplate.gov. Just because soda comes in a 20-ounce size doesn’t mean it counts as one serving. (It’s actually 2½ servings.) Read the Nutrition Facts section on food labels. It lists serving size, number of servings, calories per serving, and other nutrition-related information.

Eating in verses eating out

It is easier to control portions when you eat at home, but you can stay on course when you eat out if you share a meal and avoid special value meals that offer larger portions for just a few cents more. Wherever you eat a meal, take your time. Your brain needs about 20 minutes to get a signal from your stomach that you are full.

Use simple measuring tools for serving sizes:

1 cup = 2 hands cupped or 1 clenched fist

½ cup = Computer mouse or 1 hand cupped

2-3 oz. = Deck of cards

1 oz. = Size of 1 domino

1 Tbsp. = Volume of 1 thumb

1 teaspoon = 1 die or tip of 1 thumb

Action Step

Eat meals at regular intervals to avoid the urge to snack. Buy single-serving snacks or make them on your own. Avoid distractions, such as TV when you eat.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
How To Survive A Dieting Setback

Weight Control

Everyone experiences occasional setbacks, especially people on diets. The trick is to prevent a minor slip from becoming a major disaster that thwarts your long-term weight-loss goals.

The most determined dieter cheats once in a while-it’s only human. Don’t chastise yourself or give up because you’ve had a slip-up in your eating plans. Remember, a temporary setback does not equal a permanent failure!

Here’s what to remember when you go astray.

* Setbacks are a natural part of learning self-control.

* Acknowledge your mistake and plan how you’ll respond to a similar situation the next time. Make it work to your advantage.

* Remember, long-term success is still quite possible.

* Give yourself positive feedback. If you eat half of a candy bar, for instance, praise yourself for not eating the whole thing.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Rethink Your Drink

Weight Control

Avoid liquids that fill you up and out.

That grande (16 oz.) peppermint chocolate mocha you grabbed before work might have perked you up, but it added 400 calories to your diet. With another 250 calories from the 20 oz. cola you drank with lunch, and the 300 calories from the two 12 oz. beers that helped you unwind after work, it’s no wonder you’re having trouble maintaining or losing weight. Your drinks alone account for about 1,000 calories of what should be a 1,500 (women) or 2,000 (men) calorie daily diet.

Sweet tea guzzlers, don’t smirk. One 32 oz. drink from McDonald’s contains 280 calories. And a Long Island iced tea packs a whopping 532 calories in one 16 oz. bottle.

Did You Know?

Having two 12-ounce regular sodas a day could add 30 pounds of weight in a year. Having water instead of these sodas can help you shed 30 pounds a year!

Healthy Drinking Tips

* Drink coffee black with a small amount of nonfat milk or unsweetened soy milk.

* Give your water some flavor with a squeeze of lemon, lime, or orange. Or, add a fresh strawberry or slice of cucumber or melon. Herbs such as ginger, cinnamon, or mint can also add flavor.

* Opt for caffeine-free herbal teas.

* Get the added benefit of antioxidants with fresh or low-sodium canned vegetable juices.

* Make homemade smoothies using fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, protein powder, and soy or rice milk.

* Mix one part fruit juice to three parts water or sparkling water.

* Drink wine in moderation. It has about 125 calories per 4-5 ounces.

* If beer is your alcohol of choice, try “lite” beer, but check out the calories per serving. Some light beers have almost as many calories as regular beer. Limit beer to one or two per day.

* Nix the cocktails with high-calorie mixers, such as soda, juice, and cream.

* Save the sports drinks for high intensity workouts as they have about 100 calories per 8 oz. serving. Lower the calories by mixing 4 oz. of water with 4 oz. of the sports drink.

Do diet drinks make a difference?

Ideally, diet soft drinks help keep calories down, but research shows that people who drink diet sodas tend to be heavier than those who pass on carbonated drinks altogether. Why? Diet drinkers give themselves permission to eat more food.

Action Step

Every day, drink plenty of water and other refreshing low-calorie beverages, such as unsweetened iced tea with lemon.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Turning Your Cookie Jar Into An Activities Director

Weight Control

Has your cookie jar always been a source of temptation? Does the urge for a snack send you to the goodie stash on top of the refrigerator or in the kitchen cupboard? Don’t get rid of the cookie jar, just get rid of the cookies and use the jar to store reminders of things you can do besides eat. On separate slips of paper, jot down tasks you would like to do or activities you’d enjoy. Be very specific, and stick to tasks which can be completed in 5 to 20 minutes. That rules out things like “Read War and Peace,” of course. But you could include “Read five pages of War and Peace.”

Following is a brief list of hypothetical examples to give you ideas.

* “Call Aunt Marge from bedroom phone.” (Stay out of that kitchen!)

* “Get rid of three items of clutter.”

* “Call Tom to schedule an exercise ‘date’.”

* “Manicure nails.”

Write down as many tasks as you can, one per slip of paper. Then fold each slip and put them in your cookie jar. Next time the urge to snack hits, go raid your cookie jar.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Reward Yourself For Weight Loss

Weight Control

When a behavior is followed by a reward, the behavior is more likely to be repeated. So the more you are rewarded for your weight-loss efforts, the more likely you’ll continue to succeed.

But you don’t have to wait until you lose weight to reward yourself Rewards should begin the very first day of your diet. (Of course, food should not be a reward.)

Here are just a few examples of the kinds of rewards that can help you to adhere to your weight-control plan.

* Buy yourself a bouquet of flowers.

* Call a friend long-distance.

* Give yourself some special “me” time.

* Try a new cologne.

* Get your car washed.

* Have a low-calorie picnic. (The picnic is the reward, not the food.)

* Treat yourself to a movie.

* Keep a diary of all the improvements you notice while dieting (more stamina, feeling attractive, fitting into smaller-size clothing).

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Keep Fat At Bay With Water Each Day

Weight Control

If you’re looking for a magic potion to help you lose weight, look no farther than your faucet. Water, often taken for granted, is an important addition to a successful diet. It is recommended that adults drink six to eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day. Reducing diets should include plenty of water because:

* Water makes you feel full, thereby suppressing appetite.

* Adequate amounts of water will help rid the body of metabolized fat and waste.

* Water may help to relieve constipation, which is a common problem when dieting.

Here are some ways to make water more interesting and fun to drink.

* Garnish a glass of water with an orange slice or a wedge of lemon or lime.

* Drink sparkling water, either plain or mixed with some fruit juice.

* Drink flavored bottled water. (Check the labels; many are calorie-free, but many are not!)

* Drink water from an attractive goblet or wine glass, or use a special coaster under your water glass.

* Take an occasional “water break.” Set aside a few minutes at work or home just to relax and drink a refreshing glass of water.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Set A Weight Loss Goal You Can Reach

Weight Control

Do you set out to lose 15, 20, or 30 pounds every year or so, only to find yourself stuck after the first 5 or 10? If so, do you quit out of discouragement?

There may be nothing wrong with your rate of weight loss. Your ability to set realistic goals may be the problem. If you’d like to increase your odds for success, try setting smaller, interim goals you can reach quickly. These are called short-term goals.

First, your goals need to be measurable. For instance, don’t tell yourself you have to “lose lots of weight.” You can’t measure “lots of weight.” So decide on a set number of pounds you want to lose. Then, break your overall goal down into realistic mini-goals. A realistic mini-goal would be to lose 5 pounds in three weeks, for example.

As you achieve your first couple of “mini-goals,” you’ll feel better sooner. After you reach each milestone of 5 or 6 pounds, set the next reachable goal, and so on. Small achievements add up, and keep motivation where dieters need it-high.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026