Closer Diet’s nutritionist, Catherine tells you how to kick-start your diet and keep the weight off. She shares her top tips for getting in the right frame of mind and achieving the body size you are happy with.
Perhaps you’re not body confident and maybe you need to lose a few pounds, but the fear of failing is paralysing your motivation. With the amount of promotion given to fad diets, it’s no wonder that people are cynical about what's effective. Only diets that are based around making healthy choices and won’t turn your life upside down work. Making small changes to your everyday lifestyle and diet is all you need to do to lose weight and keep it off. A realistic diet doesn’t restrict you or ban your favourite foods - it adds variety and creativity to your meals. A healthy diet plan will help you lose weight for the Summer and keep it off forever.
With my simple top tips you’ll look better than ever and eating healthily will become a way of life!
Tip 1 - Plan ahead.
Pre-planning what you are going to eat can be a little time consuming, but in the long term it will actually save you time by taking the hassle out of trying to decide what to eat after a busy day. Taking a shopping list to the supermarket with you will reduce the temptation to wander into the sweet and crisp aisle.
Tip 2 - Choose healthier versions.
You don’t need to completely ban the foods you enjoy, but it is important to choose the healthier options. Replace white bread with wholemeal bread. Swap low fat milk with full fat milk. Ask for lean cuts of meat instead of the fattier types.
Tip 3 - Watch your portion sizes.
How many of us eat healthily enough, but continue to gain weight? Often our weight problems don’t stem from the types of foods we eat, rather the actual quantities we eat them in. Check the serving size information for guidance on how much actually constitutes a portion. Instead of buying a regular sized mars bar, go for the fun-sized version.
Tip 4 - Eat breakfast.
Breakfast should always play an important part in people's diets. However, you need to exercise caution as some of the most popular breakfast cereals are high in sugar and are unlikely to keep you feeling full for long. Choose wholegrain cereals such as porridge or a breakfast of lean proteins, like eggs and beans.
Tip 5 - Five portions of fruit and vegetables.
Always eat your vegetables before any other parts of your meal. The bulky roughage gives you a full feeling. And since you are eating them at the beginning of the meal, when you are most hungry, you are almost guaranteed to eat them all! If that doesn't convince you, the antioxidants in fruit and vegetables are help to give your skin a pre-holiday glow.
Tip 6 - Cut out the white stuff.
Cut down on refined grains (white stuff), that is, white rice, white bread, pasta, anything with white flour and sugar. Avoiding processed foods like this will help you to stabilise your energy levels and control your cravings. You can eat moderate portions of whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, brown rice and sweet potatoes.
Tip 7 - Beat the bloat.
Avoid cabbage, peppers, onions, garlic, leeks, pickles and beans as they can all cause bloating for different people. Keeping a food diary for a few days is a good way of identifying problem foods. If you do suffer from indigestion or bloat try taking a probiotic such as lactobacillus acidophilus as that will help to restore the favourable balance of bacteria in your gut.
Tip 8 - Drink water not Caffeine.
Reduce your intake of tea, coffee and fizzy drinks. Consume too much caffeine, and you end up drinking yourself into dehydration, leading to dry skin. Fizzy drinks are amongst the top offenders for causing bloating so try to stick with water and decaffeinated coffee. Aim for 8 glasses of water per day.