Weight-Loss Tips for Women at Home

Losing weight is tough under the best of circumstances, but it's even harder when you're limited to sticking to your house. Women tend to focus on everyone else in their family and find it hard to reconcile themselves to taking any personal time. A few simple changes to the at-home woman's routine can really make a difference and help her lose weight.

Food for Thought

• Rationalizing with yourself about what you are eating and if it's worth the calories it costs can really motivate you to eat healthfully. Consider this: grabbing a king-size pack of peanut butter cups at the grocery store and eating the entire pack means eating two servings and 520 calories. A six-inch oven-roasted chicken breast sub on wheat bread, loaded with veggies and some mustard, at Subway only has 314 calories. Will the peanut butter cups fill you up as much as the sub? Learning to pay attention to food labels, proper portion sizes and additives in the food you eat will aid you in your weight loss goals.

Write it Out

• When you're on a weight loss mission, write everything down in a journal or blog. Have a food journal and a regular weight loss journal. The food journal helps you feel a sense of accomplishment and will assist you in figuring out what the problem is if you hit a plateau or gain weight. The weight loss journal or blog is an outlet for all your feelings during this time. You can also document your success and keep a visual record with pictures in your weight loss journal.

Get Fresh

• By adding a serving of fresh fruit or vegetables to each meal or snack, you can help yourself lose weight without really trying. Eat them first so that you make sure you get the recommended four to 8 servings daily. The fiber in fruits and vegetables fills you up and aids in digestion. Fruits and veggies are low in calories and provide essential nutrients that even fortified foods don't offer. Yes, it takes extra prep work to eat fresh foods, but the benefit is twofold as that extra work equals extra calories your body is burning and helps your weight loss.

Fit Fun

• Turn the time with your kids into exercise time for you and them by playing exercise-related games. If you don't have kids, buy a hoola hoop and practice using it while watching your favorite shows; a 180-pound woman can burn about 238 calories with low-impact aerobic activity in a half hour. You don't notice it's exercise if you're having fun. Go for walks, hikes or a bike ride when your family is all together instead of watching television--that alone can help you lose weight and keep your family fit.

Cut the Additives

• As a woman, there are those times in the month where you crave salt, sugar or both, and they are both okay in moderation. Treat yourself occasionally to something sweet and try healthy sugar alternatives, like Splenda or Equal. Switching from sugar-laden soda to water can provide adequate hydration and aid weight loss. Excess sugar intake can lead to diabetes in people with weight issues. Extra sodium can increase water retention, make you feel bloated and add on water weight. Instead of using salt, experiment with herbs and spices for flavor and additional health benefits.