The St. Vincent Charity Wellness Committee is focused on helping everyone keep their New Year’s resolutions. Each week we will be sharing helpful tips for sticking with some of the more common New Year’s resolutions. Up this week is the ever popular – weight loss! Here are a few basic facts and tips to get 2015 started on a healthy note.

There is no one perfect way to lose weight.  What works for one person may not work for another.  But there are some common practices that have helped people successfully lost weight and kept it off.

• 78% eat breakfast daily

• 75% weigh themselves at least once a week

• 62% watch less than 10 hours of TV a week

• 90% exercise on average at least 60 minutes a day

When these same people were asked how they lost weight almost everyone (95%) said that they modified their food intake and increased their activity level. The most common activity was walking! Basically, they ate less, or healthier, and were more active. 

Plan and Set Goals

To be successful you need to have a plan of how you are going to accomplish your goal. Goal setting is important –people who set goals were more likely to lose weight. Make the goal measurable and realistic. Support is an important weight loss tool as well. Support could be teaming up with a friend or family member, or letting those around you know your plan so they can be supportive and encouraging. 

Make good choices

• Eat regular meals and eat at home as much as possible.  Our bodies like to be fed every 3-4 hours. This keeps your metabolism running at its best.  When you eat at home you know what you are eating and how it was prepared. Restaurant food is notoriously high in calories and fat.

•  Track what you are eating. It is so easy to over eat in our supersized world. Keeping a food diary can help you get a handle on what and how much you are eating so you know what needs to be changed. This is easy to do with apps that are available on smart phones.A great, free app to try is My Fitness Pal. 

•  Limit your intake of processed foods. Read the label – if you can’t pronounce the ingredients put it back! If your grandparents wouldn’t recognize it as food you probably shouldn’t be eating it. 

• Eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. They provide a lot of nutrients and are low in calories.

• Use smaller plates, bowls and glasses. This can work! Many studies have proven that people will eat less if given smaller plates. They will also drink less out of tall, skinny glass rather than a short, wide glass.