Low glycaemic foods include all pulses, apples, dried apricots, peaches, cherries, grapefruit, avocados, courgettes, spinach, mushrooms, leafy greens, tomatoes, yoghurt, milk and nuts.
Foods containing soluble fibre - such as pulses, peas, porridge, spring greens and dried apricots - are also good at keeping hunger at bay - because they slow down the rate of sugar absorption, which means we feel fuller for longer. Lean protein such as chicken and turkey is also good for keeping away hunger pains as it is absorbed into the blood more slowly than carbohydrates, therefore leaves us feeling satisfied for longer.
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SECRET TWO
BUILD UP YOUR MUSCLES
An increasing amount of evidence now shows that resistance exercise is a crucial weight loss tool. This is because as well as burning
calories while you are doing this type of exercise you increase the amount of lean tissue - or muscle - in our bodies.
The rate at which we burn calories - known as our metabolic rate - is partly dependent on the proportion of muscle in our bodies so the more muscles we have in our bodies the easier it is to lose weight. In fact, for each pound of muscle we add to our bodies we need an extra 75 calories a day!
This can be particularly important as we get older as a the body naturally loses muscle mass as we get older. However with regular activity and weight training muscle loss can be halved.
There are several ways you can build up your muscles - from buying an inexpensive set of dumbells to use at home every day to using resistance bands. Be sure to get some advice on how to use weights before you start so that you use the correct technique.
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SECRET THREE
ALLOW YOURSELF HEALTHY SNACKS
For many of us there are certain times of the day or certain situations when our hunger gets the better of us more than others. Perhaps you are always ravenous when you get home from work in the evenings, but have to wait until later in the evening to eat your main meal with your partner.
Maybe you find it impossible to resist the regular biscuits and cakes that are handed around your office during those mid morning or afternoon lulls. Another common snack trap is feeling hungry and picking at foods when preparing a meal.
But rather than setting yourself the impossible target of eating nothing at times like these, many nutritionists recommend that you plan ahead and allow yourself a quotient of healthy snacks that will stave off hunger - without causing you to pile on weight. In fact researchers at the University of California found that eating low-fat snacks in the middle of the morning or mid-afternoon means you are less likely to eat too many of the wrong foods at main meals.
Small snacks of low GI foods - such as an apple and a few cherries or a pot of low-fat yoghurt - are a particularly good low calorie way of keeping hunger at bay. Other good snacks include two rye crispbreads or rice cakes with Marmite and slices of tomato, a small low fat yoghurt with an apple, a large tablespoon of low fat hummus on a mini pitta bread.
If your weakness is eating when you are preparing food you could try keeping a lidded container on your worktop full of crudites with fat free dip such as salsa. These will add very little to your calorie intake and keep you from picking at the food you are preparing. Try to prepare this snack for yourself before you start preparing the rest of the food to minimise temptation.
If you choose your snacks carefully you will still be able to lose weight - and keep your hunger at bay. Just don't be tempted to keep on snacking endlessly once you have started! |
