Our top tips to help shift those nasty, unwanted lbs without even noticing you are doing it
Watch out for foods that claim to be low in fat, because they can often be high in sugar. A teaspoon of sugar contains around 20 calories so it is easy to see how low-fat but high-sugar foods can tip your calorie allowance right over the edge.
1 It may sound obvious, but use a smaller plate so that the helpings seem bigger. It really does help you reduce portion sizes.Cals saved: Around 1/3 of the full amount. That’s 33 cals for every 100.
2 Instead of snacking on biscuits or chocolate, keep cut up carrot batons in the fridge and attack them if you feel hungry. After a few days, you’ll enjoy the crunch of the carrots more than you thought! Swap sweets with little boxes of raisins to fulfill that sweet craving. Cals saved: Anything from 150 to 300 cals.
3 When you’re out, drink white wine spritzers instead of lager, spirits or glasses of wine. You’ll be doing your health lots of good and you won’t crave a fry-up the next day. Cals saved: A medium glass of white wine is 100 cals so you save 50 cals if you choose a spritzer – that is wine mixed with soda.
4 You can still go out for a curry, just have plain rice with chicken tandoori instead of fried rice with a creamy or fat filled curry.
Cals saved: A creamy curry and fried rice will cost you 1,000 cals. Choose grilled meats and boiled rice and you can cut this amount by 500 cals.
5 Avoid deep-frying food and use a spray for your cooking oil so you don’t use as much. Cals saved: Anything from 50 to 75 cals per teaspoon of oil used.
6 Go for a 20-minute walk three times a week. Be as brisk as you can, as the more energetically you walk, the greater the calories burned. Cals saved: You could burn up to 500 calories in a week. Build up your walking time and pace gradually to feel the benefit.
7 Strength training burns calories too, but you don’t need to invest in special equipment to benefit. For tummy exercises do as many crunches as you can for as long as your favourite music track lasts. Use filled bottles of water as weights to tone up your arms, back and shoulders. Cals saved: Adding muscle helps speed up your metabolic rate, which will enable you to burn more cals, even while you sleep.
Photographs: getty images
