David Saunders
If you’re hunting for weight loss tips you can actually use, start here. These weight loss tips don’t rely on fairy dust, detox teas, or the sort of willpower that disappears faster than a biscuit in a break room.
New Year’s Resolutions? Grand while they last—until mid-January turns them into coasters. Instead of another false dawn, try small, stubborn changes that add up where it counts.
1) Eat to feel full, not to clear your plate
You’re not at war with the crockery. Slow down, check in, and call time before “stuffed” turns into “why did I do that?”
Cassandra Barns puts it cleanly: “Pay attention to how your stomach is feeling and eat slowly, don’t get sucked into the pressure of clearing every scrap of food on your plate.
Eat to feel satisfied, not stuffed,” advises Nutritionist and Fitness Instructor Cassandra Barns.
2) Read the label—marketing doesn’t count as nutrition
If the front screams “slim line” and “diet,” flip it over. That’s where the truth lives.
Dr. Marilyn Glenville doesn’t mince words: ‘If a food or drink is described as ‘low sugar’, ‘slim line’ or ‘diet’, it will usually contain an artificial sweetener.
These sweeteners have been linked to mood swings and depression, and it has been found that people who regularly use artificial sweeteners tend to gain weight because they can slow down the digestive process and increase appetite,’ explains Dr. Marilyn Glenville, the UK’s leading Nutritionist and author of Natural Alternatives to Dieting.
3) Add protein to each meal
Protein puts the brakes on hunger and helps you walk past seconds like you meant it.
**Including protein in your meal helps slow down digestion, leaving you feeling more satisfied and fuller for longer.
This in turn can help with weight loss, as you’re less likely to consume as many calories.
“To ensure you’re getting your daily dose of protein, try a plant-based protein powder.
They are easy to digest and can be kept low-calorie. They can be used to make smoothies or shakes, and also added to savoury foods such as stews and soups.**”
4) Don’t eat on the run
Wolfing down food tells your body the house is on fire—digestion suffers and hunger hangs around.
Marilyn again: “It gives your body the message that time is scarce, you are under pressure and stressed. Furthermore, your digestive system will be less efficient. Make a point of sitting down and eating your food as calmly as possible,” says Marilyn.
5) Soup first, then everything else
Cheap, cheerful, and clinically sensible: a bowl of soup can take the edge off hunger.
Marilyn explains: “If you have soup before a meal you will end up eating fewer calories during the meal because soup stops the cells in the stomach producing your hunger hormone ghrelin and turns off your appetite.
“Studies show the body registers greater satisfaction when food is liquidised and soup moves out of the stomach more gradually than a solid meal would, leaving you feeling more satisfied for longer,” explains Marilyn.
6) Skip the TV when eating
Screens turn mindful eating into mindless shovelling. “You can eat up to 70% more if distracted by watching the TV or in a cinema. Research has shown that eating lunch in front of your computer makes it harder to remember what you have eaten and then you don’t feel as full.
As a result, you will then be looking for something else to eat. In one study, computer users then ate twice as many biscuits half an hour later than the non-computer users eating lunch!”
7) Don’t ‘save yourself’ for dinner
Starving all day to “earn” a big meal backfires. Your metabolism idles and your appetite hits the afterburners.
Marilyn’s verdict: “Don’t miss meals leading up to eating out, for example, don’t miss lunch thinking that it is going to help in avoiding extra calories because you are eating out that evening.
If you miss meals, your body will think there is a shortage of food, slow down your metabolism and hold on tight to your fat stores.
And there is nothing more guaranteed to rev up your appetite so that you end up eating more at the meal,” says Marilyn.
8) Pack your lunch—own your ingredients
Meal deals leak money and calories through the dressing. Home-prepped wins because you control the lot.
“Nothing beats homemade food from fresh ingredients.
Say goodbye to chemicals, preservatives, colourings, salt, sugar and excess fat,” says London Nutritionist, Lily Soutter.
9) Chew well—give your brain time to catch up
Satiety isn’t instant; it’s a 20-minute relay from gut to head.
Marilyn again: “The chemical cholecystokinin (CCK) is released as food enters your stomach. It tells your digestion to slow down and subsequently gives the message to your brain that you are full, allowing your appetite to naturally decrease.
This message takes about 20 minutes, so if you eat quickly you could end up eating far more than you need to before your body gets around to telling you to stop.
“You should also leave time at the end of a meal for your body to register that you are full before you think about dessert because you may realise that you don’t actually need it,” says Marilyn.
10) Have more sex—yes, really
It burns calories, improves sleep, and you won’t dread the workout. “Sex or masturbation can help to relieve tension and help you go off to sleep faster,” says Marilyn.
Call it cardio with benefits.
Bottom line
Forget perfect. Build better: one label read, one screen-free meal, one bowl of soup at a time. Keep these habits on repeat and the scale will get the message—no gimmicks, just grown-up, sustainable weight loss.
