1. Plan meals and snacks to avoid getting too hungry and making poor food choices. Always have healthy snacks on hand like nuts, eggs, yogurt or crackers. 2. Know your daily calorie needs based on factors like gender, age and activity level to build a healthy diet and prevent frustration with weight control. 3. Be aware that exercise often burns fewer calories than estimated so don't overeat post-workout. Moderate exercise may be better for weight control than high intensity exercise.

1. Diet and Weightloss 15 Tips
1. Never get too hungry
You make poor decisions when your judgment is compromised. Hunger
is a primal urge that’s difficult to deny. When you're famished, it's hard
to hold off until you can find healthy food. As a result, you end up
eating anything that's not nailed down, and typically, regretting it.
Planning meals and snacks works wonders to head off the intense
hunger that can do a number on your best intentions to eat right.
Always tote healthy snacks, such as an ounce of pistachios, a hard-
cooked egg and some whole grain crackers, Greek yogurt, or 1/4 cup
raisins. Don't skip meals or skimp on them, either. Here, 6 portable,
protein-packed snacks that fill you up!

2. 2. Be honest about your daily calorie allowance
Everyone has a calorie budget, whether you're trying to maintain your weight
or lose a few pounds. I've found that people ignore this simple fact. Your
calorie budget allows you to build a healthy diet, and it helps prevent
frustration about weight control. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for
Americans provide suggested daily calorie intakes based on gender, age, and
physical activity level. When you know your calorie budget, then you can plan
on how many servings of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and
other protein sources to include every day.

3. 3. Eat right post-workout
People are notorious for overestimating how many calories they burn
during physical activity, which is often far less than actual calories burned.
When you overestimate the calories you burn during exercise, you may eat
more than you need, making weight loss and maintenance difficult. High-
intensity exercise may drive women to eat more, and moderate exercise
may be the key to easier weight control. To see how many average calories
you’re burning during everyday activities and exercise, check out this chart
from the CDC. You can see how easy it is to wipe out the calories burned
during a workout with just a few extra nibbles during the day.
4. Use the red, orange and green rule
At each meal include one food that is any of these colors. By focusing on
these foods, you'll be sure to get some produce on your plate and won't
have space on your plate for higher-calorie fare. (Bonus: Colorful fruits and
veggies help your skin look healthier and younger! Here's what to eat for
glowing skin!)

4. 5. Eat one less bite
Doing this at every meal could save about 75 calories a day
which equates to nearly an 8-pound weight loss in one
year!
6. Be a heavy drinker
Water is essential for keeping the body hydrated and we're
actually more likely to retain "water weight" by not drinking
enough of it rather than by having too much. The needs of
each person will be different, but the general
recommended daily amount is 64 ounces. It also takes up
space in your stomach so you'll feel fuller while taking in
less calories. Find out the best non-boring ways to get in
your recommended servings of water.

5. 7. Kick the salt habit
Salt is a big contributor to weight gain and often a
reason why the numbers on the scale aren't going
down. The average American consumes twice the
amount of salt they should have each day, leading to
weight gain, bloating, and the inability to lose stubborn
pounds. Salt can also make you feel hungrier and
thirstier, so check the nutrition labels for high sodium
levels and choose fresh over packaged or restaurant
foods. You'll see a puffy face and belly go down quickly
just by cutting back on your sodium intake and
choosing more natural foods. Here's how to start
reducing sodium in your diet.

6. 8. Spice up your food
Adding hot spices to your meals can help curb
hunger, according to a study in the British
Journal of Nutrition. Need another reason to
add some heat? Scientists at the State
University of New York at Buffalo found that
capsaicin (a compound found in chilies)
triggers your brain to release feel-good
endorphins. A full belly and a good mood?
Pass the hot sauce!

7. 9. Don't think diet soda will help you lose weight
• A University of Texas Health Science Center study found that the
more diet sodas a person drank, the greater their risk of becoming
overweight. Downing just two or more cans a day increased
waistlines by 500%. Why? Artificial sweeteners can disrupt the
body's natural ability to regulate calorie intake based on the
sweetness of foods, suggested an animal study from Purdue
University. That means people who consume diet foods might be
more likely to overeat, because your body is being tricked into
thinking it's eating sugar, and you crave more.
• A separate study found that even just one diet soda a day is linked
to a 34% higher risk of metabolic syndrome, the group of symptoms
including belly fat and high cholesterol that puts you at risk for
heart disease. Whether that link is attributed to an ingredient in
diet soda or the drinkers' eating habits is unclear. But is that one
can really worth it? (Still not convinced? Check out five more health
risks associated with drinking diet soda.)

8. 10. Focus on nutrient balance instead of calorie counting
Making sure an eating occasion has carbs, protein, and
fat instead of just counting calories (like a 100-calorie
pack) delivers better energy and fat loss results by
giving the body what it needs, like quick- and longer-
digesting nutrients so you stay full longer. See
ashleykoffapproved.com/nutritionplan for guidance.
11. Plate food away from where you're eating
By keeping food within eyesight as you are eating, you
may find yourself reaching for a second helping even if
you really aren't hungry. Place the food on the kitchen
counter or stove, portion out a serving on your plate
and then sit down at the table and eat. This way, if you
want additional servings, you'll have to get up, which
helps you to be more mindful of what you are eating.

9. 12. Keep a food record
We know you've heard this time and time again. Well, that's
because keeping a food record is vital to losing weight and keeping
it off long term. A study published in the American Journal of
Preventive Medicine found that those who kept regular food
records lost twice as much weight as those who didn't. When
keeping a food record, make sure to track what you ate, how much
you ate, anything you added to the food (condiments, oils, etc.),
and what you drank. Also tracking your mood and appetite can be
helpful and insightful into learning about your eating patterns as
well!
13. Start with soup
People who ate a low-calorie vegetable soup before a meal
consumed 20% fewer calories at the meal, according to research
from Penn State Unniversity. Have a low-calorie broth-based veggie
soup before your largest meal of the day to reduce calories and lose
weight without feeling hungry.

10. 14. Take your time
Rapid eaters are often heavier than slow eaters,
according to research from The University of
Rhode Island. It takes 20 minutes for your
stomach to send a message to your brain that you
have eaten enough and are satisfied. If you rush
your meal and eat rapidly, your body's satiety
cues won't be tuned in to those feelings of
fullness yet and it's easier to overeat. Try slowing
down by chewing each bite at least 10 times,
putting your fork down in between bites, and
fostering a relaxing eating environment rather
than eating on the run. (What should you do if
you're dining out? Follow our no-gain guide.)

11. 15. Outsmart your hunger hormone
Even the most motivated and focused dieter will struggle to
be successful at weight loss once hunger takes over. Our
bodies secrete a hormone called ghrelin, which controls
hunger and drives our appetite. If we don't understand,
monitor, and control our ghrelin, we can forget about losing
weight. Science tells us that the best way to control ghrelin
is to eat small, balanced meals about every 3 hours or so.
That's because ghrelin will spike after about 3 to 4 hours of
fasting, so eating with regularity helps keep this eating
trigger at bay. Ghrelin will also spike if we're deprived of
carbs, so it's important to give our bodies and brains the
carb fuel they need. When we skip meals or avoid carbs,
we're inviting ghrelin to spike, which increases and makes
us feel emotionally hungry. It makes us crave sugar and can
derail even the healthiest eating routine.