Do You Want To Lose Weight This New Year?

Most of us will have put on some weight over the festive season - a glass of wine here and a mince pie there all adds up. So now that we’re into January, it’s time to get your diet back on track so that 2011 will be a year of being slim and healthy.

Eat little and often - do your best to have five smaller meals per day instead of the usual three. The benefit of this is that you’ll actually feel full for longer and will be less inclined to snack. It also keeps your blood sugar levels more even rather than the usual roller coaster you get from eating lots of sugary snacks.

The kinds of foods you should be eating much be healthy and contain complex carbohydrates (eg brown rice or baked beans), protein (eg lentils or chicken) and fat (eg fish or olive oil).

Keep your exercise varied - there are so many different types of exercise so you’ll want to try as many of them as you can. So this means doing some cardio and strength training along with stretches and walking. Building muscle is especially good because it increases your metabolic rate which means you’ll burn fat quicker.

Stay hydrated - because so much of our bodies are made up of water, you need to keep drinking fluids in order to stay hydrated. This means you should be drinking water, fresh fruit juice and teas such as green tea and red bush. Ideally you should be drinking in the region of 8 glasses per day.

Avoid boredom snacking - we’ve all been there, when we get bored we start snacking on crisps and biscuits. If you’re bored then find something else to do rather than eating such as playing a jigsaw or listening to music. Drinking some green tea might also be a good idea because it will make your stomach feel full and there weight loss properties in tea.

Eat more salads - if you’re reducing your portion sizes then try to bulk up your meals with salads. There are all sorts of different salad leaves you can buy in the supermarkets including baby spinach, lollo rosso and watercress. Add in some tomatoes, cucumber and other vegetables you fancy and drizzle a little olive oil on it.

Try a weight loss pill - although a lot of people are very sceptical of weight loss pills there are a few you can buy that might help. For instance Hoodia can help keep your appetite under control whereas capsicum can help you burn more calories. The latest pill to hit the market is Meratol which contains only natural ingredients and is side-effect free.