5 Tips for Losing Weight and Staying Slim
These tips for losing weight and staying slim will surprise you — because they’re not the usual “exercise more, eat less” ideas! These weight loss tips will change how you view exercise and food.
Before the tips, a quip from Ellen Degeneres:
“You have to stay in shape,” said Degeneres. “My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She’s 97 today and we don’t know where the hell she is.” 
Surprisingly, exercising doesn’t always lead to weight loss — no matter how far you walk. These tips for losing weight and staying slim are from Allure magazine. And for more diet tips, click on Skinny Bitch: Skinny Meals You Can Make in Minutes by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin.
5 Tips for Losing Weight and Staying Slim
1. Exercise is important – but doesn’t significantly affect weight loss. “Exercise has many health and emotional benefits, but it doesn’t make a huge difference when it comes to weight loss,” says James Hill, the director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. “You can restrict your food intake by 500 to 1,000 calories starting tomorrow, but you have to work out for a long time, or at a very high intensity, to burn as many calories.” But don’t stop working out — read 10 Workouts to Boost Your Metabolism.
2. Successful dieters have found their individual preferences. Hill says that no particular diet is more effective than any other healthy eating plan…which means that Jenny Craig may not work for you, but calorie restriction or TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) may. An effective weight loss goal or tip for staying slim is to find a healthy eating plan that you can stick with long-term, or that you can incorporate into your lifestyle. Include your personality traits when you’re working towards your fitness goals.
3. Weigh yourself regularly. “Successful dieters tend to weight themselves regularly to stay on track. The scale has been vilified, but it helps you stay focused,” says Hill. “Successful dieters also keep food diaries or count calories. And they are seven-day-a-week breakfast eaters. Eating a meal first thing in the day seems to help people manage hunger better.” Since there has been some debate on this, I found it surprising that weighing yourself motivates you towards your weight loss goals.
4. Ditch an unsuccessful weight loss plan after six months. “After six months, if you get there, you’re a success story,” says Hill. “If you haven’t lost all the weight you want to lose in that time, you’re probably not going to do it. If you still have a lot of weight to lose at that point, its best to take several months to maintain the weight you’ve shed, then try another six-month diet.” Read 10 Weight Loss Secrets for Fat Loss for more tips for losing weight.
5. You’ve cleared the hurdle at three years. This tip for staying slim may seem daunting at first, but Hill says that “after three years, you’ll know whether you’ve settled into a routine that allows you to maintain the weight loss.” After three years, most people feel sure they won’t regain the weight they’ve lost.
Do you have any thoughts or tips for losing weight and staying slim? I welcome your comments below. Mine absolute best fat burning tip are the 10 Minute Solutions Pilates DVDs.
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Comment by Ruth on 18 July 2008:
Wow. Those are definitely interesting tips. And not ones I’d necessarily agree with, especially the six month thing. That seems like a pretty short time to work at a weight loss plan, especially if you’re significantly overweight and have a lot of pounds to lose. I’d much prefer a balanced plan such as the APO E Gene Diet that includes both eating changes and exercise, and takes a much more integrative approach to weight loss than many of the best seller diet theories out there.
Comment by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen on 19 July 2008:
Thanks for your comment, Ruth. The 6 month thing surprised me too, but more because I thought people would give up after 6 months if they haven’t lost anything!
I agree that a more integrative approach (diet and exercise) seems healthier and more effective. I also definitely think each person needs to find what works for him or her — and that takes trial and error.