by Kimberly Schiller

Created on: July 14, 2011   Last Updated: December 13, 2011

The diet industry spends a fortune to convince the public that losing weight is complicated without the products they are trying to sell. You know you need to lose a few pounds, but who has the time to figure out what to do about it? It’s important to make getting healthy a priority, and luckily you can get the ball rolling with some simple tricks to help you lose weight.

Drink plenty of water

Dehydration can make you feel tired or hungry, so you may snack or skip a workout when all you needed was a bottle of water. Staying hydrated throughout the day can help to keep your energy level up and avoid mindless eating.

In addition, replacing other beverages with water can save a ton of calories. Juices, sodas, energy drinks, and specialty coffees add hundreds of calories to your daily total. If your day revolves around these types of drinks, substituting water for even some of those splurges will help to keep your weight loss on track. If you get bored with plain water, try adding lemon or drinking iced herbal tea. And try to limit diet drinks; they may be low-cal, but they are full of unnecessary chemicals..

The most important meal

Eating breakfast - the right breakfast - is one of the most important things you can do to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. When you first wake up, your body is sluggish and running on empty. If you don’t eat anything to stoke the fire, your metabolism will stay slow throughout the day. If you eat only simple carbs (like sugary cereal or white toast) for breakfast, your body will burn right through them and almost immediately crave more.

The key to a healthy, diet-friendly breakfast is a balanced meal with plenty of protein and fiber. Eggs, dairy, nuts and seeds, or lean meat will provide the protein to fill you up and give your body something to fuel up on all morning. Fiber from whole grains and produce will slow digestion and stabilize your blood sugar. Think a veggie omelet, peanut butter and sliced apple on whole wheat toast, or whole grain cereal in milk with fruit and nuts.

Have a snack stash

Snack attacks happen. When they do, you need to be prepared, or you will end up making a bad decision at a drive-through window or vending machine. Keep healthy snacks like nuts, string cheese, or fruit with you whenever you can, especially at your desk. That way you have something good to grab rather than chips, candy, or other junk food that will ruin your diet.

Surf the fast food web

In a perfect world, we would all eat freshly

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