Eating a lower calorie diet alone can cause weight loss. One common pitfall is for people to actually cut calories too low. This can cause rebound consequences that will impair the efforts to lose weight. Two simple important steps to eating in a way conducive to weight loss are 1. Reduce Portion Sizes and 2. Make healthier food choices.

It is no secret that we live in a culture that makes eating healthy difficult. It is usually easier to make the non-healthy choice. Super-sized meals and large buffets appear more cost and time effective. The large portion sizes we have become accustomed to in restaurants and fast food chains have led to the desire for larger portions even at home. Interestingly enough as our portion have grown in size over the last 15- 20 years so has the need for many items in society: airplane seats, wheel chairs and even coffins.

One of the very first and most important steps to successful weight loss is to reduce the size of the food you currently eat. This even applies to food we traditionally think of as healthy. Overtime, as we continue to overeat on large portion sizes, the natural cues of hunger and satiety diminish. Because our body no longer recognizes what full actually is, many times we eat to the point of "stuffed". Cutting back on portions and stopping when you are naturally full, is a lifestyle behavior that will help achieve weight loss for life.

After you are able to consistently eat the right amounts of food, it is just as important to focus on the right types of food. One recommendation is to not set out to change everything in your current lifestyle. Making too many changes is overwhelming and drastic changes are too difficult to stick to. It is important to focus on one area at a time to truly make that a decision you’ll live with forever. For instance changing to a lower-fat milk product or switching all grains such as bread, pasta and rice to whole wheat versions is a healthier food choice. As one area of your diet becomes solidified as routine and part of your daily lifestyle, you can move to another area such as night-time snacking or what to eat for breakfast.

There is no one set way to achieve healthy eating. Based on your own food preferences, how much time you have to prepare, finances, family, etc eating healthy will be individual. Most marketed diet plans do not consider personal implications that do influence your ability to follow their plan. In order to be successful, it is very important to individualize your choices to fit your life.