Weight Loss: Stick to Smaller, More Frequent Meals, Avoid Dietary Pitfalls for Healthy Fat Reduction

Don't tempt yourself.

If you know you can't resist a certain food, like cookies, stay away from it, or you might overeat, says Donna Wilhelmsen (a nutritionist at Madison-Wesleyan Medical School). Choosing to eat smaller, more frequent meals will help you control your appetite.

Beware of low-fat foods.

Most low-fat foods won't help you lose weight in the long run, says Wilhelmsen, because the sugar they contain makes up for the lost fat.

Take control of your time.

"Eating smaller, more frequent meals is never a waste," says Natalie Pena, a nutritionist at the Washington Cancer Research Association and Washington Central Hospital. Here are some ways to save time:

Eat on the go.
Keeping snacks in your car, taking a treat to the court, or packing food in your briefcase on a flight allows you to eat while doing other things. Portable foods include small boxes of raisins, small boxes of cereal, low-sodium canned vegetable juice, whole-wheat hard rice crackers, etc.

Prepare some ready-made meals. Prepare things that are easy to make and eat. For example, cook a turkey the night before and put it in the freezer. Take it out before leaving home the next morning and eat it on the go.

Keep food frozen.

If your workplace doesn't have a freezer, freeze vegetable juice from the night before.

A list of small, frequent meals.

We still have many questions about how to eat to lose weight. So we consulted Anne Dabbana, a private nutritionist in Houston, to compile a daily menu to show us how to eat smaller, more frequent meals.

Dabbana says: To lose weight by eating smaller meals, you must listen to your stomach. Eat when you feel a little hungry—never wait until you're starving—stop as soon as you feel less hungry, and don't wait until you're stuffed. This way, you'll achieve satisfactory results.

Day 1
Breakfast: Half a whole-wheat bagel with roasted pepper soup with low-fat or non-fat cheese, eight ounces of skim milk, and half a cup of cranberry juice.

Snack: The other half of a whole-wheat bagel with roasted pepper.

Lunch: Half a turkey sandwich (chicken breast, tomato slices, and lettuce), a salad with a tablespoon of low-fat Russian dressing.

Snack: The other half of the sandwich.

Dinner: Two cups of plain noodle soup (ingredients: macaroni, cold bacon, garlic, Parmesan cheese, a tablespoon of olive oil) and a slice of Italian bread mixed with a tablespoon of low-fat margarine, a tablespoon of minced fresh garlic, and Parmesan cheese suitable for all ages.

Snack: Oatmeal raisin biscuits.

Day Two
Breakfast: A slice of raisin bread, a tablespoon of peanut butter, and 4 ounces of orange juice.

Snack: A piece of low-fat fig chocolate and an 8-ounce glass of skim milk.

Lunch: Half a chicken salad sandwich (ingredients: low-fat chicken pieces, toasted walnuts, raisins, grapes, honey) and a glass of vegetable juice such as carrot or celery.

Snack: The other half of the sandwich.

Dinner: Fried tortillas with cheese filling (ingredients: nonfat tortillas, 1 tablespoon of shredded low-fat cheddar cheese, spicy Montalcé cheese, 1/2 tablespoon of canned green chili flakes, 1/2 tablespoon of chopped olives, chili flakes, and sliced ​​scallions), half a bowl of rice.

Snack: 8 ounces of nonfat yogurt, three whole-wheat crisps.

Day 3
Breakfast: One English dessert, one scrambled egg, one orange tart, 8 ounces of skim milk.

Snack: Half a banana sandwich, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter.

Lunch: A small Greek salad (ingredients: chopped tomatoes, cucumber, red bell pepper, onion, Greek cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, beef, and garlic) and a slice of Italian bread.

Snack: Six slices of tuna salad (ingredients: tuna, 1 tablespoon of low-fat mayonnaise, and 1 cup of lemon juice). Dinner: Peeled sweet potato (ingredients: 1/4 baked sweet potato, 1 cup low-fat cheddar cheese, scallions or chives, chili powder), 1/2 cup steamed cabbage.

Snack: 3 cups low-fat popcorn plus 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.

Put it at the bottom of your lunch bag; it'll be as easy to eat as yogurt or cold cheese at lunchtime.

Prepare some things you like that won't make you gain weight.

For example, keep some canned fruit, dried fruit, low-fat snacks, or other non-perishable convenience foods in your desk drawer while you work—and don't forget a can opener.

Peel an extra one at night. When peeling carrots or other vegetables for dinner, remember to peel an extra one to take with you the next day.

Meals: Eat less.
Meals are the hardest to eat less of. Eating out at restaurants means they serve too much; eating at home with family means you can't eat less. What to do? Here are a few methods you might want to try.

Eat a light snack.

Keep a dessert in the fridge, eat it after get off work, then take a shower, change into comfortable clothes, and prepare to eat with your family. That way, you can eat dinner with your family with peace of mind and without overeating. The reason is simple—you're not hungry.

Don't eat what others eat.

Take a bite of a main dish—fish, chicken, or pasta—then a bite of salad. Changing the portions like this will prevent you from eating faster than your family.

Life Case Study: Binge Drinking Today, Dieting Tomorrow

For 20 years, Anne Green has been a constant cycle of dieting—gaining 5 pounds, losing 5 pounds, gaining 5 pounds, losing 10 pounds. She either ate only vegetables and canned tuna until she was starving, or ate all sorts of unhealthy foods. For Anne, there was no middle ground. Later, it seemed she binged more often than she dieted, and her weight steadily increased. Was there something wrong with her self-control?

After so many years of dieting, Anne's body may have become tired of these weight fluctuations. Like all "yo-yo" dieters, she may not have set a realistic goal. When she didn't lose weight, she lost faith in dieting. For women like her, a pound a week is seen as a failure.

Like all itinerant dieters, temporary setbacks led to discouragement and binge eating, followed by a promise to start again the next day.

For Anne, regaining her self-control will be difficult because she has been eating like this for so many years. But if she changes her eating habits, she can do it. First, she needs to set a specific, realistic weight loss goal, and subconsciously cultivate the idea that only through gradual, long-term, and persistent effort can lasting success be achieved. Even if she doesn't achieve immediate weight loss, she shouldn't consider it a failure. Second, she must realize that all foods are acceptable. Otherwise, the foods she avoids during dieting will become targets for her binge eating. Most importantly, she needs a regular eating plan, plus three small meals a day, leaving some space for dessert in between to prevent overeating later. Once Anne abandons her habit of alternating between dieting and binge eating, her weight will naturally decrease.

Dr. Rebecca Reeves, Dietitian, Baylor College of Medicine and Healthcare Research, Houston