The Best Life - Weight-Loss Wisdom from the Experts

By Beth Sumrell Ehrensberger, R.D., M.P.H.

When it comes to losing weight, the more helpful hints and useful tips you have to choose from, the greater your chances for success. You've already heard from successful losers in Insiders Spill Their Weight-Loss Secrets. Now, Best Life nutrition experts - Tracy Olgeaty Gensler, M.S., R.D. and Willow Jarosh, M.S., R.D.- offer their advice for peeling off those extra pounds. They're able to draw from their experience counseling patients on weight loss, researching and writing nutrition articles for the site and staying on the cutting edge of the latest research on nutrition and weight loss. Feel free to add their tips to your arsenal.

Write What You Bite
Both experts and successful losers agree on this one—a food journal is key! It can help you account for little nibbles (like tasting while you're cooking or eating leftovers as you clean up) that can add up to big calories. Plus, you can use a food journal to help decipher patterns of eating; for example, you can pinpoint times or occasions when you turn to food for emotional reasons as opposed to try physical hunger. To make logging a little easier, "keep a small notebook in your purse or pocket instead of carrying a big food journal around with you. You could even send yourself a text message of your meals and snacks and record them online at the end of the day," Willow suggests. If you can find a way to journal that fits into your lifestyle, you will be more likely to actually follow through with recording your intake, which will ultimately improve your chances for weight-loss success.

Don't Throw in the Towel
Have you ever thought, 'I've already blown it this weekend, what's the point in watching what I eat now? I'll just start fresh on Monday morning.' Postponing your weight-loss efforts until an arbitrary start-over date can cause a small slip to turn into a big backslide. If you splurge, it's easier to bounce back to your good habits when you immediately recommit to your goals. "Each day is a new day," Willow says. "Even if you stray from your plan for a while, the sooner you jump back into healthy eating, the sooner you get back on the positive path to your weight and health goals. It's never too late."

Plan for Success
Most big losers will tell you they plan their exercise sessions and meals ahead of time. So treat exercise the same way you'd treat any other important commitment in your life. You wouldn't leave a big meeting with a client up to chance by not putting it on your calendar. Make sure you give the same respect to your exercise time—make an appointment with yourself to sweat it out and keep it!

You can plan your eating, too - whether you're having a meal at home or dining out. "On Sunday, make and freeze some of your favorite Best Life recipes so you can enjoy them all weeklong when you might not have time to whip up a home-cooked meal," Tracy says. "And do your homework before you eat out by checking out the menu online and having an idea in advance what you'll order," she says.

Keep a Handle on Hunger
Instead of allowing yourself to get too hungry, which can lead to overeating and reaching for foods that aren't healthy, Willow suggests using a one-two punch that consists of having well-balanced snacks and using the hunger scale. Eating small, nutritious snacks throughout the day will provide you with consistent energy and help control your appetite. And using the hunger scale will allow you to figure out when you need to have a small snack or meal. You'll be better off if you learn to listen to your body and eat according to how you feel on the scale instead of simply eating by the clock.

Reward Your Effort
Weight loss is an achievable and worthy goal—but it's not easy! Devise a personal reward system based on small goals, and then use them to motivate you to success. You may find it helpful to write goals down and post them in a visible area (like in a day planner or on the refrigerator). Then, you can refer to them when you need inspiration. To reprogram the way you think about food, Tracy stresses the importance of using non-edible rewards, "like a manicure, a new book, a CD or downloaded music, or a massage," she says. In fact, some non-edible rewards can help remind you of the initial reasons why you began your weight-loss journey. For example, shopping for new pants or a new dress can be incredibly motivating because you get double the rewards—something new to wear and the satisfaction of wearing a smaller size!

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