How many times did you ask yourself this question and how many diet pills have you eaten, weight loss programs you’ve wasted paying for but nothing seems to work. Probably you are not doing it right or maybe food is your best friend and you can’t control the temptation which tells a lot why your eating habit is not helping you to do so. Well, the time is now and not tomorrow or later to reduce weight, read on and practice some of these tips to reduce weight and enjoy a leaner YOU.

Take time to walk instead of being a potato couch. Inserting an 18 minutes walk into your daily lifestyle won’t hurt you but will help you to reduce weight gradually. If you have to pick up your daughter from school and if it’s only 15 mins away, walk there instead of driving. You will notice your belly will decrease in size.

Omron Pedometer

Omron Pedometer

Buy a pedometer to motivate you as you see how many steps you made and the calories you’ve burned, believe me it’s good to know so you can make a plan to do more steps the next day. Omron HJ-112 Digital Pocket Pedometer is the best and measures accurately.

If you can’t control your food portion, try this – use a small bowl and use this to measure your carb (rice/pasta) intake, if the bowl is about 1 cup, do not attempt to fill it to the brim but fill it at least by about 3/4 so you don’t overeat. You can go crazy with salad or vegetables, use a plate instead. Eat 3 meals a day (with portion control) with 2 healthy snacks in between.

Always fill up a 1 liter (equals to 4 cups) jug every morning and drink this throughout the day. Place it next to you (on the computer table if you are a computer freak!) so that it is always within your reach. Make sure to have a separate glass of water during meals so that you actually drink more than 1 liter a day.

Do not fry your food too often, use the oven or buy a good non- stick pan/wok (Tefal by Jamie Oliver is a good one – try to buy the bigger ones so you can use it for all purpose).

Forget the soda, coke, sweetened juice as they contain lots of sugar and avoid artificial sugar which is detrimental to your health in the long run. You can still enjoy occasional sweet treats but eat them instead of drinking them.

You can eat one or two pieces of chocolate a day and have water instead of juice or have 1 scoop of ice cream, the point is that you still get to enjoy your sweet craving and reduce weight at the same time.

If you spend time on the computer more than you move, time yourself, make every 1/2 hour or 1 hour (use the alarm if you must) to stretch. Pity your body, it needs to move or better still go outside and breathe some fresh air!