7 secrets to boost fat loss Get your timing, sizing and spending right

There's no one magic pill for losing weight, but a series of small steps can bring rewards that will all add up

1 Size matters

You can eat too much healthy food, and many of us serve up large portions of lean meat and lashings of rice and pasta while we skimp on the vegetables. Generally, the later you have dinner, the smaller the portion should be. When it comes to meat and chicken, stick to a palm-sized serve and less than a cup of cooked rice, pasta or grains. Loading a plate with 2-3 cups of salad or veg will keep other foods under control. Another option is to swap your main meal to lunch and keep dinner a simple affair of soup or salad.

2 It’s all about timing

If you enjoy your first meal too late in the day, you will have missed the benefits that come with giving your metabolism a kickstart first thing in the morning. Then, if you eat your dinner too late, you are more likely to store body fat. Keeping food consumption within a 12-hour time window is better for metabolism. This means breakfast by 8am, lunch by noon or 1pm and dinner by 7pm at the latest.

3 Protein up

As a nutrient, protein requires more kilojoules to digest than carbohydrate and protein. This means meals that are high in protein will naturally give you a fat-burning boost. Aiming for 20-30g of good-quality protein at each meal is ideal, or the equivalent of 2 eggs, a small chicken breast, a can of tinned fish or 1/2 cup legumes, with a couple of tablespoons of cottage cheese or a tub of Greek yoghurt. Any snacks should also contain a minimum of 5-10g of protein. Good options include cheese on wholegrain crackers, Greek yoghurt with fruit or a small nut or protein ball.

4 Shop less, buy less and keep less food around

Human beings will eat whatever food is readily available. This means the more food you buy, the more you are likely to eat. As such, the easiest way to cut kilojoules is to buy less food. This doesn’t mean not buying enough to make nutritious meals, but rather, skipping the little extras we tend to keep on hand and eat when we are hungry, or not – biscuits, snacks, nuts, treats that we mean to keep for special occasions but end up eating anyway. If it's not there, you can’t eat it!

5 Spice up your life

The reason you may feel slightly warm after enjoying a fiery meal or a curry is that hot and spicy foods do increase your metabolic rate slightly. This means that adding a little chilli or spice to your meals will naturally help you burn more kilojoules. Good combinations include a little cayenne pepper with your favourite salad dressing, turmeric with your hummus and burgers, or chilli with your favourite soup or stir-fry.

6 Go for wholefoods

It has been shown that consuming wholefoods – for example a steak as opposed to mince, or wholegrain bread rather than white – results in a higher kilojoule burn than the more processed food alternatives. This means the more natural the food you eat is, the better it is for metabolism. So go for fruit and veg whole, with skin intact, fillets of fish, meat and chicken, and wholefood snacks such as nuts, fruit and yoghurt, rather than processed biscuits, bars and cakes.

7 Drink your water right

Keeping well hydrated is a must to support optimal energy levels and your digestive system working efficiently, which in turn supports optimal metabolic functioning. There is also some evidence to show that serving your water icy cold helps to give you a fat-burning boost after each glass. Green tea has also been shown to increase fat burning slightly after meals, so including a cup or two of that each day is another simple way to improve your body’s fat-burning potential. ■