The first thing to do when you want to lose weight is clean up your diet by reducing your intake of processed foods and hidden sugars and filling up on fresh, whole foods that are packed with lean protein, nutrient rich good carbs and healthier fats and change some of your eating behaviours like these:
Use avocado instead of butter - as a toast topper, on crackers or anytime you use butter, it goes well with tomato and even vegemite and it's full of healthy fats and fibre compared to butter which helps you feel full and satisfied
Eat air popped popcorn instead of chips - air popped popcorn is high in fibre and a good snack to have when you feel like dipping into a bag of potato chips. Just make sure it's a mini packet to keep the carbs down
Trade sour cream for greek yoghurt - lower in fat and higher in protein, greek yoghurt adds a smooth tangy taste that can be used in salad dressing for potato salad or as a topping on a mexe bowl or mexican style dishes, on curries and even a strogonoff. A great swap for losing weight
Drink mineral water instead of orange juice - a glass of orange juice contains 5 teaspoons of sugar and you also miss out on the fibre compared to eating an orange so eat the whole fruit and squeeze some lemon, lime or orange into mineral water for a fresh drink and stay away from added sugar and added calories, not to mention orange juice can even take the enamel off you teeth from the high acid content!
Swap biscuits for nuts - nuts have an amazing amount of fibre, antioxidants and good fats that actually help you lose weight and reduce cholesterol by up to 33%. Trash the biscuits with no fibre and alot of fat, sodium and sugar and start snacking on healthy nuts. Keep to a small handful, not the packet as all things are good in moderation
Trade mayonnaise for hummus - you can spread it on a wrap, sandwich or roll and it contains alot of protein and soluable fibre and about 1/3 of the calories, so use it on celery sticks, carrot sticks as a healthy snack too
Drink peppermint tea instead of coffee - try having a cup of peppermint tea after every meal and you will soon notice how much it helps with digestion and staving off hunger and far better for you at night to get you into slumber mode after dinner
Add more................ hard boiled eggs as healthy snacks or to your salad or breakfast for a filling protein and slice them on thin corn or brown rice cakes with some avo and tomato for an afternoon snack. Yum! Adding more protein to your salads such as eggs, canned fish such as salmon or tuna or poached or grilled chicken as this will keep you feeling full and satisfied
Add more................ red berries on your cereal or as an after dinner dessert as they are high in vitamin c and antioxidants and I can honestly say I eat a punnet of blueberries, raspberries or strawberries a day to keep me regular and to fight off a cold. Mushrooms are also great for a extra anti oxidant punch and are meat for vegetarians - try my lentil and mushroom strogonoff found here - absolutely delicious and easy to make!
Drink more H2O - water is not only going to keep you hydrated but it will also keep you feeling less hungry as for the most part when we think we are hungry, it's usually thirsty, so the next time you get brain fade don't hit the sugar, have a glass of water instead
Swap sitting at your desk eating lunch for a walk outside - evidence suggests that taking a break out in nature improves your concentration, inspires creative thinking, helps you recover from stress and mental fatigue and lowers your blood pressure, not to mention gets more steps into your day which burns more calories than being sedentary at a desk. You can also sneak in exercise at work by taking the stairs instead of the lift, stand up meetings and move your bin away from your desk and refill your water bottle by taking regular trips to the cooler and the bathroom :-)
Hope this helps
Suzanne
Lifestylist Health & Fitness