Twenty-two fat-loss tips that work

Twenty-two fat-loss tips that work

1: Eat several, smaller meals

Eating smaller meals more frequently not only reduces the chances of fat storage but also helps you recognise when you really are hungry. Spreading your meals more evenly through the day, as four to six small meals rather than two or three big ones, helps avoid blood sugar highs and lows and the resulting insulin surges. Insulin is a powerful anabolic hormone that drives glucose from the bloodstream into muscle cells and  when theres too much glucose  into your fat cells. Your aim should be to keep your blood glucose and insulin levels stable, so your body can manage them more easily. Eat regular snacks of fruit, nuts or seeds to give you slow-release energy throughout the day.

2: Limit your food choices

Research carried out at Tufts University in Massachusetts, United States, found that when people are presented with a wider variety of foods they eat considerably more. Also, when eating a single food, the individuals eating rate slows down, he or she is satiated more quickly and, therefore, he or she will eat less. The pleasure of eating a food increases up to the third or fourth bite then drops off. If you have lots of different foods on your plate you prolong the sensory pleasure, which stops you feeling full. The message here is to simplify your diet: place fewer types of food on your plate.

3: Practice portion control

It may sound obvious but larger portions make you eat more. Researchers at Cornell University, New York, found that people ate 33 per cent more food when given a large portion even when they disliked the food. Try putting smaller portions of foods with a high-energy density (such as meat, cheese and pizza) on your plate and larger portions of low-energy density foods such as vegetables on your plate. Check your portion sizes against those suggested in the Fitness Food Pyramid

4: Dont ban your favourite foods

Including your favourite foods in moderation will make your weight loss plan easier to stick to, if not pleasurable. If you know that you can eat a little of your favourite indulgence every day, youll stop thinking of it as a

forbidden food and then wont want to binge on it. So go ahead and include chocolate or ice cream in your nutrition

plan but make sure its only a little.

5: Dont skip breakfast

Starting the day with a healthy, filling breakfast dramatically increases your chances of eating healthily throughout the day. It also provides your body with

fuel and kick-starts your metabolism, so you have the rest of the day to burn up those calories. The carbohydrates you eat at breakfast will be used to fuel your daily activities and workouts, instead of being stored as body fat (as they are if eaten in the evening). If you dont eat breakfast, you are more likely to snack during the morning and overeat at lunch. Studies have shown that dieters who ate a high-fibre breakfast lost more weight than their breakfast-skipping counterparts and consumed 100150 fewer calories for breakfast and lunch.

6: Start with salad

According to a 2004 study at Pennsylvania State University, United States, eating a large portion of low-energy density foods, such as salad or fruit, as a starter can cut the number of calories eaten during the main meal by 12 per cent. The fibre and water in the salad/ fruit takes the edge off the appetite, causing you to eat less of the higher calorie foods. (Take care not to add too much salad dressing.)

7: Sleep more

Sleeping an extra hour or so may help you lose weight, according to a study published in the journal  Sleep in 2004. The study found that those who slept nine hours or more had, on average, a significantly lower body mass index than those who slept five hours or less. This is because lack of sleep boosts levels of the hormone ghrelin, which makes you feel hungry, while lowering levels of the hormone leptin, which makes you feel full. This hormonal imbalance sends a signal to the brain that more food is needed when, in fact, enough has been eaten. Research at the University of Chicago, United States, also shows that sleeping for four hours or less increases levels of another hormone, cortisol, which makes you feel hungry in the evening rather than sleepy.

8: Fill up with soup

Starting your meal with a bowl of chunky soup can cut your calorie intake  by 20 per cent, according to a study by the University of Pennsylvania, United States. The idea is that fibre in soup fills you up so youll eat less of the higher-calorie foods that follow. Avoid creamy soups, though: stick to  vegetable varieties.

9: Switch off the TV

Dont eat in front of the television nor while you are working or reading you are less likely to notice what you are eating.  Studies have shown that the distraction of TVpostpones the point at which people stop eating, with TV watchers eating approximately 12 to 15percent more than those who do not eat in front of the television. In addition, people who watch TV for more than four hours a day consume one-third more calories because they have more opportunity to nibble and less opportunity to exercise. An other study found that those who eat with family or friends consume upto 70percent more on average than those who eat alone.  Social company, it seems, overrides satiety.

10: Distinguish between hunger and appetite

Unfortunately, it is easy to confuse hunger and appetite. Appetite is produced by external stimuli, such as the sight or smell of food or simply feeling bored. Real feelings of hunger are produced when blood sugar begins to fall. The difference is that appetite goes away when you distract yourself with another activity. Next time you feel the urge to eat, distract yourself by going for a walk, taking a bath or doing your nails. If you're still hungry then you know you need to eat.

11: Play music while you eat

Listening to music while you eat can help you lose weight. Studies have found that listening to relaxing music while eating makes you chew more slowly and eat less than when listening to frantic tunes. 

12: Don't be fat phobic

While cutting out high-fat foods will help you lose weight, don't completely cut fat out from your diet. This would be unhealthy and hinder your progress. Including foods rich in essential fats  oily fish, avocados, nuts, olives and seeds (see page 34)  in moderation can help burn body fat more efficiently, improve aerobic capacity and boost immunity. Fat also helps to give foods taste, so including it in moderation will help you stick to your eating plan. If 77 you're eating 1,500 calories a day, aim to consume 3342 go of healthy fats daily.

13: Eat slowly

You'll eat 15 per cent fewer calories if you sit down and take time to eat your meal rather than eating on the go. Studies have shows that people eat up to 15 per cent more calories when they rush at mealtimes. Scoffing your meal means that your hypothalamus  the part of the brain that senses when you are full doesn't receive the right signals, which explains why you may feel hungrier sooner if you rush a meal.

14: Keep an eye on your alcohol consumption

Alcohol calories count too: if you enjoy several alcoholic drinks in an evening, they can sabotage your fat-loss plan. Alcohol calories cant be stored and have to be used as they are consumed  this means that calories excess to requirements from other foods get stored as fat instead. One small glass of red wine contains 85 calories and a bottle of lager contains 130 calories. If you have a drink, make sure you include it in your daily calorie allowance.

15: Drink water

Many people confuse thirst with hunger. Both thirst and hunger sensations are generated at the same time to indicate the brains needs. If you don't recognize the sensation of thirst, you may assume that you are hungry and eat instead of drinking water. Next time you're feeling puckish, drink a glass of water and wait ten minutes to see if you are still hungry.

16: Eat fruit instead of drinking juice

Eating fruit is one of the best things you can do for your health; aim for 24 portions daily. However, you should only count a maximum of one portion of fruit juice towards your daily target. A glass of juice provides 120 calories but if you eat an orange instead (60 calories) you'll save 60 calories, consume more fiber and still get your daily vitamin C quota. Both fruit juice and dried fruit contain much higher concentrations of (natural) sugar than the fresh fruit they

came from and are less satiating.

17: Beware of reduced-fat labels

Eating foods labeled reduced-fat may make you feel virtuous but it can trick your brain into letting you overeat. Many lower-fat versions of biscuits, ice cream, cakes and yoghurt contain extra sugar or modified starch in place of the fat, making their calorie count just as high. Unfortunately, the body is not very good at regulating the intake of high-calorie food, whether the calories come from fat or carbohydrate. You may keep eating, thinking you're being good, while actually you're being overloaded with calories. You would be better off eating the occasional biscuit or cake rather than regularly eating the reduced-fat versions.

18: Don't go shopping when you're hungry

If you go shopping when you're hungry you will be tempted to fill up your trolley with high calorie foods. Make a shopping list before you hit the supermarket  that way you'll avoid unplanned supermarket splurges in unhealthy foods. If you shop with a list you will be less likely to make impulsive food choices.

19: Replace half your carbohydrates with veggies

Try replacing half of your usual portion of carbohydrates (bread, pasta, potatoes) with vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, green beans or cauliflower. That way you wont feel like you're eating less.

20: Match every excuse to a solution

Do you snack on high-calorie foods during the day because you're always in a rush? The solution is to prepare meals in advance or, perhaps, to take a supply of healthy snacks with you to eat between meals. Do you always snack on high-calorie foods in front of the television? Eat an apple instead or, better still, think of an activity to take you away from the television.

21: Carry healthy snacks

Always carry healthy snacks, such as apples, Satsuma's, with you so you don't end up at the chocolate vend counter when you feel hungry.

22: Stock up with healthy foods

Keep a well-stocked supply of healthy foods that you love to make your fat-loss programmed easy.  Decide which new foods you are going to substitute for high-fat or sugary foods.  This way, you'll keep yourself on track and avoid the temptation of slipping back in to old eating habits. Remember, fruit, vegetables, pulses and wholegrain cereals give the best filling power for the minimum calories.  They contain lots of water and fibre, which fill you up, slow down your eating speed and give best meal satisfaction.  Choose the ones you like and stock up on those.