10 Awesome Weight Loss Tips For Busy Women

1. Have an eat out strategy

Eating out is one of the main reasons many career women say they’re carrying extra kilos, but if you make healthier choices, frequent business lunches need not derail your weight loss efforts. In her diet book The Wall Street Diet (Hyperion), nutritionist Heather Bauer says you need to determine a dining out strategy before you hit the restaurant.

• Decide in advance: Will you have a cocktail, a piece of bread from the bread basket, or a light dessert such as sorbets?
• Check out the restaurant’s menu ahead of time (most are available online) and pick a simple dish, such as a lean steak, grilled salmon, or a chicken salad.
• Ask for any sauces and dressings to be served on the side, and always opt for vegetables or a baked potato instead of chips.
• Business lunches can be distracting because you’re focusing on the conversation, not on how much you’re eating, so remember that restaurant portions are generally much larger than what you actually need. Don’t feel pressure to finish your meal; eating more than you need is just as wasteful as leaving some left over.
• Another useful tip is to order fiddly food, such as prawns or mussels. Having to pick them out of their shells will slow down your eating, and research shows the slower you eat, the less you’ll consume.
• Eating with chopsticks may do the trick too, so sushi or Asian dishes are a good bet (but opt for veggie stir fries rather than creamy coconut milk curries).

Weight Loss Guide for Busy Women

A healthy weight is essential for disease prevention and overall health. Between work deadlines, family responsibilities and other everyday activities, busy women may find it difficult to schedule gym workouts or prepare elaborate home-cooked meals. By making a few simple changes in eating and exercise habits, busy women can lose weight with time and energy to spare.

Eat Breakfast
Breakfast plays an important role in weight loss by preventing mid-morning hunger and providing energy for physical activities. Even if you don't have time to cook breakfast every morning, you can still squeeze in a healthy breakfast. Try nutritious and convenient options like a fruit smoothie made with low-fat yogurt or oatmeal topped with dried berries and almonds. Even something as simple as a handful of whole wheat crackers or a low-fat cheese stick can help keep you full and energized until lunchtime.

Cut Portion Sizes
Reducing the amount of food you eat at each meal is an easy way to lose weight. Sharing a meal with a friend, skipping dessert and taking home part of your meal for later can help reduce portion sizes when dining out. Putting foods on smaller plates and eating more slowly are good ways to adjust to smaller portion sizes at home. To prevent overeating when snacking, take only a small portion and avoid eating directly from the bag.