My Personal Weight Loss Tips

Drop 3 pounds without trying

Put that cola down! And head for the sink instead: Dieters who swap sugary beverages for water lose an extra 3 pounds a year, on average, compared with those who continue to chug the sweet stuff. Sure, cutting out soda saves calories, but it's possible water helps rev your metabolism, because well-hydrated cells may process carbs and fat more efficiently.

The secret to online diet success

The key to losing weight online is to seek out a site that offers a human touch. Researchers from the University of North Carolina gave 192 overweight adults access to a weight loss Web site; a third of them also had e-mail access to a behavioral weight loss counselor, and a third received automated reminders when they logged on. After 3 months, those who got either type of extra assistance had lost 12 to 13 pounds, while the no-counseling group lost about half that much. At 6 months, weight loss had slowed for the dieters getting the automated messages. But dieters with access to a live person had lost an average of 16 pounds — 10 more than the no-counseling group.

Personal feedback makes dieters feel accountable, says Lynn Grieger, RD, a dietitian and wellness coach in Vermont. "Without it, people tend to lose interest in logging on." Many sites offer this service as a premium, but you can also enlist a therapist or a registered dietitian. Try sending a weekly message about your progress to your counselor of choice and ask her to e-mail you encouragement — and to check in if she doesn't hear from you.

Be your own best coach

An inexpensive digital scale (not more than $40) and graph paper can halt the steady ballooning of your waistline, say Cornell University researchers. They plotted daily weight readings of 16 women on charts — providing visual feedback that helped their subjects avoid weight gain; 16 others added 6.8 pounds over the same 12-week period. Researcher David Levitsky, PhD, advises: Get on the scale at the same time every day and plot the numbers on graph paper. If you see that the line's moving up, trim some calories.

True to scale

Guesstimates work fine when you're making a stew, but not when it comes to your weight. In a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, 209 women who'd lost an average of 20% of their body weight were asked to weigh themselves weekly, but those who hopped on the scale every day were 82% less likely to bulk back up. "Weighing daily keeps people vigilant," says study author Rena Wing, PhD. To keep off lost pounds, weigh in every morning. Up a pound or two? Hit the gym a couple more times and skip dessert that week. If you go above 3 pounds, return to your original diet.

Fast lane to weight loss

Start ringing up your own groceries: Men and women who use the self-checkout lane are about half as likely to make impulse buys that could add pounds. Your savings: 7,200 calories a year — 2 pounds of weight gain.