These are some of my favorite tips that I have learned from others as well as some of my own(:

FOOD:

1. Chew gum, it’s low in calories, has no fat, and make you feel like you’re eating something. It also helps for those of us who eat food for the taste, not the hunger.

2. Drink water with the juice of one lemon before every meal.  Citrus shrinks your stomach and is a natural appetite suppressant.  And you get your Vitamin C, which is a powerful detoxifier and helps strengthen your skin.

3. Freeze your foods (yogurt, fruit, etc.) it takes longer to eat so you’re occupied longer.

4. Green tea makes you lose up to 100 extra calories a day, plus it’s great for your skin. After a week, you’ll really lose the taste for such “flavored liquids”.

5. If you need to eat, eat negative calorie foods, or metabolism boosting foods.

6. Eat fiber, it makes you feel full and takes fat with it out of your body.

7. Use lite milk instead of full cream, which is about 130 calories a cup. OR even better, use lite SOYmilk which is about 60 calories a cup. 

8. Sugar-free jelly! It comes in so many flavors and it’s only 10 calories per serving

9. Drink some cider vinegar – it curbs your appetite, speeds up metabolism and detoxes your liver and basically flushes you out. 

10. Make sure to check the soup aisle at the grocery store! There are a lot of fatty soups with a lot of carbs and calories, but if you look for low fat or fat free, low sodium soups, you will find there are plenty with 60 to 100 calories per serving.  It’s even easier to find these at the organic food stores

11. My absolute favorite thing to eat is spinach salad! I usually keep it simple with 1/2 a cup & just add fat free dressing & some type of vegetable but if i feel like splurging a little I add croutons, or eggs, or cheese, or vegie-meat balls, or vegie-hotdogs, etc. or a combination of those items. It’s always less then 100 cals & very filling(:

12. NEGATIVE CALORIE/METABOLISM FOODS: Cold water, green tea, black tea, coffee, Protein, vitamin B6/B12, low-fat dairy items, white meat chicken, lean turkey, whole grains, curry, cinnamon, oatmeal, bananas, almonds, eggs, tofu, chili peppers (anything spicy), asparagus, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, garlic, beans, lettuce, onion, spinach, zucchini, apple, blueberries, cantaloupe, cranberry, grapefruit, honeydew, lemon/lime, mango, orange, papaya, peach, pineapple, raspberry, strawberry, tomato, tangerine, watermelon, AND SOO MUCH MORE – JUST DO A GOOGLE SEARCH!

EATING:

1. Keep a track of you calories in a journal or calorie counter. You don’t know how many calories you consume until you are forced to look at it.

2. Eat slowly. Put your fork down between each bite.

3. Try eating with your left, or vice-versa. It takes your stomach about 20 min to realize it is full.

4. Highly sweetened foods make you crave sugar more, stay far away from them.

5. Eating on a small plate makes everything will look huge & eating on lighter colored plates helps you eat less.

6. Remember eating 100 cals 4 times a day is better than eating a 400 cal meal.

7. Eat breakfast, this gets your metabolism going

8. Don’t fast for days on end, when you start eating again you’ll gain more than you lost.

9. When in restaurants, ONLY order off the appetizer menu, and ONLY eat half of it.

10. A good rule is to limit yourself to one to three bites of anything you crave.  For ex., whenever you go to a buffet get one piece everything you want & take no more than 3 bites. This usually means that your plate ends up being completely full.  Another upside to this is that people will never question you about your weight because they will see you with a lot of food on your plate and at least some of it with bites eaten.

11. Binging is okay, even good, if you have reached a plateau in your weight loss, it tricks the body into thinking you’re eating more, and then when you starve again it loses weight.

OTHER:

1.If your struggling to stay on track, keep in mind of an upcoming event, even if it’s going out with friends. You want to look your best right?

2. Wear a rubber band around your wrist and snap it when you feel hungry.

3. Hunger pains? Envision that gnawing feeling & imagine your fat being burned away.

4. Encourage your self with a non-edible reward, like if you lose 5lbs you get new shoes.

5. Hot vs. water: drinking hot water or taking hot showers makes you lose your appetite, drinking cold water or taking cold showers burns you calories.

6. Always wear makeup so you don’t look malnourished. Plus lip gloss makes you more aware of what’s going on in your mouth. Also, flavored ones help with cravings.

7. Brush your teeth constantly so you won’t be tempted to eat afterwards.

8. The later you stay up, the hungrier you will get.

9. Sleep at least six hours a day. If you get less than six this can lower your metabolism by 15%.

10. Sitting up straight will help you burn 10% extra calories, and it makes you look thinner!

11. KEEP MOVING: Take every chance you can to exercise and burn calories.  Fidget whenever you’re sitting down, wiggle your foot, tap / clap your hands, play with your pen.  Clench your butt muscles, or go up and down on your toes while waiting to cross the roads etc. Stand up whenever you can. Pace up and down while you wait for the bus/ train.  Take stairs not the elevator. Park further away from where you need to go. NEVER sit still.  Even if you think you don’t have time to exercise – you do and every calorie you can burn adds up.

12. Listen to music and dance, it’s fun and burns calories. Plus it helps you run faster to get a better workout and increases your endurance by %15.

13. Learn to love feeling empty! Stop thinking that you’re deprived of that bite of whatever. How about being deprived of the chance to get to a skinnier? 

14. TAKE YOUR VITAMINS!: if you are reducing your calorie intake, you are probably also reducing your vitamin intake. Also it’s better not to take it on an empty stomach.

• One a day » Helps restore nutrition
• B12 » energy/metabolism boosting
• Bioton » hair, skin, & nails

15. Tums » Helps calm the stomach

18. Emergen-c » great for when your terribly tired

19. FOOL FRIENDS/FAMILY:

• Go get fast food & leave empty remains anywhere where you are sure someone will see it. Also leave the dirty dishes where your parents can find them. They will think you ate.
• Prepare a list of excuses to eat as little as you can: You’re sick, you’re a vegetarian, allergic, you have a tooth ache, ate a big breakfast/lunch, important family dinner, you have a dentist apt.,etc.