10 Weight Loss Tips

1. Drink Water! You must be adequately hydrated to lose weight.

2. Eat 3 meals every day – If you don’t eat, your metabolism becomes sluggish and stress hormones rise; this makes it harder for the body to lose weight.

3. Eat breakfast– Break your fast and eat when you wake up, otherwise cortisol and insulin will rise. When insulin and cortisol are high it is metabolically difficult for the body to lose weight.

4. Eat every 4-hours – Eating regularly keeps your blood sugar stable. Insulin and blood sugar must be balanced to effectively lose fat (as opposed to muscle or water).

5. Avoid sugar – Be especially careful about juice, soda and alcohol, they are loaded with excess sugar (which ends up being stored as fat).

6. Eat real food – Focus on eating alot of fruits and vegetables, omega 3 & omega 6 oils, and good sources of protein, (chicken, tofu, turkey, fish and eggs). When the body is well nourished, with good food, you don’t have as many cravings.

7. Walk – 40-60 minutes 5 days a week.

8. Try to eliminate wheat and/or dairy – Often wheat and dairy cause bloating and sluggishness. I have seen people lose up to 10 pounds just because they eliminated these foods. Your body might be telling you it is intolerant to a food if you feel tired, have gas, headaches, burping, irritable bowels after you eat.

9. Get plenty of sleep– Sleep has been said to be the “best weight loss drug”. Seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night is ideal and keeps cortisol levels down. When cortisol is reduced, excess weight comes off.

10. Avoid the junk – Stay away from food chemicals such as; trans-fats, preservatives, chemicals, and Nutra-Sweet. Also, if ingredients listed on labels are long words that you can’t pronounce, don’t eat that product! Food chemicals can make you bloated among other things.

“You must be healthy to lose weight; not lose weight to be healthy.” Diana Schwarzbein M.D.