17. Eat with awareness.

Okay, so it’s unrealistic and unnecessary for you to always avoid doing other things while you’re eating, but at least try to limit the distractions. Whether you have lunch at your desk or you’re engrossed in conversation at the dinner table, the key is not to swallow forkful after forkful mindlessly. Otherwise you’ll finish your meal and still feel hungry.

Try this exercise during a snack break: Sit down with a piece of fruit. Take a bite: chew slowly, noticing the flavor and texture. Next, challenge your awareness. Swallow the next bit fast, pretending you‘re gulping down lunch at work. Eat a few more while you serf the net or watch TV. Then concentrate entirely on food again. You’ll see how it’s more satisfying when you actually focus on it. Do this with all your meals and you’ll eat less without feeling one bit deprived.

18. Go ahead – have your favorite foods.

Just practice downsizing the less-than-healthy ones. Decide how much smaller you can go – if you typically eat a bowlful of ice cream every night, scoop out a half-cup serving. Then determine how often you’ll have the food – maybe Wednesdays and Fridays instead of nightly. Because you know you can treat yourself regularly, you won’t feel like you’re missing anything and will be less likely to overindulge when you do eat it.

19. Practice the never-miss-a-meal habit.

Skipping meals can derail your diet. You feel famished, sluggish and deprived, so you gobble down whatever you can get your hands on quickly – often fast food or a vending-machine staple. Plus consistently eating lightly during the day fools your body into thinking it is starving, so it stores more of the calories it does take in as fat. Stop ignoring your growling stomach and eat three healthy meals and two snacks at regular intervals every day. Pay attention to how energized you feel when you’re not struggling with hunger, fatigue and food cravings!

20. Try the 10-minute solution.

Frazzled? Too busy to schedule a workout? Commit to doing just 10 minutes of fast walking or some other type of cardio – anything! At the end of that time you might feel so good that you keep going. But even if you stop, you’ve been successful. Research shows that you get the same weight-loss benefits doing 10 minutes three times a day as you do from one 30-minute session.

21.Kick the “I can’t “ reflex.

Every time you tell yourself that you can’t stick to your plan, you chip away at your confidence – and your odds of success. Instead find a way to rephrase your thoughts. You might say to yourself:”It’s hard to fit in exercise, but it’s not impossible. Maybe I could start walking every day at lunch.”

22. Splurge only on desserts you love.

Be sure dessert meets two criteria before you indulge: 1) it must be extraordinary (like your sister’s famous carrot cake) and 2) it must be eaten in the right setting (for example, your niece’s birthday, where you’re surrounded by friends and family). You will save yourself tons of calories by having treats only when you can honestly classify them as special.

23. Commit with a capital C.

Are you interested in dropping pounds or committed to it? Today, be determined not to let anything interfere with your dedication. Don’t let the rain keep you from going to the gym or an office mate’s box of doughnuts tempt you. When you face challenges successfully, you’ve got an “I can do it” memory to draw on the next time your willpower flounders.

24. Make mini milestones.

Break your weight-loss goal into 10-pound blocks.

25. Make smart eating easy.

Start your own file of healthy recipes you’ve created or picked up from books and magazines.

Source: Shape Magazine, American Edition, 2007, April-May

Size: 7,887 characters with spaces

3.1.1. Key Vocabulary

ENTRY	TRANSLATION	EXAMPLES AND NOTES
gym n (coкр. gymnasium)	спортивный зал	Other activities in the town include a gym, tennis court and a golf course This gym offers aerobics, step-aerobics, circuit training and over 40 other classes
recipe n	рецепт кулинарный; перен. готовый рецепт (чего-либо), средство	In this traditional recipe, the fish is marinated in lime juice Make dressing (see recipe) and spoon over the tomatoes
workout n	тренировка, разминка	He promises himself an easier workout tomorrow How do you know you are getting a good workout?
crave (for) sth v	страстно желать, хотеть чего-либо	We all want success, crave for success, but can be very stresses while getting it
binge v	наедаться сверх меры, объедаться	The shelves were full of wonderful food and I thought how I could binge here One should learn to eat according to internal hunger and not to binge
low-fat adj	с низким содержанием жира, нежирный	Look for low-fat products Most sandwich bars will use low-fat spread if you request it I started my diet eating low-fat yoghurt and fruit for breakfast
cuisine n	кухня (еда), кулинарное искусство	This restaurant’s Italian cuisine has a strong emphasis on Tuscan dishes
eat out v	принимать пищу вне дома, питаться в кафе, ресторане	If you prefer to eat out, there are several places here When we eat out, we tend to select food for appeal and taste, not nutrient value
gulp down v	проглатывать, глотать с жадностью и поспешностью	He gulped down the coffee that remained carving for more I gulped down the orange juice and ordered another one
famished adj	голодный, изголодавшийся	The hotel bar was closed and we were all famished The evacuees were famished when they arrived having had no food for 12 hours
overindulge v	чрезмерно увлекаться чем-либо, злоупотреблять	We must accept that if we overindulge, it’s not a disaster
splurge v	дать себе волю, кутнуть, устроить пир	I don’t want to splurge all on one meal He was reluctant to splurge money on lawyers