In developed nations, the number of people who are overweight is steadily growing. Sedentary lifestyles and access to copious amounts of food has created an epidemic of weight gain. As an individual, you can take control of your own body, using the tips provided in this article to lose weight efficiently.

When you are trying to lose weight, consider cutting out sugary drinks such as soda, iced tea, lemonade, and even juice. These drinks have almost no nutrional value in them and are simply empty calories. Instead, drink more water. Water contains no calories and has many benefits for your body.

In order to lose weight properly, be sure to eat enough calories per day. Starvation diets of sorts are extremely bad for your body for many reasons. One such reason is that without food intake, your body will slow down its metabolism and attempt to hang onto the energy that you have already stored in the form of fat. This type of “diet” also leads to binge eating and a sure way to gain the weight back quickly once you do resume normal eating.

Eat more nuts when you are trying to lose weight. Nuts are a great snack food and can be used in place of meat in salads and stir-fries. There are a wide variety of nuts, so that you won’t get bored of eating them. You can even soak nuts in water before you eat them for a different texture.

If you find yourself hitting a plateau in your weight loss or fitness goals, try mixing up your exercise routine a bit once in a while. Work different muscles and areas of your body and you may be able to burn off more of the fat that your previous routine wasn’t targeting.

Keep your alcohol intake to a minimum, especially in the first few weeks of a diet and exercise program, for maximum results. Alcohol inhibits and lowers your metabolism, as well as being high in calorie content. These calories have no nutritional value and are known as empty calories.

When you feel stressed, engage in an activity instead of relying on food as a source of comfort. Comfort food cannot take away your stress, but it can work against you later when you feel guilty about overeating and gaining those pounds. If you go out for a walk instead, it will curb your desire to seek comfort food, and you will work off calories at the same time.

Make sure you control your hunger with meals that satisfy to avoid overeating. Overeating can sabotage an entire diet that day. You generally know you have reached this point because you start to feel uncomfortable and have a “stuffed” feeling in your stomach. When your body is telling you to stop, you need to stop eating.

When you’re cleaning your house, why not clean your kitchen of unhealthy foods as well? Take the time to go through your cupboards, fridge and pantry and toss out all the cookies, chips and other junk food that you have sitting around. If they’re not there to tempt you, you’ll be more likely to eat a healthy diet.

One vital tip for successful weight loss is to avoid drinks with high amounts of calories. Even though some fruit drinks can be good for you, some have high amounts of sugar and calories. The best thing you can drink is water. Most of your body is composed of water. Therefore, it makes sense that your body needs water, in order to operate effectively and efficiently.

Empower yourself using the advice from this article to help you reach your ideal weight. While many of those in developed nations today suffer from health problems related to being overweight, you can take control of your own body and, in an organized fashion, get started on your way to effective weight loss.