Diet Tips
Top Diet Tips

Be realistic if for example you are a size 16 aim to drop a dress size at first and if you achieve this you are more likely to be spurred on to lose even more.

Eat in moderation and only eat until you feel full, it’s also important to sit down and eat slowly to give your brain the time to realise when you are full.

Allow yourself a few treats a week otherwise it will be like a diet and you will never stick to it.

Don’t get defeated if you have a bad day it doesn’t mean you can’t carry on with your healthy eating the next day.

Plan your weekly food before going shopping – saves on the pennies too and helps avoid those checkout bargains.

Keep a food diary – If you have an old picture of yourself at your ideal weight keep this in your diary to remind you of your goal.

Choose lower calorie and low fat options of your favourite foods; check out the section on food swaps which gives you some excellent calorie saving tips. (link here)

Switch to lower fat cooking methods including grilling, baking, microwave, steaming or boiling.

Make sure you have the support of your family, It is best that everyone in the family adopt a healthy approach to eating. It can be hard if you have children to convince them but have a look at our healthy guide to kids meals which are fun and interesting.

Remember to include drinks when counting your calories, especially sugary drinks as these can be high in calories, also healthy drinks like fruit juice and smoothies are also high in calories so try to limit how much of these you drink.

Cutting down on alcohol will be of huge benefit, however if you do enjoy a sociable drink it is ok to have a few drinks, limit yourself to a few units a week.

Portion control is very important to stop us from over eating. Try using a smaller plate than you would usually.

A lot of times it is suggested that nuts and seeds are a good alternative to snack on but these foods are extremely high in calories so it is important that if you eat this it is only a small handful.

If you drink a lot of tea or coffee use skimmed milk and cut down on sugar gradually, for example if you take two sugars try cutting down to one for a month then to half a sugar and eventually you may be able to enjoy your favourite drinks without any sugar at all.

Drink plenty of water, a lot of people mistake hunger for thirst so if we drink the recommended 2 litres of water a day this will help to feel full. Plus it doesn’t have to be plain water try adding no added sugar cordial.

Make your own lunch to take to work, this way you can count the calories when making it, there is sometimes no way of knowing how many calories is in shop and deli sandwiches.