How to Lose 10 Pounds This Spring

Has spring motivated you to lose weight?? It seems that more people shop for diets and start exercising in the spring than at the start of the New Year.? And why not?? Spring is the season for renewal.

But before you set your weight loss goal, be sure that your goal is realistic.? Remember that healthy weight loss occurs at a rate of one to two pounds per week.? If your goal is to lose ten pounds before summer, you could start today and reach that goal.

How to Lose 10 Pounds Before Summer

• Choose the right diet for you. Remember that just because a diet worked for your friend or your neighbor doesn't mean that it will work for you.? Choose the best diet to fit your lifestyle and your needs.
• Set short and long-term goals. Even if you set a broad goal to lose ten pounds, you should set short-term goals to keep yourself motivated along the way.? Set one for each week so that you hold yourself accountable.
• Learn to motivate yourself. Dieting is easy for the first couple of days.? But you know that challenges lie ahead.? Set yourself up for success by learning simple techniques to motivate yourself when the going gets rough.
• Master cooking tips to cut calories. Learn to cook at home.? Eating out can be done when you're on a diet, but if you can cook at home you'll be more able to control the portion and contents of your food.

Plot out your plan on a calendar or dry erase board and post it in a public place, like your kitchen.? That way you'll be reminded of the goal you set for yourself.

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Get Weight Loss Help From People Just Like You

Got a weight loss question?? Need support?? Got a diet gripe?? It can be hard to get weight loss help from friends and family who are not trying to lose weight.? Especially if your friends have never had to battle the bulge, they may not be the best people to counsel you if you have questions, concerns or just need to vent.? It's easier to get weight loss help from people just like you.

About.com Weight Loss on Facebook

Be sure to like the Facebook page for About.com Weight Loss.? We need your input!? Even if you're not ready to ask a question or post a comment, you may find the conversations helpful.

Recent topics have included:

• Finding the best calorie tracking tools
• What to do when people make negative comments about your weight
• Alternatives to diet soda
• Tips from dieters about motivation

Now that most people use facebook on their smart phones, it's easy to get weight loss advice on the go.? So join the discussion and get hooked up.

• Go to About.com Weight Loss on Facebook

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Parents Can Prevent Childhood Obesity in the Home

If you are trying to help your child lose weight, your best bet may be to lose weight yourself.? A new study found that parents can help prevent childhood obesity in the home by dropping a few pounds themselves.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota and the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine found that because parents are the most important people in a child's life, they play the most significant role in a child's eating and exercise habits.? In the study, they found that a parent's BMI change was the only significant predictor of their child's weight loss.

Start Losing Weight at Home
So how do you begin to make changes in the home?? A drastic change may not go over well with the kids.? But you can start to make simple changes to the way that you cook.? And if you involve the kids in the development of an exercise program, they may be more motivated to participate in the workout.

• Cooking Tips to Cut Fat and Cut Calories. Just a few easy changes to the way that you cook and prepare meals can help you to cut unhealthy fat and calories.
• Exercise For Weight Loss: 7 Steps to Success. If you feel lost when it comes to exercise, use these easy steps to get started.? In no time, you'll be working out like a pro.

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How Many Calories are in Your Favorite Foods?

If you're trying to lose weight, the foods you eat will make or break the success of your weight loss plan. Exercise helps you to build muscle and change your body composition, but weight loss happens primarily in the kitchen. So, if you are counting calories, how do you know how many calories are in the foods that you choose?

There are a few tools that can help you figure that out. Choose the method that is easiest for you to use. Remember that a great weight loss tool for your friend, might not be the best option for you.

Tools to Count Calories

• Calorie counting online. Some people who sit at a computer all day may find that online tools work best for them. CalorieCount.com provides a great site where you can search through a database of foods and log your diet intake. Another source is the new USDA ChooseMyPlate.org site that has an updated look.
• Calorie counting mobile apps. If you are a dieter on the go, or if you tend to eat out more often, you may need a way to count calories from your phone or mobile device. CalorieCount.com has apps as well as their online site. MyFitnessPal is another popular app that provides calorie counts for foods.
• Calorie counting food diary. For many people, the best way to count calories is with an old fashioned food diary. It doesn't need a wi-fi connection, the battery never runs low, and your entry won't be interrupted by a power outage. If you choose this option log your foods into a small notepad that you can easily toss in your purse or briefcase. Use the nutritional labels off the foods you eat to calculate daily fat, carbohydrate and protein values for the day.

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Get Healthy: Spring Clean Your Kitchen

Freshen up your eating habits this spring by cleaning out your kitchen.? Get started this weekend.? Healthy eating begins with a well-stocked pantry and good cooking tools.

3 Steps to a Healthy Kitchen

1. Clean out the refrigerator. Get rid of high calorie salad dressings and sandwich spreads.? Stock up on olive oil, fresh herbs and lemon instead. ?Learn to eat vegetables without too much added fat.
   
   • 3 Easy Ways to Make Vegetables Taste Better
     
2. Invest in cooking tools. Non-stick cookware and a kitchen scale are both good investments if you want to lose weight.? Learn cooking techniques to cut fat and calories.
   
   • Cooking Tips to Cut Fat and Cut Calories
     
3. Hide fatty snack foods.? If you must have them in the house, take high calorie, high fat treats and put them in away in cupboards and cabinets that are hard to reach. Learn to make healthier snacks instead.
   
   • Healthy Snacks: Tips and Recipes
     

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Flavor without Fat

Adding flavor without greatly increasing the amount of fat in your favorite dishes will help keep you from getting bored. By varying the flavor of your favorite healthy meals, you'll be less likely to give in to cravings. Consider some of these easy ways to add flavor without adding too much extra fat.

From the Fridge...

In the Pantry...

• Swap high-fat dressings, sauces, and bread spreads for olive oil. Extra-virgin olive oil is perfect for salad dressings and other dishes where more flavor is needed. It has the purest and fruitiest taste among types of olive oils. Olive oil has heart-healthy fats (monounsaturated fat), but remember it has 14 grams of total fat per tablespoon, so watch your servings.
• Keep canned chicken broth readily available in your pantry. It contains trace amount of fat and just 10 calories per cup. It's perfect as a substitute for butter when you stir fry. You can also use it to make tasty, reduced-fat mashed potatoes. The About.com Guide to Busy Cooks has a great recipe for improving the flavor of canned chicken broth.

  Tip: Choose low-sodium varieties of chicken broth, then add only a small amount of salt to taste.

• Flavored vinegars add zip to sauces, dressings , soups and other recipes. Just a drop or two of flavored vinegar makes a big difference without adding fat. My favorite is apple cider vinegar, but there are others to choose from. The About.com Guide to Gardening can tell you how to make your own flavored vinegar.
• It's a little bold for my taste, but by friend raves about adding minced hot peppers or hot pepper sauce to her family's chicken dishes. And here's a plus -- eating spicy foods may slightly raise your metabolism.
• A handful of sun-dried tomatoes can really perk up your favorite Italian dish.
• Adding nuts to everything from salads to cereal to baked goods is a great way to add flavor and nutrition. Eating them may even benefit heart health. My favorite use is to add almonds to almost any flavor of low-fat yogurt. To make nuts more flavorful, so you can get more flavor from a smaller serving, toast them briefly before adding to your food.

  Tip: Almonds are the one of the most nutritionally dense nuts.

With Your Spice Rack...

• Try adding new herbs and spices instead of other enhancers like cheese or butter sauce. Keep in mind that dried herbs are actually more flavorful than fresh, so use less. Experiment with basil, dill, tarragon, curry, and others until you find your favorites.
• I actually carry Mrs. Dash in my bag because I often pack a frozen meal for lunch. I can't take the spice rack with me, but those meals often need to be "doctored up." One little bottle does the trick -- I've yet to find a pre-packaged or frozen diet meal that isn't greatly improved by a dash or two. There are many different flavors to choose from.

At the Stove...

• Invest in several non-stick cooking pans, such as a skillet and saucepan. You can use these to prepare your food without having to add extra fat.
• Try cooking fish using papilottes (a fancy word for little paper packages), parchment paper, or foil. These help seal in flavor. Instead of basting with butter, use a little olive oil or canola oil and brush lightly.

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Overweight

Definition: Overweight refers to an individual weighing 10% or more of what is considered his or her recommended healthy weight (as determined by large-scale population surveys).

A mathematical formula using height and weight called "body mass index" (BMI) is also used to assess underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity. Individuals with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 are considered overweight.

Being overweight is known to increase the likelihood of certain diseases and health problems, particularly if other risk factors are present. Ask your doctor if you are at an increased health risk and whether you should lose weight or simply avoid gaining weight.

Pronunciation: OH-ver-WEYT

Common Misspellings: overweightness

Examples:

Heather is considered overweight, because she weighs 150 pounds and 135 pounds is considered a healthy weight for her height.

Weight Loss Glossary

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