by Rosa Radikalis

Created on: January 27, 2007   Last Updated: April 18, 2007

For those who love food but hate exercise losing weight can be a struggle. Before you resort to drastic measures or try any lose-weight quick gimmick pills, please read these tips for keeping your weight under control. They may not make you drop four dress sizes but they might stop you from gaining weight. You could even lose a few pounds.

If you are genuinely hungry, eat something. The longer you wait the more likely it is that you will eat too much. Try to make sure you eat every four hours.

Do not eat because you are bored. How many times do you absently mindedly open the door of the refrigerator to get a snack between meals because you don't have anything better to do? If you catch yourself when you are about to eat for the sake of it, do something else instead. Take your dog for a walk, write an article for Helium, sing along to your favorite song, clean the house. Do anything, but keep your hands out of that refrigerator and avoid the snack cupboard at all costs. You may even want to consider placing a picture of a morbidly obese person on the refrigerator door in the effort to make yourself think twice before opening it.

Eat more slowly. The longer you take to consume your food the quicker you will feel full. Take pauses and don't rush, it will only give you indigestion. You are less inclined to eat quickly if you don't wait until you are starving before consuming something.

Don't forbid yourself any food that you enjoy eating; we can have all things in moderation. Denying yourself certain foods only makes you want to eat them more than you normally would since it causes cravings. The key is to stop eating as soon as you are full. Feeling bloated after a meal is uncomfortable anyway, so stop as soon as you no longer feel hungry. Don't just eat because the food tastes good.

Drink a glass of water before each meal you eat so that you'll feel full a little more quickly. Water is good for you anyway.

Try to burn off more calories than you consume. Even if you hate running you can still get your heart going. A brisk walk for half an hour a day is sufficient. If you find it boring, take your MP3 player so you'll have music to keep you company, or go with a friend, partner or family member.

It is also a good idea to keep your muscles toned. You can do this at home with an exercise ball, a few loose weights and some light leg weights that you can purchase quite cheaply at outlets like Wal-Mart or Target. I like to do this in front of the television so that I don't get bored and lose motivation. All it takes is half an hour two or three times a week. Doing this can make you look thinner with out actually losing any weight.

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