50 Diet Tricks That Work!
In the battle of the bulge, having these little extras in your arsenal will help ensure you win the war against weight…
1 Move more! Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise every day. Treat yourself to a wristband activity tracker that links in with your mobile phone so you can watch the number of steps you take and the calories you burn increase.
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Ignore cravings – briefly. If you can resist the temptation for five minutes, the craving should pass.
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“Studies have shown that lack of sleep may cause us to eat 300-400 more calories the next day,” says weight loss expert and nutritionist Lily Soutter. “In addition, one hour of extra sleep a night can increase the hormone that suppresses appetite.”
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Aim for a realistic weight loss goal. Once you reach it, you can celebrate by setting your next goal. 5 Can’t live without pasta? Make it a starter rather than a main course and cook al-dente, which slows down digestion so you’ll feel full for longer.
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Snap a selfie every week. Taking a photo of yourself while dieting has been found to help with weight loss. Looking back at that first “before” selfie is good for weight maintenance once you’ve reached your target.
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“Aim to drink one litre of water a day, cut back on fizzy drinks and add herbal teas such as peppermint, ginger and chamomile,” suggests nutritionist Sally Wisby.
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Don’t go food shopping when you’re hungry or your trolley will be piled high with snacks, chocolate and freshly-baked crusty bread! 9 “We’re surrounded by unhealthy choices so it’s no surprise our willpower lets us down when we’re tired, stressed and hungry,” says Dr Sally Norton, NHS weight loss consultant and founder of VavistaLife. “Spend five minutes planning healthier meals and nutritious snacks for when hunger strikes.” 10 Buy two sets of scales – one for you and one to weigh portion sizes and ingredients. 11 “Become a label reader,” advises Dr Marilyn Glenville, one of the UK’s leading nutritionists. “Don’t fall for marketing hype on the the packet. Look at the list of ingredients, amount of sugar and nutritional information.”
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Hunger and thirst can be confused. If you think you need something to eat, have a glass of water or a herbal tea first, just in case your body’s trying to trick you! 13 We all have at least one very guilty pleasure in our diet. Identify your high-calorie weakness and make a conscious decision not to eat it any more.
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Tune into your hunger signals. “Stop eating when you’re 80% full,” advises Shona Wilkinson, nutritionist at SUPERFOODUK.COM, who advises waiting 20 minutes – by which time your tummy may have decided it’s had enough to eat.
15 Positivity is a great asset when dieting – and a few drops of one of the Bach™ Original Flower Remedies (£6.99) can give your attitude and your emotional wellbeing a welcome boost when you’re feeling down! Crab Apple can help reduce the risk of eating to make yourself feel good. Cherry Plum can increase rationality, helping you stay cool, calm and collected and in control of your diet. Chestnut Bud can help you avoid repeating the same old mistakes, such as reaching for the biscuit tin.
16 Light a vanilla scented candle as it can quell sweet cravings.
17 Eat spicy foods. Hot chillis and cayenne pepper contain a natural compound – capsaicin – found to speed up the metabolism. It may also actually encourage the body to burn fat.
18 AVOID SUGAR “Themore sugar you eat, themore you crave it,” says Dr Marilyn Glenville, author of Natural Alternatives to Sugar. “Sugar is also ‘empty calories’– it doesn’t give you any nutritional value. If you’re cravings omething sweet, try adding cinnamon to natural yoghurt or porridge.”
19 Swap carbs for veg. “Instead of wraps, use lettuce leaves,” suggests nutritionist Shona Wilkinson. “Spiralise courgettes instead of spaghetti and swap rice for cauliflower ‘rice’.”
20
Keep a food diary. Making a note of everything you eat has been proven to reduce calorie intake – so get scribbling!
21 Kickstart your metabolism first thing in the morning with a glass of warm water and a squeeze of lemon.
22 Help keep blood sugar levels stable and reduce the risk of sugar cravings with green tea. “Try two to three cups between meals,” suggests weight loss expert Lily Soutter.
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If you’re a comfort eater, instead of attempting to change your mood with food, try having a relaxing bath, going for a walk or painting your nails a bright and cheery colour.
24 Snack on an egg. “The combination of protein and good fats will help you feel full for longer,” says Shona Wilkinson, nutritionist at SUPERFOODUK.COM. “Boil eggs in advance and store in the fridge – they’ll keep for up to a week.”
25 DON’T STARVE YOURSELF “With a crash diet, your metabolism slows down, reducing your body’s ability toburn fat,” says Anytime Fitness Personal Trainer Mike Arzu, who stresses that, when making dietary changes, it’s important to obtain protein from foods such as meat, fish and eggs.
26 “Keep blood sugar and energy levels stable by eating regularly,” advises Dr Marilyn Glenville. “Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus a morning and afternoon snack. Aim for no longer than three hours in between and try not to eat carbs after 6pm.”
27 Take up squash. All that bending, lunging, jumping and twisting around tones up muscles, gives an excellent cardiovascular workout – and can burn up to 1000 calories in one session.
28 Take a photo of your meal! “Research suggests that taking a photograph of food before you eat it concentrates the mind to eat not only healthier foods but also to eat less,” says Dr Glenville.
29
Serve your food on small, blue plates. Large plates may fool your body into eating more than it needs or wants, while the colour blue is a natural appetite suppressant.
30 Start the day the breakfast way. “If we don’t have breakfast, by 11am, blood sugar levels drop too low so we become hungry and crave sugar,” warns Dr Marilyn Glenville. “Try two poached eggs on wholemeal toast with rocket leaves, or a sugar-free yoghurt with nuts and berries.”
31 Eat with your left hand! Or, if you’re lefthanded, eat with your right hand. You’ll eat more slowly, pay more attention to what you’re eating and know when you’ve had enough.
32 Keep hunger pangs at bay until lunchtime by having a bowl of porridge for breakfast.
33 Clear plates when a meal is over, and freeze the leftovers. “If food isn’t left out, you’ll be much less likely to go back for seconds,” advises nutritionist Lily Soutter.
34 Help ensure you stick to your vow to be more active by adding exercise classes, walking or cycling, and your early morning jog – or stroll to your diary or the personal calendar on your mobile phone or tablet.
35
Avoid alcohol. As well as being full of empty calories, alcoholic drinks are an appetite stimulant which explains why we’re all guilty of falling for the temptation of high-calorie nibbles such as crisps after a glass of wine or two.
36 A study in the USA found that people with a diet buddy to discuss meal choices, swap recipes, provide mutual support and join in with their exercising efforts are more likely to lose weight than solo slimmers. Alternatively, join a slimming club – the friendship, support and advice provided has been proven to help with weight loss.
37 “Protein can help fill you up and keep you fuller for longer,” explains nutritionist Shona Wilkinson of SUPERFOODUK.COM. “A serving of protein-rich food such as meat, fish, eggs, beans and lentils, nuts and seeds with every meal can control appetite.”
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Avoid processed foods and ready meals whenever possible. “Start by aiming to cook at least two homemade meals a week and build up gradually,” advises nutritionist Sally Wisbey.
39 Add highfibre foods to your diet. As well as helping to maintain a healthy digestive system – which can contribute to weight loss and weight maintenance – high-fibre foods like fruit, vegetables, wholegrain bread and brown rice all help to reduce the risk of snacking.
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Ban junk food from your shopping trolley, fridge, freezer and kitchen cupboards. If you don’t have it, you can’t eat it!
41 Switch off the TV! “You can eat up to 70% more if you’re distracted by the TV,” explains Dr Glenville who stresses that it’s not only the TV screen that can be distracting. “Research shows eating lunch in front of a computer makes it harder to remember what you’ve eaten so you don’t feel as full.”
42 Set a firm date for the start of your weight loss campaign – and stick to it.
43 “A diverse mixture of bacteria in the gut is central to health, including weight,” explains Adrienne Benjamin, Pro-Ven nutritionist. “Foods such as yoghurt provide a variety of probiotic bacteria which can be supported through probiotic supplements.”
44 “The Mediterranean Diet is one of the best ways of eating,” says Dr Sally Norton of WWW.VAVISTALIFE.COM. “The principles are eating lots of fruit and vegetables, cutting out processed foods and salt and limiting red meat. It’s easy to keep up as it’s full of ‘real food’ ingredients.”
45 REDUCE PORTION SIZES Statistics showthat portions are50% bigger today than in 1996– however, it’s possible to break the supersize habit simply by serving less food. Take it gradually and your tummy will accept it no longer needs as much to make it happy.
46 Start with soup and not only will you eat less during the following courses, the soup will linger in your tummy, ensuring your hunger hormone remains dormant for longer.
47 As metabolism slows down overnight, aim to have your last meal of the day at least three hours before bedtime.
48 Relax! Stress can trigger overeating and also makes your body hold on to unused calories. So find an enjoyable way to relax that fits in with your lifestyle.
49 Consider housework a keep-fit activity! Online health retailer MUSCLEFOOD.COM found that an hour cleaning windows burns 334 calories, changing four beds burns as many calories as a one-hour power walk and a week’s dish washing burns 560!
50 Enjoy your food. Treat every morsel as a delicacy to be savoured at leisure, noticing the flavours, chewing every mouthful 30 times and returning your cutlery to the table between bites.