Ten Small Steps to Weight Loss

The USA is not the only country with an obesity epidemic.  Australia, for instance, reports that 2/3 of the adults and 1 in 4 of the children are either overweight or obese.  The Dieticians Association of Australia have just launched their third annual Healthy Weight Week.  Visit their excellent website for plenty of useful, unbiased information and advice.  Here are “10 Small Steps” to help you keep a healthy weight, proposed by the Association’s spokesperson, Professor Collins:

1. Eat breakfast
2. Include vegetables or salad with lunch and dinner
3. Choose fruit as a snack
4. Replace full fat food and drinks with reduced fat alternatives
5. Choose wholegrain foods instead of more refined foods
6. Eat smaller serving sizes by using smaller plates and cups
7. Eat slowly and stop when you are satisfied not stuffed full
8. Eat when you genuinely feel hungry rather than for emotional or other reasons
9. Swap sweetened beverages such as cordial, soft drink and juice with water
10. Eat your evening meals at a dinner table with the TV turned off

None of these steps are very hard to take.  Each one, on its own, will hardly result in a measurable change, but taken together, they should indeed set you on the path to a healthy weight (maybe with a little help from an exercise program).