My usual attitude to the swathe of new year diets and detoxes is yawn, eye roll, my diet starts the 1st of Nevruary, no-one likes a skinny sober hangry girl anyway! I have never been into the whole “new year, new me” thing. I love my generally healthy, balanced lifestyle year-round. I feel happier when I look after myself. But this year something has changed. Not sure if it was the three weeks in America that supersized me, or the cheese and wine fuelled ski trips but I am now unable to fit into my favourite jeans. Which isn’t an option since they are Balmain jeans. I just can’t afford to go up a dress size. Boring!
So I have found myself reading all the diet info out there, researching a lot and thinking through exactly what I think works to help lose a few pounds or get a little more svelte and thought I would share it with you. This is going to be a summary of tried and tested tips that have worked for me (and Mary) over the years post babies or pre shoots. The main secret we want to share with you is that there is no secret. There are no foods that make you lose weight, no detox teas that burn fat and no magic supplements that cinch your waist, so don’t buy into any of that BS. N.B. Please do not be tempted to go on an extreme diet or eliminate whole food groups without the supervision of a nutritional therapist.
Portion control
Number one tip for a reason! Learning to stop when you are full and not eating more than you need is crucial. Also worth remembering that you can have too much of a good thing – moderation sounds super unsexy but it is the main principle in any healthy lifestyle. While we think making calories count with nourishment is more important than counting calories, at the end of the day it is a basic numbers game that you have to expend more than you eat if you want to slim down. Some people find that using smaller sized crockery can make a difference to your portion sizes. Whatever works!
Drink more water
Thirst can be mistaken as hunger. Keep hydrated. Aim for at least 1.5 litres of water/liquids per day.
Eat more vegetables
It is much more positive to focus on increasing healthier things than on reducing naughty ones or getting caught up in negativity and denial. Filling yourself up on a rich variety of plants is a great way to improve your diet. Plant based foods tend to be lower in calories and rich in fibre so they keep you satiated. Eating a wide colour palette of vegetables is essential for a healthy diet as the different colours tend to represent different vitamins and nutrients. I always say to my kids, “let’s eat a rainbow every day!”
Make yourself accountable
This comes with a disclaimer: I have never tracked macros or calorie counted. Ever. I’m much more intuitive. However I have an in-built knowledge from growing up with my mother who has a PhD in nutrition. Worth tracking your food intake for a few days so you can see where you’re over indulging if you are struggling with your weight. It is also a great idea to share your goals with partners or friends so you’re supported and can encourage each other.
Be prepared
Research shows that those who plan meals in advance are less likely to over-indulge. Fill your fridge with healthy and readily available snacks like crudites or edamame beans. There are lots of ideas in our snacks section!
How you eat matters
Digestion and gut health is a hot topic in nutrition for 2017. Poor digestion is thought to be at the root of (or at least a contributing factor to) a myriad of health issues from skin problems, sleep disorders, depression, arthritis and obesity. I read recently that you should chew each mouthful of food 40 times. It seems crazy to start counting chews but if you do it once, you may find you’re not even close. Chewing is one of the best ways to help your body digest a meal thoroughly and efficiently. Another way is sitting down to eat and eating thoughtfully and consciously rather than just wolfing food fast straight out of packets and containers; this will also definitely help you prevent over-eating as you will be more likely to know and notice when your body is satiated. Taking time over your meal can also improve your body’s glycaemic response to that meal.
Exclusions: what should we cut out?
Sugar: cannot be sugar coated. Unequivocally bad for you and with no redeeming health benefits. You can read more here about why refined sugar is such an enemy and here about our favourite of the available alternatives.
Alcohol: Again, pure empty calories, with the minor proviso that red wine has some reported health benefits (resveratrol/quercetin antioxidants may help prevent heart disease and cancer). Brits just drink way too much. The recommended maximum of 14 units per week is only 6 glasses of wine. Sad face.
Sweeteners and diet drinks: should be avoided. They alter gut flora and can lead to weight gain and metabolic disorders (and possibly diabetes).
Gluten: You can read a long report about this here. I personally feel better when I cut out gluten, though be careful what you replace it with. All grains are basically nutritionally inferior to vegetable carbohydrates (like sweet potato) but there are reported health benefits to eating at least one portion of whole grains per day. I start pretty much every day with protein porridge – gluten free oats made with milk, water and lean protein powder.
Dairy: assuming you have no lactose intolerance or cow’s milk protein allergy, there’s no need to give up dairy. In fact recent studies have linked an increased consumption of dairy products with improved weight loss (reasons are inconclusive but possibly due to high protein and fat content of dairy products which increases feelings of satiety or perhaps because it is high in calcium, a mineral which may play a role in reducing body fat). You can read more on dairy and the alternatives here.
Fats: quality over quantity but I do have to drop my avocado and coconut oil intake a little when I need to slim down. Fats don’t make you fat (read more here), but they do contain 9 calories per gram in comparison to protein and carbohydrate’s 4 each.
Coffee: has been exonerated! Yay! I don’t understand anyone who gives up coffee. An excess is a bad thing but one to three coffees a day? Go for it. It is the sugar and cream you’re filling it with that aren’t so great. N.B. Don’t drink tea or coffee at boiling hot temperatures – I keep reading reports that this is associated with oesophageal cancer which fills me with fear because I have an asbestos mouth and love my hot drinks to be boiling.
Last but not least: exercise!
Make burning calories a habit. Move enough. Walk or run journeys. Turn your commute into exercise. Try a new class. I aim to break a sweat every other day. Find out what you find enjoyable as you are so much more likely to stick to it. If you struggle with motivation, read this post here. I find diarising my exercise slots at the beginning of the week is crucial. When I need to slim down a bit, I try to up my 4 exercise slots per week to 6, with only one rest day. There has been so much written on weight training but for me, it’s cardio that slims me down. I keep up the weight training, bodyweight moves and pilates so as not to lose hard earned muscle when trying to lose weight, but if I don’t increase my cardio, I find it hard to slim down.
Hope these tips are useful! And good news – whilst writing and editing this post (over two weeks) I have managed to get back into the Balmain jeans. Just…(I had to do that thing which I know you girls have all done especially post pregnancies, where you lie on the floor first thing in the morning and basically nearly die from breathing in while forcing the jeans on and in any event can’t hide the classy muffin top overhang without a long jumper and can’t avoid red marks left all around your waist… but I’m going the right direction!) Good luck on your own goals!
