Most of the processed foods you buy in the store are not only terrible for you, but they provide little to no nutrients that your body needs. The stores are filled with countless food products that try to trick you into believing they’re great sources of nutrition, when in reality they’re filled with nothing but processed sugar and carbs and loaded with bad fats.

As convenient as processed snacks can be, you are not heading for your goal of a new you, by consuming them too often. It may take a little effort to peel an orange but it is so much healthier for you. Even bananas come in a neat little package that just requires a simple pulling down of its skin. While an occasional piece of candy is allowed, only consume these types of treats in moderation.

Liquid calories like soda and sugary fruit drinks are also a big source of empty calories, meaning they pass on little to no nutrients. When you want a tasty drink, you can try the sugar free drinks, or some water with lemon and a bit of honey for flavor. A lot of the sugar free drink mixes you may find, can taste almost as good as the ones full of sugar.

Dried fruit and almonds in moderation can be an excellent quick snack. You can even make these treats yourself, by using a dehydrator or your oven. Vegetables are an even better alternative. A couple tablespoons of peanut butter on come celery sticks is a favorite among many dieters. When trying to eat healthy, fruit and vegetable are a must.

It’s true what they say: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. You can put a dab of peanut butter on apples, or you can lightly dust them with some cinnamon for a tasty treat. In any case, when you’re trying to be healthy, its best to drink lots of water and eat as many vegetables and fruits (especially berries) that you can, instead of consuming a bunch of processed snack foods.

So, be sure to add these types of healthy, low calorie snacks to your diet and be sure to burn more calories in a day than you consume to lose weight.  Check out this page on how many calories to lose weight you must consume for optimal results.

Use smaller plates at dinner time -  It might sound silly, but studies show that people are content by eating only what’s on their plate, no matter the serving size.Water-rich foods – Water-rich foods include fruits, vegetables and soups.  Why should you include these in your diet?  Simple, the water adds weight to the foods making you feel fuller longer but without the added calories.  Try eating water dense foods at the beginning of each meal to help ward off your appetite before you get to the more calorie dense foods.

Don’t drink calories – Simply switching from regular pop to drinking tea or water can really add up.  Your average 20 oz. pop contains roughly 250 calories and if you drink only 1 soda a day that’s 1,750 calories cut out of your diet in a week’s time.

Pass on processed foods -  Heavily processed foods such as chips and crackers don’t satisfy hunger pains and pass on little to no nutrients.  On the other hand, whole foods will give you that full feeling, pass on more nutrition and are usually lower in calories.

By slowly adding each of these techniques to your daily regimen over time you will begin to see your weight effortlessly melt away.  But don’t stop there.  Step back and take a look at your diet and see if you can make some more small changes to lose weight and feel great.

However, did you know there are four simple methods to a flatter stomach without doing hour after hour on the elliptical or treadmill?  Let’s take a glance at these straight-forward methods to see how we can add them to your regimen !

Suck It Up
The people that are constantly sucking their gut in are on to something!   By sucking in you actually work ab muscles deep in your midsection, that can help give you that flat stomach look.  It’s also one of those ab exercises you can execute anyplace, anytime.

Calorie Control
The best trick to get rid of that stomach fat is to burn more calories than you take in.  This is done by lowering your caloric intake by following a low calorie diet and to burn off more calories with total body exercise programs.  Lowering the calories you take in on a daily basis can be hard to do, so fill up on low calorie water-dense appetizers like broth-based soups and fruit before eating your calorie-laden main course.  This will drop your overall body fat percentage and flatten out your midsection.

Relieve Stress
Stress can actually signal your body to store belly fat.  A study done at Yale University found that of the 160 female subjects, the ones who reported the highest levels of stress had the largest midsections.  This is simply due to the stress hormone cortisol telling your body to pad the waistline.  To avoid this try taking up an activity you enjoy, or listen to your stereo, take a vacation, anything that will minimize your amount of stress.

Banish The Beer Belly
Beer is heavy in calories, which is one of the key reasons it adds mass around the waist.  There’s also evidence that beer adds more to your midsection than other types of alcoholic beverages.  Research at UNC concluded that beer drinkers had the highest waist-to-hip-ratio as opposed to those who opted for the same amount of hard liquor.