This is a sponsored post. All opinions are 100% mine. Most of my life I have struggled with my weight. I know you have done this before; piling your dinner plate with a heaping mountain of food, especially during the holidays. I tend to pile on much more than the recommended amount of food on my plate. When my doctor told me I was pre-diabetic, I knew I had to make some changes. Watching what I ate (and how much) and elevating my activity level, were things I had to work on. It was a challenge cutting out sugary snacks, changing my eating habits, and getting my butt to the gym. It has been an upward climb, but I have been sticking with it (mostly!) Working out is also important for successful weight loss. Here are my tips for prepping for a knockout workout routine.

Weight Loss Tips That Work

For me, I was an over eater from an early age. I found it difficult to cut back how much I ate. My mom teased me as a child, calling me “Hoover”, because I ate like a vacuum. I tend to zone out and just shovel food into my pie hole until I am stuffed like a tick. I knew I had to change how I approached each meal. Here are six tips and tricks that helped me over the past several months:

• Start With Water: Staying hydrated throughout the entire day is always highly recommended. Drinking a glass of H20 before a meal can help prevent in overeating. In fact, many people confuse their thirstiness for hunger.
• Chew Slowly: From this point on, make the conscious effort to start chewing your food slowly and taking the time to eat. You’ll find yourself starting to actually enjoy your meals and it will give your body the chance to realize it’s getting full.
• Don’t Skip Meals: Skipping meals is the enemy of portion control. While we think we’re getting away from extra calories when we say “nay” to a meal, we actually have the tendency to eat more for our next one. Don’t let your portion control efforts go down the drain! Eating healthy-sized portions consistently throughout the day is great for our metabolism.
• Measure Your Food: Measuring your food will give you a clear picture of the worth/caloric value of certain portions. Measuring cups and scales are inexpensive and handy to have in the kitchen.
• Wait Before Your Second Helping: Give yourself ten to twenty minutes after your first serving to digest and make your body realize it just had a meal. The longer you wait, your brain will tell you: “Hey! We just ate and it was so delicious! We’re totally satisfied.” With this trick, you may not even want to go back for seconds.
• Practice Portion Control: We have a tendency to eat until our plate is clean. Many of us even grew up with the mentality of having to finish all of our food (or, you know, we weren’t allowed going outside to play). Because I tend to be too lazy to weight and measure my food, I needed an easier way to portion control my food. For me, that is by using Slimware.

Slimware is a line of dinnerware made to help you control and limit your portions. Its elegant designs actually help you visualize how much food you should be putting onto your plate. Because many of us are visual, Slimware has made portion control a no brainer! This method is ideal for anyone who is struggling with cutting back on their food intake. Slimware will change the way you LOOK at dieting! Each plate provides graphically-designed areas for food placement, taking the guesswork out of portion control.

I have been using their Dandelion Dreams (ARV $39.95) set and I love it! The dandelion design on each plate represents where you are to put your food. The largest dandelion is for vegetables, the medium flower is for carbs/sides, the smaller one is for my protein/entrees and the little trail is a healthy protein extender for chicken, fish or pork.. Their prices start at $24.95 USD for a set of 4 – 10.5″ melamine plates. The dishes are dishwasher safe. You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter.