Weight loss doesn’t need to require lots of hard-to-find foods and expensive gym memberships. Sometimes, just a few small changes can make all the difference.
The NHS offers a 12-week weight loss plan and has plenty of top tips to help you shed the pounds.
One tip, in particular, is very easy to incorporate into your daily routine – and it requires just one thing you probably already have in your kitchen cupboard.
The NHS recommends simply eating your food off a smaller plate than you would normally use.
Eating off smaller plates (or bowls) will help you eat smaller portions, meaning your body will soon get used to eating smaller portions.
You shouldn’t be going hungry as you will have adapted to the new portion size.
“It takes about 20 minutes for the stomach to tell the brain it’s full, so eat slowly and stop eating before you feel full,” says the NHS.
This is far from the only easy weight loss tip you can start putting into action.
The NHS advises against skipping breakfast. You might think that missing out a meal in the day will speed up weight loss, but that isn’t the case.
Not eating breakfast won’t help you lose weight and you could miss out on essential nutrients.
Furthermore, it may lead you to snack more because you’re hungry from missing the vital meal.
All the meals you have should be evenly spaced out. Eating regular meals during the day helps burn calories at a faster rate.
It will also stop you from picking at snacks in between your meals which will counteract other healthy eating.
Another very easy habit to get in to which will supercharge your weight loss is to drink lots of water.
Thirst can be confused with hunger so if you feel the pangs strike, try drinking a large glass of water an see how you feel.
Make sure you eat plenty of high-fibre foods, is another tip as part of the NHS’s 12-week diet plan.
Foods with lots of fibre in the will help you feel full, which is just what you need when you’re trying to lose weight.
Fibre is found in foods that come from plants, such as fruit and veg, oats, wholegrain bread, brown rice and pasta, and beans, peas and lentils.
You certainly shouldn’t ban any food from your weight loss plan as that will result in you craving them even more.
You can still enjoy the occasional treat as long as you stay within your daily calorie allowance, says the NHS.