The 15 Greatest Weight Loss Strategies of All Time

 

There is always a new diet tip or trick to try, but what about the old favourites? Wellness experts are often called on to give dieting advice, but which weight loss strategies do they always, without fail, recommend? The best weight-loss tips are the ones that stand the test of time so we’ve spoken to top diet authors, celebrity trainers, and doctors for their all-time favourite weight loss suggestions.

 

1. Never Skip Breakfast: ‘Eat breakfast,’ instructs Mehmet Oz, MD, presenter of The Dr Oz Show. ‘It’ll energize you for the day and keep your diet in check.’

 

2. Nibble Your Pudding: ‘Use the three-bite rule with dessert,’ recommends JJ Virgin, author of The Virgin Diet. ‘Have three small bites and put your fork down.’

 

3. Keep the Burn Going: Fitness expert Jillian Michaels advises, ‘During your workout, rest no more than 30 seconds between exercises. This will dramatically bump your calorie burn.’

 

4. Avoid Eating in the Evening: Mark Hyman, MD, author of UltraMetabolism, explains, ‘Finish eating three hours before bedtime. Your metabolism slows down when you sleep so you shift from fat burning to fat storage.’

 

5. Don’t Forget Your Dumbbells: ‘Increase the strength component of your workout,’ suggests celebrity trainer Sara Shears. ‘Adding lean muscle to your body not only tones, it also increases your metabolism.’

 

6. Question Your Cravings: Michelle May, MD, author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat, notes, ‘Before you eat, ask yourself, “Am I hungry?” Unless a craving comes from hunger, eating won’t satisfy it.’

 

7. Get Plenty of Sleep: ‘Get six to eight hours of sleep a night,’ Manuel Villacorta, RD, author of Eating Free, stresses. ‘Without it, the appetite hormone ghrelin increases, which could result in weight gain. And schedule at least two three-minute breaks during the day to practice deep-breathing exercises. It will reduce the stress hormone cortisol, which builds fat around your mid-section.’

 

8. Train Your Brain: ‘Be specific about your weight-loss goal,’ asserts Heidi Grant Halvorson, PhD, author of The Psychology of Goals. ‘The brain detects a difference between where you are and where you want to be, so when you’re specific, your brain throws resources like willpower at it.’

 

9. Start with Greens: Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, comments, ‘Eat in the right order. Eat vegetables first to naturally have more of them and ultimately eat fewer calories.’

 

10. Snack Away: Pamela Peeke, MD, author of The Hunger Fix, points out you should ‘Eat every three to four hours so you’ll be equipped to say no to temptations.’

 

11. Set a Firm Goal: ‘Set a tangible goal with a firm deadline,’ says Ramona Braganza, the trainer who got Jessica Alba in shape for a photo shoot less than three months after Alba gave birth. ‘For example, schedule an “after” photo shoot. It will help you stay motivated.’

 

12. Steel Yourself: ‘Expect some discomfort,’ warns Anne Parker of the Miraval Arizona Resort and Spa. ‘You’re leaving your comfort zone of old eating habits. Knowing that it can be uncomfortable will help you get through it.’

 

13. Schedule a Cheat Day: Jim Nicolai, MD, Miraval Arizona Resort and Spa, recommends, ‘Resist cravings by postponing indulging to a future day when you’re free to eat whatever you want.’

 

14. Use Your Arms: Celebrity trainer Jeanette Jenkins suggests, ‘When you are doing a treadmill workout, add arm exercises with light weights to increase your calorie burn.’

 

15. Stop Drinking Fizzy Drinks: ‘Put the soda down [and] step away,’ instructs Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD. ‘Regular soda drinking may make muscles less likely to burn fat.’

Categories: breakfast, Snacking, Weight Loss

10 Little Habits to Help You Lose Weight and Keep it Off

Going on a diet helps you to lose a lot of weight in the short-term, but as soon as you come off it, you end up putting it all back on again – now that’s a blow to your mental wellbeing! According to nutritional wellness expert Zoe Ruderman, ‘Losing pounds doesn’t have to be torture (we’re looking at you, cayenne-pepper cleanse).’ So how do you adopt a few simple behaviours and keep your weight down on a long-term basis? Adopt at least three of the following habits and you’ll be thinner and healthier in days.

 

1. Snack Smartly: Ruderman points out, ‘Grazing between meals used to be on the weight-loss hit list. But nutritionists now know that it’s better to satisfy a craving with healthy grub than ignore it and risk a junk-food binge later. The best picks are filling, protein-packed snacks, such as one stick of string cheese, a tablespoon of peanut butter on a piece of fruit, or a medium-size bowl of edamame.’

 

2. Turn off Your TV: Ruderman details, ‘Dining while viewing can make you take in 40% more calories than usual, reports a new study. And texting, driving, or any other distracting activity during a meal can also result in your eating too much. Instead, make each meal something you put on a plate and sit down to, even if you’re eating solo.’

 

3. Get on The Scales Every Day: ‘If your regular weight increases several days in a row, it’s a red flag letting you know you need to cut back a little or beef up your workouts slightly,’ says Ruderman.

 

4. Sculpt Three Times a Week: ‘Doing five minutes each of push-ups, lunges, and squats (in 30-second intervals) will help build and maintain muscle mass,’ Ruderman asserts. ‘The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be, so you’ll torch more calories as you go about your day.’

 

5. Reach For Your Mobile: Ruderman advises, ‘Next time your mind gets stuck on a certain food, call a friend and redirect your brain by asking how her day’s going. Research shows that cravings only last about five minutes, so by the time you hang up, the urge to devour junk will have subsided.’

 

6. Eat a Big, Balanced Breakfast: Ruderman explains, ‘A [morning] meal made up mostly of carbs and protein with some fat keeps blood-sugar levels steady and hunger pangs away so you’re not susceptible to pigging out come lunch, studies show. Opt for something satisfying for your stomach and taste buds — like egg whites and turkey bacon with whole-wheat toast.’

 

7. Watch the Booze: ‘One innocent-looking margarita or cosmopolitan can rack up hundreds of calories that do nothing to quench your appetite,’ Ruderman warns. ‘Treat yourself just on the weekends and cut back somewhere else or stick to a glass of wine, light beer, or vodka and soda — three drinks that each have about 100 calories per serving.’

 

8. Have Fruit Twice a Day: Ruderman notes, ‘Fruit has no fat and is mostly water, so it’ll fill you up while leaving less room on your plate (and in your stomach) for high-cal fare. Don’t freak about fruit’s carb count — we’re talking the good kind of carbohydrates that contain lots of healthy fibre.’

 

9. Sleep for Longer: Ruderman outlines, ‘Getting to bed just 30 minutes earlier and waking up 30 minutes later than you normally do can help you make better food choices, researchers report. Also, when you’re well-rested, you’re less prone to snacking out of fatigue or stress.’

 

10. Visualise it: ‘When you feel your willpower breaking, conjure up a mental picture of yourself when you looked and felt slim’ Ruderman instructs. ‘The visual motivation keeps you focused on your goal weight and reminds you that it is attainable, since you’ve achieved it before.’

Categories: fruit, minutes, nbsp, ruderman, sleep, Snacking, weight

Seven Diet Secrets That Are Vital To Losing Weight

Whatever weight loss question you have, the answer is probably “eat less, exercise more”. Still, looking after your wellness isn’t as easy as it sounds and, if it were, we’d all be in great shape. Aside from taking care of your wellbeing, there are some other key behaviours that play a role in fat loss, so let’s take a look at some of these hidden gems:

1. Plan, Plan, Plan: We’ve all heard the phrase “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail,” which is why Emma-Leigh Synnott, MBBS, an exercise, nutrition, and metabolism specialist, asserts that you need a realistic goal and specific targets set for your week to reach that goal. That said, make sure you find a healthy balance between planning and enjoying your life – don’t be too strict with yourself; be fair.

2. Sleep More: According to Susy Sedano, the community manager of LiveStrong.com with a MA in Clinical Psychology, ‘Sleep does more than help your body recover from a long day — it actually helps you fight fat. In fact, researchers at the University of Chicago reported that sleeping less than seven to eight hours can increase your appetite (forcing you to overeat), slow your metabolism (causing you to burn fewer calories) and make the body retain more abdominal fat…Lack of shut-eye is also associated with bad workouts.’

3. Snack Less: Often you’re advised to snack more to keep your metabolism humming, but this is bad advice for a lot of people. While it’s true that some people benefit from eating little and often, the average snack has increased by 200 calories over the last 30 years to nearly 600 calories. This is why researchers from Purdue University found that the snacking method ended up sabotaging participants’ weight loss efforts. If you can’t cut down your portions, eat fewer meals.

4. Work Out Exactly What You’re Eating: ‘Part one of the energy equation is to simply restrict your fuel intake,’ notes Sedano. ‘But unfortunately, most people do very badly with this. Research has shown that most people grossly underestimate how much they are eating, sometimes by up to 50%! There are a number of ways you can track what you are eating, such as using MyPlate, but whatever system you use the key is consistency and accuracy.’

5. Move It: If part one of the energy equation is – as Sedano says – restricting what you put into your body, part two is cranking up the amount of calories you burn off. As well as working out on purpose (e.g. going to the gym, attending fitness classes or taking up jogging) you can shed a few extra calories by adding incidental exercise to anything you do. Walk instead of driving, take the stairs instead of the lift and tap your foot when you’re sitting at your desk. It may seem like a small attempt at weight loss, but those little things really add up.

6. Don’t Waste Calories on Drinks: If you can only consume a certain amount of calories a day, why would you waste those precious points on a drink? So many beverages are heavy in calories and, worst of all, they don’t even help you to feel full. This means you get even hungrier after drinking calorie-high drinks, and consume even more calories through food. One of the best diet tips around is to stick with water and, for variation, herbal teas.

7. Cheat on Purpose: Take a look at your diet plan – are you really going to be that good? Of course not! Sedano comments, ‘Going on a diet is tough on you, both mentally and physically. That’s why a cheat day is a frequent part of many successful diet plans. The splurge can provide you with the break from your restrictive habits that will keep you satisfied while still losing weight.’

Categories: cheat days, Planning, Snacking

Night-Time Snacking: Is Your Internal Body Clock to Blame?

Night-time eating may not seem like a major health concern, but it’s one that a lot of people struggle with. According to registered dietician Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, author of S.A.S.S! Yourself Slim: Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds and Lose Inches, ‘Over the years, many of my clients on quests to eat healthier and lose weight have told me, “I do great all day, but at night, everything just seems to fall apart.” Sometimes this happens because evening hours are less busy and structured, or because we create patterns that once formed, are difficult to break, like nibbling while cooking, or always eating a sweet treat after dinner.’

However, a new study, published in the journal Obesity, has suggested that craving cookies after dark is physiologically programmed into your body. The researchers blame your circadian system – or internal clock – for tampering with your wellness, as it prompts you to reach for sweet, starchy, and salty foods in the evenings, especially around 8:00 pm. There may be an evolutionary element involved here, with your ancestors developing this built-in need to feed in order to store fat for survival when food was scarce. However, today you’re not going out of your cave and throwing a spear at a mammoth; you have everything you need at your local supermarket, and so your night-time cravings can take a hefty toll on your health and your waistline. So, how do you stop yourself going overboard in the evening?

1. Use your head: ‘For many people, eating in general, regardless of what time, tends to be mindless,’ Sass notes. ‘But when you start thinking about food as fuel for activity, it can help bring the importance of quality and balance into focus. In a nutshell, the fate of a meal or snack depends on what’s going in your body during your post-noshing hours. Eating the bulk of your food in the evening, when your activity level is low, results in winding up with far more fuel than you body needs, and the surplus gets sent straight to your fat cells.’ While you sleep, your body does the bulk of its maintenance, healing, and repair work, so processed junk food isn’t what you need to build muscle tissue, maintain a healthy immune system, or keep your skin looking radiant.

2. Break the pattern: Making a conscious effort to break the pattern of routine night-time eating can help, even if you just change the order in which you perform your evening activities. Sass explains, ‘Simply breaking the connections between certain activities and eating can help your brain let go of the notion that it doesn’t feel “right” not to follow through. Setting up new routines may seem forced or awkward at first, but before long, the healthier pattern will become your new normal.’

3. Pre-plan your meals: If you get home after a long day and there are no healthy options ready and waiting for you, you’re more likely to make a meal out of less than optimal snacks, or reach for comfort foods. Sass advises, ‘If you don’t feel like being creative, keep the ingredients for a few quick go-to meals on hand, so you can whip them up in a jiffy. One of my favourite quickies is a simple lentil salad. I always keep my fridge stocked with organic greens, and steamed vacuum-sealed lentils (you can find these in the produce section). I simply toss the greens with balsamic vinegar, add a scoop of lentils, sprinkle with sliced almonds, and pair with a serving of 100% whole grain crackers (or crush them on top).’

 

Categories: body, circadian rhythm, eating, night, Night time, sass, Snacking, time, time eating

Why Is Snacking a Smart Move for Weight Loss and Wellness?

As a kid, you were taught not to “ruin” your dinner ― or waistline ― with between-meal snacks, but holding out for dinner isn’t going to earn you a gold star. In fact, if you are trying to lose weight, or just take care of your wellbeing, snacking is actually an ingenious move. If you don’t believe me, just look at what the wellness experts say.

‘Research suggests that, like a charge for a battery, eating about three meals a day with two or three snacks in between can make your metabolism more efficient,’ says Stephen Gullo, a psychologist and a weight-control specialist in New York City. ‘Snacking can help your body burn a few calories.’ Keri Glassman, a registered dietician and the author of The Snack Factor Diet, explains, ‘A little food is the fuel you throw into the fire to keep it burning strong. For some people that means stoking it every 2½ hours; for others, it’s every 3½ hours.’

However, snacking doesn’t just keep you going between meals; it helps you eat less at mealtimes. According to Sara Ryba, a registered dietician in New York, ‘You’re much better off having two snacks between the hours of two and seven, then having a light dinner. If you wait until you’re so ravenous that you would eat the kitchen table, you’ll wind up eating way more calories when you do finally sit down for supper.’ She adds that your ideal snack should be a 100- to 200-calorie balance of carbohydrates, fats, and protein. ‘Together they stabilize blood sugar levels and keep you feeling satisfied,’ Ryba says. ‘If a snack is high in refined carbs or sugar, your blood sugar will jump, then crash, leaving you feeling tired and even more hungry.’

Moreover, snacking ensures that you get all the vitamins and minerals you need to lose weight and stay healthy. Marisa Moore, a registered dietician and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, notes, ‘Snacking is a great way to fit in all the nutrients that your body requires each day.’ Gullo adds that getting your nutritional needs met puts you in a good mood. ‘When blood sugar levels get too low, you can become irritable and have trouble concentrating,’ he says. ‘So for mood control and cognitive and metabolic efficiency, healthy snacking between meals helps.’

Categories: Snacking, vitamins, Weight Loss

Why Do You Snack? Scottish Study Aims to Find Out

Why do you snack? Are you genuinely hungry? Is it a habit? Are you just bored? These are the questions that a research team at Aberdeen’s Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health are trying to answer, with a new study aiming to learn why people snack. As part of a Scottish government drive to tackle the wellness problem of obesity, the team spent a week monitoring over 100 Scots, recording their heart rates, activity levels and snacking habits. This will be done using heart sensors, GPS devices and an electronic diary, and the scientist say they hope to find out how the “executive functions” in your brain affects your wellbeing in terms of snacking.

 

According to study leader Dr David McMinn, from the institute, ‘We live in an environment where snack foods are readily available, and where desk jobs and labour-saving devices mean that we are less active than in previous generations. Because our environment makes it easy to consume high-calorie snack foods and spend long periods of time inactive, eating well and being active requires considerable self-regulation. It requires us to make an effort, such as deciding not to snack in order to maintain a healthy weight.’

 

Dr McMinn added, ‘We are particularly interested in the way food choices and physical activity behaviours are linked to psychological processes in the brain called the “executive functions”. We use executive functions to achieve goals, for example, planning actions in advance, solving problems, ignoring distractions and resisting temptations. The executive functions can be depleted if used intensively, or due to particularly stressful situations. We are interested to know if reductions in executive functions are associated with behaviours such as snacking on unhealthy foods or sedentary behaviour.’

 

It is the researchers hope that 120 people will participate in the study. Volunteers will be required to be over the age of 18, not currently taking beta-blockers and able to attend the university’s health sciences building on the Foresterhill campus to take part in psychological testing ahead of the seven-day monitoring period. Dr McMinn noted, ‘Information from the different monitoring devices will be used to identify where periods of snacking, activity, sedentary behaviour, and stress occur. The aim is to try to understand why people snack, because we all know that sticking to a healthy diet is easier said than done.’

Categories: obesity, Research, Snacking

Late Nights make Jeans Tight: Weight Gain and Sleep

If you stay up late, you tend to eat more. It’s a simple fact, say US scientists, because you’re awake longer, realise you’re hungry (or just bored) and so you munch on more snacks. Not only does research show that getting five hours sleep a night and unlimited access to food causes you to put on weight, but a lack of sleep can also harm your overall wellbeing.

According to a study from the University of Colorado Boulder, if you have unlimited access to food and you only get five hours of sleep a night, you can put on an average of 2lb (1kg) in weight. This is hardly news to wellness experts, but little is known about why this occurs, and so the researchers delved a little deeper into the link between sleep and weight gain. They theorised that staying awake longer required more energy, but their study disproved this hypothesis, showing that study participants who slept for up to five hours a night required 5% more energy than others who slept up to nine hours, but still consumed 6% more calories.

Another thing the researchers found was that those on five hours’ sleep tended to eat smaller breakfasts than their dozy counterparts, and then ‘binged’ on snacks after they’d already eaten a main evening meal. This snacking habit turned out to be the main cause of the extra calories, amounting to more calories than any other individual meal in the participants’ day. Lead study author Kenneth Wright, director of CU-Boulder’s Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory, explained, ‘When people are sleep-restricted, our findings show they eat during their biological night-time when internal physiology is not designed to be taking in food.’

If you want to sleep better, John Bramm, sleep expert for mattress brand Octaspring, advises ‘It’s a common misconception that alcohol is a liquid lullaby. It may help you get to sleep faster, but it actually acts as a stimulant as it is removed from the body.’ He continues, ‘Quality bed sheets will be softer on your skin, and ultimately, be more comfortable.’ He adds, that puffing your pillows ‘is a simple trick that will increase support whilst you sleep, as well as increase comfort. It’s also important to carry out a pillow audit; check how long you have had them for, and if they are giving you the comfort and support you need.’

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Late Nights make Jeans Tight: Weight Gain and Sleep

Categories: 5 Hours Sleep, Research, Snacking