Lose that New Year Weight!

A new year marks a new beginning. We often tell ourselves: new year, new me! After all, a change (for the better!) is always good.

After the celebrations and festivities during the holiday season, by now you may have seen this "new you." That is: you + the NEW 10 pounds!

If this "new you" isn't exactly what you had in mind, then keep reading! Dr. Maoshing Ni of Ask Dr. Mao in Yahoo! Health gives you six simple tips that will help you lose weight the healthy way.

Here's an excerpt of his article:

New Year's Weight Loss: 6 Tips

1. Lose weight with water. Water is essential for everybody - it is also the key to losing weight. If you haven't been drinking enough water, your body has developed a pattern for storing water. This water retention equals extra unwanted wait.

By drinking more water, you are not only flushing out toxins, you are also teaching your body that it no longer needs to store water. Drink at least 60 ounces of water (about 8 glasses) a day. Boil water and sliced lemons and drink this throughout the day to help with fluid retention. If you are still not sold on the merits of water, try this on for size: water is a natural appetite suppressant.

2. Soup up your weight loss program.
A simple dietary change will have you shedding pounds: eat a bowl of soup at least once a day. Nutritious, low-salt soups will nourish you as they flush waste from your body. People who eat a serving of soup daily lose more weight than those who eat the same amount of calories but don't eat soup. Go for homemade soup whenever possible, as canned soups are loaded with salt and chemicals.

3. Eat early to keep the weight off.
The human body follows a circadian rhythm, which means that the same foods eaten at breakfast and lunch are processed differently than when eaten at dinner. Studies show that when you eat your daily protein and aft at breakfast, you tend to lose weight and have more energy; however, eating the same things at dinner tend to increase tendencies toward gaining weight. I suggest that you eat your last meal of the day by 7PM.

4. Eat smaller meals, more frequently.
Follow an eating schedule with five little meals every day. Eating steadily through the day keeps you from becoming famished and overeating at your next meal. Make a low-fat trail mix from raw almonds, pumpkin seeds, dried plum, and apples and have it available at all times to avoid the tempting lure of high-calorie snacks.

Definitely tips that are doable and I'm excited to try right away! For the rest of this juicy article, click here.