With Christmas and the delicious seasonal foods on offer behind us, you may be trying to lose weight this new year.
Clinical nutritionist Suzie Sawyer looks at some of the things that could be standing in your way and the best ways to get round them.
It’s January and after an indulgent Christmas you may be trying to shift a few seasonal kilos, but it can be tricky. Studies show that around eight out of ten of us struggle to stick to a diet after Christmas making it especially hard to shift those excess festive kilos. The reason? All sorts of things can sabotage your best laid plans, from eating out to overly big servings.
Here are a few tips on how to beat those diet saboteurs:
Eating out
While you can control what you eat at home, when it comes to eating out it can be a different story. Restaurant meals, supper with friends, a mate’s birthday or a work night out can upend your diet in no time at all. Why? It’s often down to the fact that we don’t want to make a fuss by being picky about what we eat or, if you’ve been invited to someone’s house, upset your host.
Let people know you’re watching what you eat. Keep breakfast and lunch light and have a healthy snack before going out to take the edge off any hunger pangs. On arrival ask for a glass of water before eating to help fill you up.
Snacking
It’s all too easy to exceed your daily calorie count with snacks. And snacks don’t have to be unhealthy cakes and biscuits to do the damage. Even ‘healthy bites’ such as trail mixes, energy bars and nuts can derail your diet if you eat too many.
The secret is to have a selection of low-calorie snacks – celery and carrot sticks with hummus, baby tomatoes, a hardboiled egg – to hand for those ‘must-have-a-munch’ moments. Prepare them in advance so they are always ready in the fridge.
Puddings
Perhaps you’re fine with the main course but when it comes to dessert, your willpower goes out the window. And who doesn’t love a treat at the end of a meal?
Don’t beat yourself up. Allow yourself a dessert once a week and factor it into your diet plan.
Meals in a glass
Smoothies are tempting and a delicious, easy and a handy way to up your daily fruit and veg quota. However, they are often high in calories, especially shop bought smoothies, so it’s no surprise that they can derail a weight-loss plan.
Go for the home-made green varieties with more veg than fruit. Think green leaves, such as kale and spinach, and watery veg such as celery or cucumber. Add some healthy fats by using avocado or a few nuts and go for low glycaemic fruits such as apples, blueberries, or pears for a touch of sweetness. Steer clear of pineapples, mangoes, bananas, or dates that all increase your blood sugar levels more so that other fruits.
Oversized servings
Even if you eat healthily, if your portions are too large this will not help a weight loss journey. Portion sizes (and plates) have crept up over the past few decades and what we now consider a ‘normal’ sized serving is much bigger than it used to be.
The trick is to become aware of what recommended portion of various foods look like. You could be surprised. As a rough rule of thumb think a small matchbox (cheese), a deck of cards (protein), a grapefruit (carbs), and your fist (fruit and veg).
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