Dr. Oz's 10 Weight-Loss Commandments

With our country's obesity epidemic reaching biblical proportions, it's time to commit to 10 easy and basic rules for losing weight and keeping it off.

 

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1. Thou Shalt Not Wear Pants that Stretch - Your clothing is an early-warning system for weight gain. When it's getting hard to snap your jeans, you know it's time to be vigilant. Wearing stretchy clothes allows you to live in ignorance of how your body is growing, making it easier to pack on pounds without knowing it.

2. Thou Shalt Not Keep Fat Clothes in Your Closet - When you keep the clothes you wore at an unhealthy weight, it gives you a back-up plan if the pounds don't come off. Instead, force yourself to stay on track by 86ing your "fat pants."

3. Thou Shalt Not Eat Meat That Walks on Four Legs More Than Once a Week - Meat that comes from an animal with 4 legs is higher in saturated fat (the unhealthy kind) than that which comes from 2-legged animals such as chickens, or animals with no legs, like fish. Plus: women who eat large amounts of red meat more than once a week have a 50% higher chance of dying from heart disease and have higher cancer rates.

4. Thou Shalt Not Graze - Plan your meal before you open the refrigerator, get what you need, and close the door. Opening it throughout the day leads to impulsive choices and overeating.

5. Thou Shalt Not Eat After 7:30pm - When you eat late at night you are more likely to be eating in front of the TV (when you won't pay attention to how much you're putting in your mouth) and you're more likely to pick high-calorie snacks.

6. Thou Shalt Not Pile Food More than 1 Inch High or Within 2 Inches of the Plate Edge - Larger portions equal more calories. 'Nuff said.

7. Thou Shalt Not Chew Food Less than 20 Times Per Bite - Chewing allows your body to realize that you are eating food, prompting it to create a sensation of fullness at the appropriate time. When you don't chew enough, you get ahead of that process, eating well past when you are actually satisfied.

  

8. Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Plate - Spend your day nibbling bites on someone else's sandwich or afternoon snack, and you will add on 1,000 calories easy.

9. Thou Shalt Not Carry Small Bills - Nothing loves a small bill better than a vending machine. When you have them at the ready, you are one step closer to an impulsive, calorie-loaded afternoon slip up.

10. Thou Shalt Not Eat While Standing Up - Eating sitting down enables you to be aware of what you're eating and eat it slowly so that your body can tell you your full before it's too late.