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by Alan Turnberry

Eating out is one of America’s most popular pasttimes. When you are on a diet, eating out can be such a challenge. It seems like these restaurant portions are way out of control — and the calorie counts on these foods are simply sky high. So how can you stick to your diet? Fortunately, there are some easy tips to help you successfully stick to your diet.

Never enter a restaurant without a plan. When you are on a diet, you always need to have a plan of what you are going to eat. When you enter a restaurant without a plan — you are simply at the mercy of your desires and appetite. You could wind up with a thousand calorie lasagna, simply because “that sounds good.” Now this doesn’t mean your meals need to be planned out to the letter — but some idea of what you are going to eat could literally make the difference between you losing weight and you gaining even more this year. We certainly know which one you want to do this year!

Dress up when you go out to dinner and make it a celebration. So often, we eat out and we make it a casual thing. Have a nice time and make it special. Get dressed up and make yourself look the best you know you can. The better you know you look, the less tempted you’ll be to overeat. It is a funny trick — but it actually works! If you are female, try doing your nails in an attractive color. Every time you see your nails you’ll be reminded just how great you look.

When in doubt: cut it in half. Restaurant portions are over generous. It can be easy to be tempted to eat everything in front of you. Research has shown that quite often people do just that — they eat exactly what is in front of them! So get smarter than the restaurant. Put less of that in front of you. Cut the portion in half and ask the server to take half of it away. More than likely now you’ll be looking at a normal sized portion for a dieter. Sometimes these portions can even be simply too big anyway. But cutting it in half can be a great place to start.

Avoid appetizers. Appetizers are a great way for restaurants to make money, and to add to your waistline. Many of these are fried and are loaded with calories. If you are tempted to have a shrimp cocktail — this is a low calorie appetizer, but it also a large serving and you’ll want to take away some of what you might eat for your main meal as you are eating the shrimp cocktail. Breadbaskets are also ways that restaurants fill you up with calories, so it is a smart idea to ask the server to remove yours.

To have dessert, think of sharing it. Part of the fun of eating out is eating dessert. Well, there is no reason you can’t have some fun. An excellent idea is to share your dessert with someone else at the dinner table. This way you are not eating the entire dessert. If no one will share the dessert with you, simply cut it in half and pour salt and pepper over it. This will keep you from eating the rest of it.

by Alan Turnberry

It seems like just about everyone you know today is on a diet. If you ask your friends, family and coworkers – you’ll easily find that many of them are currently on a diet or are thinking of starting one. Many of these dieters face the challenge of being on a diet while working.  Trying to learn how to lose weight quick at work and being in the workplace itself can be very stressful for your diet. It is critical that the smart dieter be prepared for any of these potential hazards that they may face. The more prepared you are for work challenges that will affect your diet, the less they will affect you. You’ll soon discover that you too can successfully diet while at work!

Tip #1: Know common work stresses that you face. Everyone’s job is different, so they’ll face different types of stressful things. Even more important, people react differently to stress based on their backgrounds and their chemistry. Some people just seem more hardwired to handle more stress than others! Take the time to know the work stress that you face on a regular basis and how this could affect your diet. You might be tempted to snack as you prepare the monthly budget for a project. Or speaking at a meeting might overload your stress level and that could have you headed for the vending machine. Look critically at your job and discover exactly what makes you feel stress.

Tip #2: Keep healthy snacks at work. It seems like everyone does some type of eating while they work these days. Most workplaces have vending machines and many also have cafeterias. Sadly, these often do not have that many healthy alternatives for you. It is far too easy to get a double cheeseburger with onion rings than it is to find a large leafy green salad. Healthy snacks are even harder to come by on a regular basis. Bring your own healthy snacks in from home every day or once a week and nosh on these when you need a break. Ideal snacks could be cups of yogurt, pieces of fruit, baby carrots, grape tomatoes, string cheese, a half a sandwich, a container of milk, V8 juice or a handful of nuts or low-fat microwaved popcorn.

Tip #3: Plan your lunches and meals ahead of time. All of us seem to work harder every day, all the time. Make your diet a bit easier and plan your lunch or break meal ahead of time. You’ll save both money and fat and calories by planning this healthy meal. Best of all, you’ll eat something you truly want to eat. Try to also plan your dinner or the meal you eat when you return home. Have some healthy food waiting at home for you so you are less tempted by a drive-in.

Tip #4: When eating a business lunch make healthy choices. There are many times you need to eat meals with your coworkers or clients. There is no need for you to go off of your diet even for this time. That being said, you also don’t have to lug a calorie counter or even worse – a measuring cup or scale out to lunch with you if you plan ahead! The biggest secret to successful dieting is planning ahead. If you work in a field where the business lunch is a common occurrence, then come up with several healthy choices you know you can order. Grilled fish or a chicken salad over leafy greens is an excellent option. Sushi is also a healthy choice. Remember that restaurant portions are generous and you can most often get a “dieter’s portion” by simply cutting your serving in half.

Tip #5: Let your coworkers in on your diet “secret.” When you tell your coworkers and boss you are on a diet, quite often you’ll discover that they are too, on diets! You can cheer each other on and share dieting tips. Your office can go for walks on your lunch hour and get creative with healthy lunch ideas. Best of all, you’ll motivate each other to stick to your diets. Teamwork is the best way to get any type of project at work done – this includes your diet! Bottom line, learing how to lose weight quick at work isn’t as difficult as it seems, especially if you follow these 5 simple tips to weight loss.

by Alan Turnberry

Taking a vacation? Remember that just because you are going on vacation doesn’t mean that you get to take a “vacation” from your diet! If you are savvy about your diet, you can actually lose weight while on your vacation! We have some vacation dieting fast weight loss tips to share with you! Don’t worry….we know you’ll catch on fast.

Learn about the cuisine, just as you learned about your trip. Everyone that books a vacation of some type learns where they are going, where they are staying and what type of things they will see. Now with so many things on the Internet, you have the ability to discover some of the places you might eat at. Research the place you are going and look at it on a map and check out where restaurants are nearby. Then visit these restaurant websites and look at their menus. This can help you start to plan what you might eat. You don’t have to plan all of your meals ahead of time – but simply get a sense of the cuisine so you can best calorie count, or research the foods ahead of time for calorie counting.

Write down what you are eating, even while on vacation. It is a known fact that people who write down what they eat lose weight and are more aware of what they eat than those that don’t. Very simple. So even if you feel like having something that is not on your diet, just write it down. Keep track of it. You’ll soon realize when you are going too far off track. This is a very helpful tool you can use throughout your vacation. Keep a little notebook in your pocket or purse and write down your meals after you’ve consumed them.

Plan for some indulgences. We all deserve to treat ourselves and when you go on vacation this is the perfect time to do so. Do plan to treat yourself to some foods or drinks you really enjoy. They may be in the high calorie range, but if you plan ahead for them – you won’t gain weight. You can balance out your calories for the day and days around the day, you indulge. One fattening meal is not going to make you gain ten pounds. Ten fattening meals might put you in danger of gaining weight though. Some indulgences are simply part of enjoying your vacation.

Do some fun exercise on vacation. Many people that are healthy and fit consider exercise as part of their vacation. They hike, swim and golf – or do other types of exercise. This is a great routine for you to get into as well. Look into some healthy exercise that you can do and you’ll be glad you did. It is a great way to relax, to truly enjoy your surroundings and also to burn calories. Remember, that also means you can eat a bit more! Now those are some fast weight loss tips anyone can get behind!