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If, like most of us, you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you’ll probably be familiar with all sorts of strange diet trends: having to eat several grapefruit each day, ‘detoxing’ by subsisting on juice, doing aerobics Jane Fonda style … the options are endless. But as we’ve discovered, the latest medical research on proven weight-loss methods is simple and easy to follow – and it doesn’t involve extremes. Whether you need to shift a few kilos or just want to maintain a healthy weight, here are 15 tips that help.
 

1. Eat more eggs

Regardless of whether you enjoy your eggs sunny side up or over-easy, you should definitely include them in your weekly breakfast plan, says a new scientific review in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. That’s because eggs contain an essential amino acid called leucine, which helps to reduce the loss of muscle mass while promoting fat loss at the same time. The study, which investigated two 7140kJ weight-loss diets among women aged 45–57, found that women who ate a protein-rich breakfast with eggs each day (containing 10g of leucine) lost slightly more weight than those who ate a carbohydrate-rich breakfast (containing 5g of leucine). Better news still: the higher protein eaters lost nearly twice as much fat.

HFG verdict: Add weight loss to the list of reasons why eggs are an excellent start to the day. Try two poached eggs served on wholegrain toast or in a capsicum, tomato and corn omelette. Enjoy eggs as part of a healthy eating plan that also includes wholegrains, fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, lean meat, chicken, fish and dairy products.

 

2. Control your appetite with  a carb-rich breakfast

Much hype surrounds the seemingly amazing low-carb diet, but new research suggests that carbohydrates are key to long-term weight-loss success. That’s because limiting your kilojoule intake by cutting down your carbohydrate intake actually slows your metabolism down, while prompting your body to crave carbs – so even though you might lose weight in the short term, you’ll regain it twice as fast.
In other words, you should be adding carbohydrates to the equation, say the researchers. According to the San Francisco study, eating a 2500kJ breakfast rich in carbohydrates and protein helps dieters lose more weight long-term than eating a modest breakfast and following a lower-carb eating plan. The study’s lead author Daniela Jakubowicz says the big breakfast approach works because it controls your appetite while stopping you from craving sweets and starches.

HFG verdict: As the saying goes, eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen and dinner like a pauper. For a satisfying breakfast that will help you reach your goal weight, start your day with a balanced combination of low-GI carbohydrates and lean protein. High-fibre wholegrain cereal topped with fruit, low-fat yoghurt and skim milk, or wholegrain toast with eggs, tomato and mushrooms served with fruit juice are both great options high in nutritional value.

 

3. Put on a pedometer

If you're seeking new ways to increase your physical activity, you should strap a pedometer to your hip, say researchers from Stanford University. Their results, published in Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that people who wore a pedometer each day boosted their physical activity by 2000 steps – an extra 1.6 kilometres each day – resulting in a significant decrease of body mass index (BMI). The results also showed that a daily step goal was required to make any changes, however, those who didn’t, saw no change at all.

HFG verdict: Pedometers are a great way to increase your physical activity levels and lose some unwanted kilos at the same time. But don’t forget to set yourself a daily goal – you should be aiming to reach at least 10,000 steps.

 

4. Start interval training

Those keen to whittle their waistline need to ramp up their routine, reports Journal of Applied Physiology. Researchers found that after interval training (short bursts of high-intensity exercise alternated with lower-intensity activities), the amount of fat burned by study participants in an hour of continuous moderate cycling increased by 36 per cent, while their cardiovascular fitness increased by 13 per cent.

HFG verdict: Interval training has also been proven to increase fitness levels more quickly than training continuously at a moderate pace, too. Interval training is a highly effective way to exercise. At least once a week, do an activity you enjoy at 90 per cent of your maximum effort for 30 seconds before dropping the intensity to 50 per cent for one minute. Repeat for 15-20 minutes.

 

5. Train for 60 minutes

The National Physical Activity Guidelines for Australians recommends five 30-minute sessions of exercise per week for general health. But according to the American College of Sports Medicine, that’s not enough to maintain a healthy weight: they recommend being active for about 60 minutes on most days of the week to keep unhealthy weight off. This amount was supported by the National Weight Control Registry in the US – they found that 90 per cent of all successful slimmers exercise to achieve and maintain their goal weight.

HFG verdict: The more you work out, the more kilojoules you’ll burn, so aim for approximately one hour of exercise a day.

 

6. Build more muscle

According to researchers at the University of Alabama in the US, the ultimate short cut to burning kilojoules is building muscle. When they recruited 94 overweight, pre-menopausal women for a weight-loss program, they found that resistance training (which can build muscle) helped to maintain muscle mass during weight loss – while aerobic exercise didn’t. Following weight loss, the study also found resistance training maintained resting metabolic rate and conserved more muscle mass and strength than aerobic training – meaning the body burned more kilojoules, even at rest.

HFG verdict: The more muscle you have the more kilojoules you’ll burn – even when you’re doing nothing. Add two to three strength-training sessions to your weekly training regimen to maintain and build your muscles.

 

7. Weigh yourself weekly

It was once thought that throwing out the scales forged the path to weight-loss success – but results from the USA’s National Weight Control Registry show that 75 per cent of people who’ve lost kilos, weigh themselves at least once a week. It’s thought this works because regular weigh-ins allow you to see when you’re on track – and to make changes when you’re not.

HFG verdict: Weigh-ins act as a reminder of your goal, making it less likely that small gains will lead to big ones. Choose a day and time to weigh yourself each week, such as 8am on Mondays – and record your progress as you go.

 

8. Chew your food

Eating slowly has long been associated with eating less – and new research published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association has solidified the link. By asking 30 healthy women to slow down their eating by
chewing each mouthful 20–30 times, researchers discovered the women ate nearly 300kJ less than they otherwise would have normally. Yet surprisingly, the women also reported greater satiety afterwards.
British Medical Journal recently reported that eating quickly is linked to the behaviour of eating until ‘full’, rather than until satisfied – which was found to double your chance of being overweight.

HFG verdict: Many of us simply don’t feel like we have the time to sit down and chew each mouthful slowly. If you’re constantly on the go, schedule your meals into your diary the way you would anything else – and you’ll be scheduling in long-term weight-loss.

 

9. Reward yourself as you go

How much and how often you reward yourself is directly linked to whether you lose weight successfully, found a 2008 study published in The Journal of American Medical Association.
To reach these findings, researchers asked one group of obese, 30–40 year old men and women, to report back for a weigh-in in one month’s time, and a similar group to volunteer up to three dollars for each day they participated in the study – an amount they would receive back, matched by the researchers, if they lost their target weight. At the end of the study, the ‘weigh-in’ group had only lost an average of 1.8kg each – but the money-winners lost an average 6.4kg each.

HFG verdict: Long-term success is really a series of short-term goals, so before you start your weight loss attempt, set yourself a goal for the next two weeks, such as losing one kilo. Then, reward yourself with anything that makes you feel special – like some new sports clothes or having a massage. Just don’t celebrate with food or you’ll end up back where you started.

 

10. Eat fat to lose weight

No one would have believed it 10 years ago, but according to the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, fat actually helps you slim down. Researchers report that oleic acid (a fatty acid) found in healthy, unsaturated fats, stimulates the production of oleoylethanolamide (OEA). This is believed to activate receptors that carry hunger-curbing messages to the brain – suppressing your appetite and lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels; effectively promoting weight loss.

HFG verdict: A little bit of healthy fat really does go a long way! Boost your intake by spreading avocado on your toast, snacking on a handful of nuts and drizzling some olive oil over your salad and vegies. But enjoy them in moderation – all types of fat are high in kilojoules.

 

11. Don't lose focus on the weekends

The weekend is usually associated with downtime, but according to the latest US research in Obesity, ‘diet downtime’ on weekends results in weight gain – even if you’re in kilojoule deficit for the five working days of the week. Their results indicate that we tend to eat too much on Saturdays without doing enough exercise on Sunday to compensate, ruining our chances of long-term weight loss. The findings are backed up by the US National Weight Control Registry research, which found that 59 per cent of weight loss successors aim to follow a nice and balanced healthy lifestyle over the week.

HFG verdict: Maintaining a healthy lifestyle involves moderation every day – weekends included. Learn to include small indulgences as part of your normal routine – this will stop you from feeling the urge to go overboard during special occasions, dinners, etc., that occur on weekends.

 

12. Get suffcient sleep

Losing sleep does more than make you cranky, reports Cell Metabolism – it impacts your inner body clock’s performance, disrupting the normal release of hormones into the bloodstream. When study participants slept only four hours for two consecutive nights, a decrease in their levels of the hungersuppressing hormone leptin were recorded,
while levels of the hunger-promoting hormone ghrelin increased. The result? Higher levels of hunger, causing increased kilojoule intake.

HFG verdict: Sleep is vital to every aspect of your health, so make it a priority to get seven to eight hours quality sleep each night.

 

13. Use the power of protein

While a low-carb, high-protein diet won’t do your weight-loss venture any favours, slightly upping the amount of protein you eat each day could be what you’re looking for. Latest research published in the journal Nutrition & Dietetics, shows combining a low-kilojoule diet with higher protein meals increases the body’s ability to burn fat among overweight and obese people, suggesting that increased protein intake may prevent the impairment of fat burning often seen in obese people.

HFG verdict: Eat regular meals and snacks that contain a tasty combination of protein and low-GI carbs. Good sources of protein include lean meat, skinless poultry, nuts, seeds, legumes, low-fat dairy products, eggs and wholegrain breads and cereals.

 

14. Eat low-fat dairy

The main components of low-fat dairy make it a potent weapon in the weight-loss war, report researchers at the University of Tennessee. They found calcium to increase fat breakdown in fat cells, magnesium and phosphorus to enhance calcium’s effects, and protein to preserve muscle mass during weight loss. Recent Australian research also found a glass of skim milk at breakfast reduces mid-morning hunger, with milk-drinkers eating 10 per cent less four hours
later – suggesting dairy is an excellent choice for dieters.

HFG verdict: Regular consumption of low-fat dairy has many benefits, so make sure you get two to three serves each day. Reduced-fat cheese, yoghurt and smoothies will keep you full, too, so you don’t feel deprived.

 

15. SMS your way to success

The sound of your phone beeping might not seem motivating, but in a survey of 18,362 people by the Irish Journal of Medical Science, 51 per cent those who missed a health-related appointment without explanation said they would have attended or cancelled if sent a reminder text prior to the day – suggesting that automated reminders can prompt us to action.

HFG verdict: Motivate yourself anyway you can. Sign up for daily health and fitness tips to arrive via email or ask a friend to send you reminders on why you want to get healthy.

 

 

Caitlin Reid is an Accredited Practising Dietitian who sticks to her health routine every day of the week.

 

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Healthy Food Guide
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