9 Simple Weight Loss Rules to Take You from Flab to Fab ...

1. Don’t Starve Yourself

It’s unsafe and unhealthy to skip meals or starve yourself, and it won’t help you lose weight. If you’re hungry, you’ll be much more tempted to cheat on your diet… rather than skip meals, eat five small meals a day. This will help you feel full all the time (so you’re less likely to cheat and eat something off-plan) and it will also help you lose weight by keeping your metabolism rocking.

2. Combine Diet with Exercise

Simply put, there is no good, effective way to lose weight without following a healthful diet and doing frequent, strenuous exercise. If you diet without exercise, sure, you’ll lose weight. But then you’ll just be a skinny flabby girl. Ick! Following this «diet plus exercise» weight loss rule will help you be fit and fab, not skinny and flab!

3. It’s All about the Math

This weight loss rule will appeal to accountants and engineers and anyone else who likes math: weight loss truly is about numbers. If you want to lose weight, the calories you eat must be LESS THAN the calories you burn. If you’re done losing weight, and just want to maintain your healthy body, then make sure the calories you eat are about the same as the calories you burn.

4. Know Your Portions

Did you know that most servings of food ought to fit in the palm of your hand? I guess than 12 ounce porterhouse, pile of smashed potatoes, and big side of broccoli at Outback aren’t meant to be one meal… and they’re not. A typical restaurant meal is about 2 (sometimes even 2 and a half!) servings. Either split the meal with someone else, or box half of it to take home as soon as it’s served.

5. Try for Five

According to the USDA, adults are supposed to get five servings of fruits and veggies every day, but almost none of us do. If you truly want to follow all of the important weight loss rules, aim for those five servings, and to go above and beyond, eat as many of them fresh, and without sauce or butter or other processing, as possible.

6. Avoid Fast Food

Did you know that just one value meal, with a burger, fries, and drink, can often contain all of the calories you’re supposed to consume in an entire day? It’s also full of fat and sodium, and in a frighteningly high number of cases, deadly e coli and other food-borne bacteria. If you can’t avoid fast food altogether, choose grilled chicken sandwiches without dressing over burgers.

7. Shop the Perimeter

Shopping the outer edges of the supermarket is another important weight loss rule we all tend to break. Why is it important? Because all of the nasty, fat and calorie-laden processed foods and junk foods are in the inner aisles, and all of the fresh produce and hearty whole grains are around the grocery store. Grab a cart, shop the perimeter, then hit the check out… no junk food here!

8. There is No Magic Pill (or Food)

Any pill that promises instant or easy weight loss without diet or exercise is a scam. Don’t waste your money. Also, any diet that promises weight loss by avoiding just one thing or adding one thing isn’t going to work in the long term either. The weight loss rule here is that, again, to lose weight effectively and permanently, you’re going to need to eat right and exercise. Cutting out carbs or just taking a pill is not going to do it.

9. Fab Doesn’t Mean «skinny»

This weight loss rule may be the most important of all. Here it is: not everyone is meant to be a size 4. Some of us are perfectly healthy and gorgeous as a size 10 or 12. No two bodies are identical (not even identical twins’) so none of us will be healthy at exactly the same weight or dress size. If you’re following these weight loss rules, and your doctor isn’t concerned about you losing any more weight, then that’s that! You’ve reached a healthy weight, and it’s time to revel in your new, fit body, no matter what size you’re wearing.

With so many important weight loss rules to follow, you might feel a little overwhelmed, but really, once you’ve formed these new habits, you won’t ever want to ignore these rules! You’ll be far too busy losing weight and feeling fab to consider going back to your old, unhealthy habits. Which of these weight loss rules do you find the most helpful? Which will be more difficult to implement? Do tell!

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