Bob Greene

 
Get ready to transform your health, your body and your life! Fitness supercoach Bob Greene shares 10 ways to lose weight and win the battle of the bulge...once and for all.

Start eating three meals and one snack daily.
Plan to get 25 to 30 percent of your total calories from each meal, with the rest from your snack. And don't forget breakfast! It gives your metabolism a jolt and will keep you satisfied until lunch. If you wake up without an appetite, give it an hour to develop. If you're still not hungry, eat anyway.

Eating bigger breakfasts and smaller dinners can help boost your metabolism. Bob says eating the majority of your calories at one meal causes your body to store fat.
Eat every three to four hours.

Eat Every Three to Four Hours
Your blood sugar won't have a chance to drop so low that you get famished and then binge. A well-rounded healthy snack includes protein, carbohydrates and some fat. This mix keeps you satisfied longer than pure carbohydrate snacks and also helps to balance blood sugar levels.
Eat more veggies.

Eat vegetables more than any other food group
Go easy on potatoes, corn and peas because they're as starchy (and about as caloric) as grains. Try to get beans into your diet a couple times a week—they are superfoods in terms of nutrition. At least two servings a day of fruit is recommended. Also, continue to replace refined grains with whole ones. Ideally, 75 percent of the grains in your diet will be whole.
Eliminate soda from your diet.

Drink Less Soda

Bob says that soda is one of the leading sources of empty calories in America. Instead, have plain or flavored water, herbal iced tea or skim milk. If you crave a sweet drink, limit yourself to one glass of fruit juice a day—better yet, cut it with seltzer water. If you feel diet sodas help you lose weight, drink them—but try to get down to one a day or you'll never lose your taste for super sweet foods.
Learn portion control.

Learn Portion Control
You need to know how to eyeball servings. Most people overestimate, and that can lead to trouble. Keep in mind that a serving of meat, poultry or fish is three ounces—about the size of the palm of your hand or a deck of cards. Two servings of rice, pasta or other grain-based foods is the size of a baseball or your fist. A serving of fruit is a piece of fruit that's about the size of a tennis ball, and a serving of vegetables is 1/2 cup, or half a baseball.
Wait 20 minutes before having seconds.

The "Full Signal"
Wait 20 minutes before having seconds or another course. That's how long it takes for your brain to receive the "full signal." If you're in a restaurant, go somewhere else for dessert—by the time you get there, chances are you won't even want it.
Avoid temptation between meals.

Avoid Food Between Meals
Avoid being around food when it's not time to eat. We are programmed to react to the sight and smell of anything edible by wanting to consume it. So get it out of your house and walk right by that bakery.
Start exercising.

Get some exercise
Some overeaters may have fewer pleasure receptors, which is why it takes more food for them to get the same satisfaction others get from eating less. Research, meanwhile, suggests that physical activity increases the brain's receptors for pleasure chemicals.
Resolve emotional issues.

Resolve Emotional Issues
Try to resolve emotional issues that trigger you to eat. Find alternatives to eating that make you feel good, such as talking to friends, listening to music or planning a vacation.

Bob says that losing weight won't make you happy until you determine the underlying emotional issues that are causing you to overeat. to help uncover these possible reasons
Get a good night's sleep.

Get a Good Night's Sleep
Research has suggested a link between not getting enough sleep and being overweight. Good shut-eye helps prevent the disruption of some of the hormones that control appetite.

Bob also recommends not eating 2 to 3 hours before going to sleep, because your body needs to tap into its food fat stores. The discomfort of being a little hungry will eventually pass.

Ready to take the first step on your weight loss journey? Join Oprah and Bob's Best Life Challenge!