Our Favorite Diet Hacks That Support Long-Term Weight Loss

Losing weight and keeping it off for the long run demands a lifetime of daily choices that support your goals. But you don’t need to do it on your own. And you don’t need to feel deprived or follow a boring diet.

In Toluca Lake, California, our Premiere Medical Center team has supported many people through their weight loss journeys, helping them create sustainable lifestyle plans and prescribing medications to help them reach their goals.

We often recommend tips for keeping on track, including these diet hacks for weight loss:

1. Don’t ‘diet’

Don't follow a restrictive diet with unappealing foods or limited food choices. Instead, think of diet in the broader sense of meal plans you can stick with for the long term.

Healthy meal plans include an array of foods — fruits, vegetables, lean meat, poultry, fish, beans, nuts, whole grains, and unsaturated fats (olive and plant-based oils) — that provide needed nutrients.

2. Be prepared for food urges

Whether the urge hits occasionally or numerous times daily, you’ll eventually crave a sweet or salty snack. Stay on course with your weight loss goals by stocking your refrigerator and pantry with easy, nutritious snacks.

Fresh fruits satisfy a craving for sweets, while vegetables can stand in for salty cravings. The hack is to be sure they’re ready to eat. Fruit and vegetable snacks don’t need to be boring. Try dipping them in nut butter, hummus, guacamole, or blue cheese or ranch dressing.

Other healthy snack ideas include:

• Hard-boiled eggs
• Greek yogurt
• Oatmeal (or other whole-grain cereals)
• Fruit and protein smoothie
• Cottage cheese with fruit
• Cheddar cheese and whole-grain crackers
• High-protein snack bars
• Handful of nuts
• Air-popped popcorn

You have many snack options, but keep them nutritious, limit the portion, and avoid added sugars.

3. Choose high-satiety foods

High-satiety foods (protein and fiber) make you feel full faster and help you stay full longer than other foods. Protein lowers hormones that make you hungry. It also slows food movement through your stomach.

Fiber adds bulk, which fills your stomach. As your stomach expands with food, it sends messages to your brain so you feel full. High-fiber foods include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and nuts.

Protein and fiber also prevent spikes in blood sugar. Maintaining steady blood sugar promotes fat burning and prevents excess sugar that’s stored as fat. We can help you manage blood sugar and lose weight with semaglutide injections.

4. Use smaller plates and bowls

Even if you eat nothing but healthy, nutritious foods, you won’t lose weight if you eat oversize portions. A great hack for moderating the amount you eat is using small plates and bowls. They provide a visual aid, making it noticeable if your serving size is too large.

Not sure how much food equals one serving? You can find that information at the top of the nutrition facts label on the products you buy. Or, use this guide for estimating portions:

• 1-cup serving is the size of a baseball or fist
• A half-cup serving is the size of a tennis ball or scooped handful
• 3-ounce serving (recommended for meat) equals a deck of cards or your palm
• 1 tablespoon is about the size of a thumb

Be aware that restaurant portions are much larger than the recommended serving sizes.

5. Slow down when eating

Eating slowly gives your stomach time to tell your brain it’s full. Rapidly consuming food lets you overeat before experiencing the sensation of fullness.

If you eat while watching television, the show takes your attention away from the meal. Then, you eat too fast. By the time you feel full, you’ve consumed more calories than you need.

6. Be mindful of beverages

Empty calories are calories without nutrients. Sugar added to baked goods and sweets is nothing but empty calories. However, you’re probably already aware you should avoid added sugar.

Many people don’t pay attention to the empty calories in sweetened beverages (soda and fruit juice), beer, and other alcoholic drinks. Replace them with water, seltzer, plain tea and coffee, or diet drinks.

Ready to lose weight?

Call Premiere Medical Center today or schedule a weight loss consultation through online booking today.