10 essential steps to losing weight and lowering blood pressure

Follow the steps below — all proven to help you lose weight and keep it off — and watch the kilos (pounds) drop, along with your blood pressure.

• If you make fruit, vegetables, fish, poultry, and lean meat the mainstays of your diet and eschew processed foods, like cakes, chips, and candy, you'll lose weight with little or no effort.

• It's not the fat that makes you fat, but the calories. And some fats like Omega-3 fatty acids and the monounsaturated fats found in olive oil and nuts, provide significant health benefits.
• There's often little or no difference between the calories in regular and low-fat versions of the same food. Ultimately, losing weight is all about calories.

• Food portions have morphed from normal to super-size in the past 20 years. Just consider that identical recipes in old and new editions of classic cookbooks yield fewer servings today than in the past.
• If you train yourself to eat just half of what's put in front of you and eat it slowly so your brain gets the message that you're full, the kilos (pounds) will slip away.

• It's a sure step to weight loss. Include some high-fibre food, such as whole-grain toast or cereal; a protein food, such as peanut butter; and a piece of fruit.

• If you're starving, you'll eat whatever is available as quickly as you can get it. Keep packs of peanuts, cartons of yogurt, and other healthy snacks at home or in the office.
• Have a snack midway between meals to take the edge off your hunger so you can wait to have a healthy meal instead of scarfing down junk food.

• More water content, lower energy density and the more you can eat (on less calories) than with food of higher energy density.
• You can have a bowl of condensed chicken soup for the same number of calories found in 25 grams (one ounce) of pretzels. The soup will stick with you longer.

The average adult consumes an extra 245 calories a day from soft drinks. That's nearly 90,000 calories a year. Divide that by the 3,500 calories it takes to lose 0.45 kilograms (one pound) of weight, and you could lose 11 kilograms (almost 25 pounds) a year just by switching from soda to water or fat-free milk!

• Too often, we reach for food that has nothing to do with hunger. Food comforts us when we're sad and releases frustration when we're having a bad day. Emotional or unconscious eating packs on the pounds.
• Next time you find yourself reaching for that container of ice cream, stop and think about why you want it. Take a bath, write in your journal, or go for a walk instead.

• That means every bite you put into your mouth, from a can of soda to a couple of chips.
• People who are successful at weight loss keep an accurate food diary even after they've reached their goals.

• The formula for weight loss is simple: Calories in must be fewer than calories out.
• Other than starving yourself (proven time and time again to fail), your best bet is to move more.
• Find opportunities for activity: Use the stairs instead of the elevator, buy a push mower, and park the car in the farthest spot from the store.