When you are trying to lose weight, changing your diet is more critical than exercise. Sometimes simple changes to your diet can result in dramatic weight loss, as long as you are consistent and focus on the major caloric culprits.

Increase Your Protein

Eating a diet that is more centered around protein can help you lose weight and make it easier to keep the weight off. The standard diet is more "carb-centric," which can be problematic for some people, especially those who gain weight easily. Sometimes, even carbs that are considered complex may increase cravings for more carbs or make it harder to combat hunger. When you are developing meal plans for the week and trying to stay within a limited calorie range each day, focus on your protein sources and non-starchy vegetables first. Keep carbs and starchy vegetables to a minimum or consider skipping them altogether. With many low-carb options to replace traditional breads and pastas, you may find focusing more of your diet on protein is not difficult.

Keep Food Simple

Most of your meals should be fairly simple, both in the amount of effort it takes to fix a meal and the number of ingredients. When you try to keep your meals simple, there will be less unnecessary sugar, salt, and calories. For example, people often rely on stir fry or hearty soups for meals since they can be made by incorporating a protein source and many different fresh vegetables. All you need is seasoning for these dishes and you have a satisfying meal that is also easy to prep in advance so you are less tempted to eat poorer quality foods. In order to eat simply, you will need to avoid many processed foods and eating out. Most people who eat out frequently, or rely on convenience foods, find simply reducing or eliminating these foods from their diet can jump-start their weight loss.

Avoid Drinking Your Calories

A major culprit that can cause weight gain and make it harder to lose weight is drinking your calories. It is easy to mindlessly consume hundreds of unnecessary calories each day if you drink juice, regular soda, or go out for coffee drinks. How you feel about sugar replacements can make it easier to have more variety in what you drink. Some people feel certain sugar substitutes are more acceptable, such as Stevia, whereas they may feel more uncomfortable with the use of aspartame. If you are willing to use sugar substitutes, cutting calories through your beverages alone will be easy. Try to limit your intake of caloric beverages to one per day, such as your morning coffee, and rely on water or other calorie-free beverages for the rest of the day. Even fruit and vegetable juices can ruin your weight loss if you drink them mindlessly.

When changing your diet for a weight loss program, finding the biggest sources of unnecessary calories is the way to start. Sometimes you do not need a complete overhaul of your diet to see significant changes in your weight.