Water, Water and More Water

• Often feel thirsty? If you do, you're probably dehydrated, which means your body is operating considerably below its optimum level. It's also true that often when we feel hungry, we are in fact thirsty. Next time you feel the hunger pangs – have a glass of water and watch them fade away.
   
• Can't drink plain water? No problem! The list of things you can add to water to flavour it is almost endless – any citrus, cucumber, strawberries, pineapple, ginger, a variety of herbs - are just a few suggestions. A glass of water with a generous squeeze of fresh lemon and a tablespoon of unfiltered apple cider vinegar is also a great appetite suppressant.
   
• If you need a warm drink, warm water flavoured with lemon, ginger or mint is just as good, or try steeping a herbal tea like camomile or rooibos in the water. The hype about lemon water, by the way, is all true. Lemon helps to stabilise your body's pH, which means your digestive system works more efficiently.
   
• And remember, a drink of water about half an hour before you eat a meal will help you eat less.

Coffee, Tea or Hot Choc, Anyone?

• Is coffee good for you? For every study and opinion that shows coffee is bad for you, another shows that good quality coffee is not only chock-full of antioxidants and minerals, it has a number of benefits for your health, including energy, alertness and mood, thanks to the caffeine.
  
  But did you know that it boosts your metabolism and helps your body burn fat? Not if you drink it with cream and sugar, of course. If you can't take it black, add a dash of milk or almond milk, and a sprinkling of cinnamon will also help it fight insulin resistance.
   
• Black, green and rooibos tea are also brimming with polyphenol antioxidants and less caffeine than coffee, with many benefits, including weight loss. They contain powerful catechin antioxidants, which are also believed to work with caffeine to enhance fat burning.
   
• One of the joys of colder weather is the licence to indulge in delicious hot chocolate. But did you know you can make it as healthy as it is delicious?
  
  Ditch the store-bought premix, which is normally laden with sugar and other undesirables (NOMU's sugar-free version is pretty good, however). Make your own with raw cacao, which also has many vital minerals, antixodants and phyto-chemicals that enhance physical and mental well-being (which is why we feel so good when we eat chocolate). We love this recipe from thehealthychef.com.

A Little of What You Fancy Does You Good

Don't Supersize Your Plate or Cup

Hit the Protein

• If you're usually a start-the-day-with-cereal person, try eating eggs instead. If you're really not an eggs person, try a protein smoothie. Regardless of the type of cereal you normally choose, chances are there is a significant sugar content (or carbs that convert to sugar), so cutting out cereal will mean you also decrease your sugar intake. Win-win!
   
• If you absolutely can't start the day without your bowl of cereal – make sure it's a bowl of slow-cooked oats (not the instant flavoured packet variety – that's a health and calorie disaster!). Oats help to regulate blood sugar and, because they take quite a while to work their way through the digestive system, they keep hunger pangs at bay for longer.
   
• Add other quality proteins to your diet – high-protein foods that give you more protein than they do calories include: salmon and tinned tuna, skinless chicken breasts and pork or beef tenderloin, Greek yoghurt and cottage cheese, and lentils.
   
• If you struggle to eat protein, you could try a protein supplement like whey or pea protein powder for vegetarians/vegans, which helps weight loss while increasing lean muscle mass.
   
• Treat yourself to a mid-afternoon snack every day. A snack containing good proteins and healthy fats will satisfy you and make you less likely to overindulge at supper time. The perfect snack? Probably a handful of unsalted almonds. They're full of protein, healthy fats, fibre and, as a bonus, vitamin E.

Fruit, Vegetables and Fibre

• Vegetables like leeks, broccoli and beans, and low sugar fruits like berries, grapefruit and apples are all high in fibre and are guaranteed to make you feel fuller faster. The fibre is also a good prebiotic for your gut bacteria to feed on. If they're not already part of your regular diet, add them to your shopping list now.
   
• Avocado is rich in fibre but also has all the healthy fats you need to help keep your cholesterol in check. Raw unsalted nuts (the almonds mentioned above) are also a great source of healthy fat.
   
• Try changing the way you cook. Use coconut or extra virgin olive oil, or butter, instead of the over-refined, unhealthy options like canola and sunflower oils, or margarine. Apart from being healthier, they also taste good!

Try Intermittent Fasting

• Eat earlier in the evenings, or a have your breakfast a little later (or a combo of both), and try to work up to a 16-hour fasting period. This allows your body to naturally burn off any excess glucose that would automatically turn into fat, and then turns it into a fat-burning machine. It's that simple!
   
• Cutting down your eating window also makes you eat less overall so you get all the benefits of a low-calorie diet without having to consciously restrict yourself all the time. Studies have shown that apart from helping you to naturally lose weight, intermittent fasting also has numerous other health benefits.
   
• Couple it with high-intensity exercise (see below), and you're looking at a winning weight-loss combo.

The dreaded E word...Exercise

• Whatever you do normally, do it harder. Use heavier weights and do fewer repetitions – push yourself just a bit more than usual. If you can, add some High Intensity Interval Training to your normal schedule, as it’s been found to be one of the best ways to keep weight under control.
   
• Sound intimidating? It doesn’t have to be – but if you’d rather not be seen prancing around the gym in leg warmers, try walking. Walk whenever you can, take the stairs instead of the lift or try skipping (you can do this quietly at home where no-one will see you).
  
  It’s a great idea to invest in some sort of activity tracker, which can be set to remind you to move every hour - or check on your Health app if you have an iPhone or Samsung. It tracks your every step when you are carrying your phone.
   
• Get a friend to keep you on track. Pick a no-nonsense pal who will get you moving rather than joining you for a Netflix binge fest.

Some More on Sunlight...

• In the absence of sunlight, your body will amp its production of melatonin and send you diving for your bed and putting you into sloth mode. So getting out and about on sunny days is absolutely essential – 20 minutes a time is all you need. Just don't forget your sunscreen if you're outdoors longer than half an hour.
   
• Open your curtains as early as possible and let all the light in. It may sound silly but changing to brighter light bulbs in winter can also help to trick your body into thinking it is summer.

On the Subject of Sleep

• Anything less than seven hours is sleep deprivation.
• Have a regular sleep and wake up time.
• Give yourself the opportunity of at least eight hours of sleep.
• Keep your bedroom dark and tech-free.
• Stop the beloved caffeine and alcohol intake at least a few hours before sleeping.

Keep That Metabolism Moving

• We've already noted that water and a high-protein diet are great for keep your metabolism ticking over.
   
• If you're over 45 and approaching menopause, you won't need a scientist to tell you that your metabolism slows down as you age, so using these healthy ways to help boost this inevitable slowdown is very important.
   
• Make sure you eat enough (of all the good things mentioned above) to keep things moving. If you start starving yourself, your metabolism will start a go-slow, which is the last thing you want. Good news – the caffeine in your coffee or tea is a central nervous stimulant, great for a quick (and rather enjoyable) metabolism kick.

• Keep moving
• Drink loads of water (at least 6 glasses), and
• Eat plenty of protein and fibre-rich fruits and vegetables, with the focus on single-ingredient whole foods.
• Sleep no less than 7 hours per night.
• Use intermittent fasting as a simple way to control your food intake.
• Make sure you eat iron-rich foods. Iron is vital for carrying oxygen to your muscles, and women in particular are often iron deficient. Eat plenty of spinach, beans, shellfish and lean meats to get your daily dose of iron.
• Another essential is Vitamin D. If you're not able to get your daily dose of sun, you need to be sure you get enough Vitamin D through your diet. Salmon, tuna, tofu and eggs are all good sources of Vitamin D.
• Lastly, why not end the day with a glass of warm milk? There is some evidence that a calcium deficiency can cause metabolism to slow down, so pour yourself that glass of milk, and have a good night's zzzzzz 😴