Summer is just around the corner but shedding your extra winter weight can be easy with these healthy tips:
- Get Moving! Regular exercise is essential - put it in your diary so it becomes a daily habit. Choose something you enjoy, that is close to home or work and arrange to meet a buddy so you won't talk yourself out of it.
- KIS - Keep it simple with meals based on a protein e.g. fish, chicken, eggs, meat, beans and salad or vegetables e.g. wholegrain sandwich with roast beef, mustard, avocado and rocket.
- Don't skip meals! Eating every 3 hours boosts your metabolism so you burn through calories faster and have higher energy levels.
- Snack it - Keep a jar of nuts e.g. almonds and fresh fruit at your desk or carry with you so you don't get tempted by the biscuit jar or chips.
- Late night dinners - If you arrive home late rather than having a quick fix like instant noodles or a microwaveable dinner, try having boiled eggs on toast or a tin of tuna/salmon with salad.
- Healthy takeaway - When time has got the better of you, some healthy takeaway options are Thai stir fry, sushi, grilled fish from your local fish shop, BBQ chicken with salad.
- Drink it - Drinking 2-3 L helps flush out toxins, keep your bowels moving and decreases hunger cravings. Green tea helps weight loss and to detox your liver - rather than a milky coffee!
- Ordering out - Ask for rice or salad rather than chips or mash
- Get some shut eye - If you don't get enough sleep, you crave sugars for energy and you make poor decisions regarding your food choices. 7-8 hours sleep every night aids weight loss!
- Hidden sugars - Sugar is highly addictive and it is in so many products nowadays e.g. cereals, muesli bars, flavoured yogurt so it's hard to avoid but eating excess sugars only contributes to weight gain and long term health problems. Throw out anything in your cupboards that has ingredients that your grandmother would not recognise and rather than eating packet products, eat fresh food.
If these tips are not working for you, consider seeing a qualified Naturopath such as myself to investigate other underlying causes e.g. underactive thyroid or insulin resistance.
