Top 10 Basic Healthy Dieting and Weight Loss Tips

Everybody wants to lose weight fast but with all these fad diets around, it is difficult to know who to trust. Follow the 10 steps below as a basic outline to healthy weight loss.

1. Eat a diet full of color
Fruits and vegetables are packed with fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and are very low in calories. They help keep you satisfied longer, are a great snack and can be eaten with every meal.

2. Eat regular meals
Eating meals throughout the day will help keep your metabolism stable as well as burning calories all day long. When we don't eat for an extended amount of time it actually inhibits calorie burning. Take mom's advice to heart and be sure to have breakfast in the morning! Make sure and eat your 3 meals a day, but also sneak in some healthy snacks to keep your body going!

3. Give your stomach time to catch up
Many of us grew up being told not to snack before dinner as we would ruin our appetite. In actuality, having snacks can help prevent you from overeating. It takes our bodies 10-15 minutes to realize we've had enough to eat. Because of this delay, it is very easy to eat more than our bodies actually need, leaving us feeling overstuffed. When eating at home watch your portions. When eating out at restaurants share your entrees as they typically serve large portions. Go ahead, spoil your dinner with some snacks.

4. Eat whole fresh foods
In order for foods to last on our shelves in the grocery store they are filled with preservatives, which in turn deplete the nutrients and vitamins originally found in those foods. When possible, purchase fresh foods and avoid pre-packaged and convenient fast food, as these types of food are typically higher in calories, fat, and sodium.

5. Get moving
Our bodies were not meant to sit behind a desk all day long. We need daily exercise to benefit our overall health and especially to strengthen all our muscles including our heart. Exercise can also help you sleep better and improve your mood, so whether a high impact workout at the gym or a stroll through the neighborhood, hit the pavement and give yourself the optimal reward.

6. Treat yourself
We all have those few foods that we know aren't good for us yet we have a hard time avoiding them. When we try to restrict these foods from our diet, we tend to overindulge at some point. Allow yourself a treat from time to time, but remember to keep it within moderation. Try having a few bites of cake as opposed to the whole slice at a special occasion.

7. Be a detective with food labels
When reading the list of ingredients on packaged foods, if you do not recognize the ingredient or cannot pronounce it, perhaps this isn't something you want to be putting in your body. If you see a product with a laundry list of ingredients, put the item right back on the shelf. Also, make sure when reading labels to review whether calories and fat listed are per serving and not the entire container.

8. Eat your whole grains
Whole grains are unrefined products that have maintained their nutrients and fiber content, unlike white products that are left with no nutritional value. An additional benefit to eating 100% whole grains, such as breads and pastas, is they help maintain blood sugar levels with less spiking and crashing throughout the day. Whole grains also keep you satisfied longer.

9. Eat the "right" fat
Fat has gotten a reputation for being bad for us and in many cases this is true, unless we are speaking about healthy fats that our body actually needs. Overeating wrong fats (saturated fats) can lead to those unwanted pounds as well as increase your risk of heart disease. Stick to healthy fat sources that are unsaturated such as olive oil instead of butter or margarine, which contain saturated fat. You can use these for sauteing, baking, lubricating bakeware, and more - be creative!

10. Beware of liquid calories
Extra calories can add up quickly, for example a 12 ounce can of regular soda can contain 10 teaspoons of sugar! These types of calories will not fill you up, but they will most certainly add weight. Beware of the beverages you drink throughout the day, some of the perceived health drinks have several teaspoons of sugar per serving, which many of us tend to overlook due to tricky naming conventions thought up by slick marketing departments.