20 Ways to Lose 20 Pounds Now!

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Battling the bulge? Who isn't. And we all know that getting those pounds off and keeping them off isn't easy.

But Dr. James Beckerman, a cardiologist with the Providence Heart and Vascular Institute in Portland, Oregon and author of "The Flex Diet," has 20 ideas that you can actually do right now.

Keep clicking to drop those pounds.

Small Plates, Small Bowls

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Downsizing from standard 14-inch plates to 10-inch plates and swapping for a smaller cereal or soup bowl is associated with eating 20 percent fewer calories without impacting your appetite. People lose a couple of pounds in just a few weeks without making any other conscious changes in their diets. Controlling your environment makes it easier to lose weight.

Save your Starbucks

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With whipped cream, whole milk, and flavor shots, it's easy to drink the caloric equivalent to a cheeseburger during your regular trip to your favorite cafe. Not to mention the impact that "Trenta" size will have when it hits stores in the coming months. Switch to skim, go a size smaller, and avoid the sweet extras for a good cup of coffee without the calorie catastrophe.

Green Tea

Drinking green tea every day is associated with weight loss of a couple of pounds, according to some research. That may be due to the catechins that occur naturally in green tea which are associated with a higher metabolism.

Other convenient side effects are a reduced risk of heart disease and cancer, given the anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatories in tea. In some studies, drinking four cups a day had great benefit, although drinking less should still help out.

Flaxseeds

No food has everything, but flaxseeds come pretty close. They are high in omega-3's and fiber and will help you feel fuller for longer. It's easy to incorporate ground flaxseeds into everything from yogurt and soup to stews and casseroles. They are also associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, and even hot flashes. Buy them whole and keep them cold to help them last longer in your kitchen.

Beans

High in fiber and protein and naturally lower in carbohydrates, eating beans regularly will help you feel full and add some flair to your meals.

They are easily incorporated into breakfast - think English breakfast or Costa Rican gallo pinto, simple side dishes like Indian Dahl or Mexican black beans (but not refried!), or as a meat substitute in chili, burritos, or salads.

Try to add them to your diet at least once a week. People who eat beans regularly weigh seven pounds less than those who don't, according to one study.

Get Enough Sleep

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Sleep is one of most overlooked weight loss solutions. By regulating your hunger and satiety hormones - ghrelin and leptin - your sleep quantity may directly impact your appetite. According to a study, people who sleep more than seven hours a night are consistently less likely to be overweight than people that get fewer than five hours. So, sleep up.

Eat at the Table

All of us are busy, and when our minds are occupied with other things we are often not aware of what or how much we're eating. Avoiding the television, telephone or computer and actually sitting at the table will help you not only become more mindful, will also help you enjoy your food. Put away the leftovers before you eat your meal and serve your food on plates rather than serving yourself from a bowl or casserole dish in the middle of the table to watch portions too.

Stick with Your Own Meal

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At least one in four moms surveyed either sample or finish their children's food, particularly at restaurants. "Those chicken fingers are not going to waste!" But they may go to your waist line.

Photograph Your Food

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Keeping a food diary is the single most effective weight loss intervention - people who keep tabs of what they eat and drink lose double the weight of people who don't. It turns out that the act of documentation leads to healthier choices. For those people who don't like to write things down, taking a quick photo of what you eat with your camera phone (before, not after you eat it!) is associated with making healthier choices in just one week.

Automated Text Messaging

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Use your Google or Outlook calendar or one of many free or paid online apps to send yourself reminders to exercise, avoid the drive-through on the way home, or get a salad instead of a burger at lunch. Just a couple of messages each week is associated with two hours more activity per week and a few pounds of weight loss in a month.

Eat a Healthier Pizza

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Enjoy pizza, but with some easy solutions to reduce the fat and calories. Order it with thin crust (or whole wheat if you're really motivated), and choose veggies over meat toppings. If you must have your pepperoni, go for just that and forgo the sausage, bacon, and other meat toppings - you won't notice the difference. And if you really want to get creative, steal a birthday party trick known to parents of toddlers everywhere - have your pizza cut in double the number of slices. You'll eat less pizza overall.

Skip the Diet Soda

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Make the switch away from regular soft drinks - but not to diet soda. While you would expect that drinking diet will help you save calories and lose weight, the research doesn't bear this out. It seems that artificial sweeteners can trick the body into actually craving more sugar and carbohydrates - which you might consume without realizing it in the form of an extra handful of pretzels or a few more fries. Better to drink water.

Have Eggs for Breakfast

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People watching their cholesterol will be happy to learn that eggs will impact it significantly because they are lower in saturated fats and trans fats which tend to increase your bad (LDL) cholesterol while sometimes reducing the good (HDL) cholesterol. And because they are high in protein and low in carbohydrates, eggs make a great weight loss food. In head to head studies against bagels, eggs win every time.

Substitute Quinoa for White Rice

Despite having carbohydrates, the high protein and fiber content makes quinoa a great alternative to white rice. And at 40 calories fewer per cup, it can help with your weight loss plan with little effort.

Clean out Your Freezer

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This month, when you do your usual freezer clean-out, remove temptation - take out everything for cleaning, and then fill it with foods that give you vitamins and energy along with all that convenience.

Remove the highly processed foods loaded with salt, fat, and sugar for preservation and replace with frozen vegetables, fruits, and microwave meals that have at least 20 grams of protein, fewer than 400 calories, and less than 800 milligrams of sodium per serving.

Eat Breakfast Every Day

Many people will skip a meal to limit calories when trying to lose weight, and others don't have breakfast as a matter of habit or convenience. But your mother was right - it really is the most important meal of the day. According to some research, just adding breakfast to your daily schedule can result in a weight loss of four pounds in a few months.

Limit your intake of sweetened cereals, white bread and butter for your first meal of the day - they may cause the scale needle to go the wrong way. Instead try eggs, high-fiber cereals and breads, and real fruit - they'll help keep you full longer and will provide your body with the nutrients it needs to make better choices throughout the day.

Take a Walking Break

Turn your job into a place to get some exercise. Research suggest that small spurts of activity throughout the day may be more effective than getting your exercise all at once - perfect timing for a work break.

The goal is 30 minutes, five times a week, but those 30 minutes can be broken into three 10-minute sessions for equal, or maybe even better, results.

Use your lunch break - or any 10-minute break at work - to get in your exercise and increase your energy level. One study of a work-based walking program found that 93 percent of the participants lost weight.

Find a Buddy

Losing weight and getting healthier can sometimes be a lonely experience - doing it with a friend, co-worker, or spouse will not only make it more fun, but it will help you be more effective in reaching your goals.

People who have a weight loss partner lose more weight than those who do it alone. And research also shows that spouses of people trying to lose weight will often lose weight themselves, without really even trying to.

Finding the right person with similar goals will help you start reaching them together. Talk to friends and co-workers, or look outside your peer group. If support groups, gyms, or meetings aren't your thing, look online on popular health websites, where commenters or forum members may be just who you're looking for.

Go Salad Crazy

Salad is high in fiber and nutrition with lower carbohydrates and helps reduce overall calories if you eat one as an appetizer. One study found that eating a large salad before a meal reduced the total number of calories per dinner by 12 percent - at that rate, you could cut 1,000 calories a week by eating a salad every day. You'll be fuller for longer on fewer calories.

But be careful - high calorie dressings, and big portions of cheese, meat and nuts can drive the calorie count in the wrong direction.

Speed it Up, Then Slow it Down

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Many people who already exercise get into a pattern - 20 minutes on the elliptical, a few minutes in the weight room. But why not do it more efficiently?

Adding intervals of higher speeds and inclines to your aerobic exercise is associated with burning more calories and losing more weight. And slowing down your weight training (five seconds up, five seconds down) will help build more lean muscle, which will result in a higher resting metabolism which can actually help you burn calories more efficiently even when you're not at the gym.