Research shows that a majority of over weight people don’t eat balanced diet, keeping a diet rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables is paramount to maintaining a healthy weight. Whole grains, vegetables and fruits are not only low in calories; they are also loaded with natural fibers, an essential component in the prevention of over eating because it produces the full stomach effect. So how can you facilitate weight loss through the use of a healthy diet.

Here are ways:

Incorporate dried berries and sliced pear to your salads.
Instead of a grilled fish, try eating  a  tropical fruit.
Experiment with steamed fruits, such as pork chops with steamed apples.
Incorporate dried berries in your breakfast cereal, or fresh berries in yogurt.
Eat potato with the skin on for extra fiber.
Substitute high fat spread with pureed avocado.
For whole grains, make your pilaf with barley other than white rice.
Use wheat when preparing meatballs for spaghetti.
Substitute steel cut oats for instant oatmeal  for your breakfast.
For break and pasta, go whole wheat.

As you may have noticed, plenty of foods in the above list are fiber rich, so what’s the point? An increased fiber intake enriches your diet and promotes overall health. It is also good in promoting weight loss. Fiber is a stomach filler, this is important in preventing overeating. More ways to increase your fiber intake are as follows:

Switch from corn flakes to bran flakes, this constitutes a 25 per cent increment in daily fiber intake. Eat more of whole fruits instead of just fruit juice, remember that fruit juice has no fiber, eating the whole fruit is healthier than fruit juice. 4 fruit pieces a day will give you 13 grams of fiber. The recommended daily intake of fiber is 25 grams.

Weight watchers Program advocate an “Eat-whatever-you-want” philosophy; this approach teaches members an-everything-in-small proportions way of maintaining a healthy body weight.

The program was formed 50 years ago and has undergone various changes ever since. The most recent and popular approach involves the use of a “Points and Stay formula”, this is a formula for tracking nutritional value of beverages and food and encourages that one sticks to set targets on daily basis.

The points and stay formula advocated by proponents of the weight watchers weight loss program, has attracted many followers and is the heart of the program.

An update to the points and stay formula is something referred to as momentum, this is all about the consumption of filler foods which they say helps in making one feel full for longer thus preventing over eating which is a major cause of weight gain.  The point and stay formula helps a person monitor his/her daily calorie intake based on the nutrition point value of food.

Participants are shown how to allot points by attending the weight watchers weight loss programs meetings. According to the program, beverage and food each has a nutritional value point.

These points are computed using a slide tool that is given as part of the member welcome kit. All food with nutritional content label can have the nutrition value checked. There are booklets that list the nutrition value points of restaurant and supermarket items.

Members record the cumulative point during the week for their calorie consumption on a pre printed points journal given in each meeting. With time it becomes easier to do this and you can keep your weight in check.