Weight Loss Tips & Tricks: Lose a Lot With These Small Diet Changes

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Jul 06, 2015 05:59 AM EDT

Most people who want to lose weight easily often resort to fad diets without knowing what they can do to their bodies. As results vary per individual, following fad diets can also lead to no weight change at all, making individuals less motivated and frustrated. This is the reason why most nutritionists believe diet modification is the best option for weight management. 

Here is a list of small diet tweaks that have shown a big weight loss difference among individuals:

Consume more fiber.

Health Magazine reports that according to Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, a registered dietitian and the magazine's nutrition editor, eating 30 grams of fiber a day from food, not supplements, can help reduce weight as effectively as individuals who follow a strict diet plan. A recent study by the National Institute of Health has also found out that eating more fibrous foods can lessen fatty and sugary food intake.

Weight loss trick: Variety is the key to continuous fiber consumption. Choose fresh fruits and vegetables that can be easily transformed to salads or omelet and can be eaten with the skin, stalk and seeds included.

Change refined or processed grains to whole grains which still have their bran & germ intact, as these grains are linked to reducing the risk of getting heart diseases, diabetes and cancer, according to Mayo Clinic. Snack on unsalted seeds like chia, almond, and walnuts, to name a few. 

Limit foods high in sugar.

This could be the most overused advice by experts but probably, the hardest to follow. As some individuals can't live without desserts or are prone to eating more when deprived sweets, Sass recommends choosing the right sweet instead of completely removing them from your diet.

Weight loss trick: A 1.5 ounce of dark chocolate has 200 calories and 21 grams of carbohydrates, Sass says. Studies, as noted in Authority Nutrition, have shown that dark chocolate can help enhance health and lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases, making it the healthiest dessert an individual can eat.

Amp up on green tea.

Fitness Magazine adds that according to Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, coffee may not have calories when taken black but green tea offers no calories and half the caffeine. It is also rich in catechins, an antioxidant that can stimulate metabolism.

Weight loss trick: A study in Japan has discovered that individuals who drink green tea on a daily basis lose 5.3 pounds in three months, as compared to regular tea drinkers who only lose 2.9 pounds. For less bitter-tasting variants, choose green tea with fruit essences.

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