Making healthy lifestyle changes don't have to be that painful, but can reap big rewards when it comes to getting into shape. Read on for great ways to lose weight without even trying… No starvation required!

Drink water
Did you know that often we mistake thirst for hunger pains? The benefits of drinking loads of water have been touted by health experts and models alike for years… but here’s the deal. If you don’t drink enough water your metabolism will literally shut down. The digestive system works properly when our fluid levels are high and our skin gets clearer as toxins are flushed out.  

Watch the other drinks
If you are trying to lose weight and stay healthy you will need to reduce your sugar intake. So while you might be feeling holier than thou for skipping the caramel slice from your local bakery, you need to make sure you are checking the sugar content in your drinks. We all know alcohol is laden with sugar, but that fizzy drink and surprisingly that ‘healthy’ fruit juice can also contain the same amount of sugar as a family bag of sweets! So if that glass of blackcurrant juice has up to 70g sugar (or 14 teaspoons) it’s not quite the ‘health drink’ you think it is. If in doubt, drink water!

Skip the dessert aisle
Lead us not into temptation… Next time you venture to the supermarket simply skip the dessert and cookie aisle. Temptation will always be there and it’s harder to deny yourself the naughty foods we crave. But before you get too proud of yourself, the checkout counter is the next battle. With all the chocolate bars staring up at you it can be hard not to reward yourself with a little treat. One trick is to busy your mind with a magazine while you wait to get served.

Don’t eat carbohydrates after 6pm
The problem with traditional ways of eating was that we used to eat our biggest meal at dinner and usually that meal was comprised of starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta or potatoes (with a side of bread!) Many weight loss specialists now believe it is better to cut down the number of starchy carbohydrates we eat, particularly at night time as our metabolism slows down while we sleep so we have less chance to ‘burn dinner off’. Skip the white carbohydrates and choose colourful carbohydrates such as nutrient rich vegetables at dinner time along with lean protein so you can satiate your appetite without sleeping on a heavy meal.

Incidental exercise every day
It’s simple - moving burns calories. The only problem is, in this day and age it’s amazing how many opportunities to move we miss because we sit in our cars, at our desks, or at home on the couch. But there are simple ways to incorporate more exercise into your daily life… Park your car further away when you go to the supermarket, go for a stroll with a co-worker while you are on lunch break, go for a walk with your partner after work, and instead of meeting friends for a wine or a coffee meet them for a pow wow and a power walk in the local park.

Protein power
Protein keeps you feeling full for a long time so lean protein is an ideal way to have your diet working with you, not against you, when it comes to losing weight. If you are always in a rush in the morning, skip your cereal for a protein shake with frozen berries, manuka honey and spirulina. It’s healthy, filling and packed with antioxidants.

Portion control
Serving sizes in restaurants and cafes are monstrous. Not to mention when we buy food we tend to think of things in terms of ‘value for money’ – so that King sized chocolate bar or ‘Grande latte’ seem like a great buy, but just think how much extra you eat with these large portions. And, because many of us grew up with the ‘eat everything on your plate!’ mantra from our parents, overeating is a force of habit. A few ideas for portion control are;

Learn the standards:

• A 3 oz. of meat is the size of a deck of cards or an audio tape; 1 cup of rice or pasta looks like a tennis ball.

Careful in restaurants:

• How many times have you left a restaurant feeling ill from over-eating? If that’s the case, try ordering an entrée and a side of steamed vegetables instead of a main. You’ll probably find it is more than enough to fill you.

Plate it up:

• Have you noticed that those gorgeous European style plates are huge, but it’s easy to dish yourself too much food? If you have huge plates in your house, try dining off a side plate to reduce your food intake.

Slow down:

• It takes 20 minutes for your body to register that it is full, yet you can inhale a lot of food in 20 minutes. Eat slowly, enjoy conversation, chew properly and enjoy the taste of each mouthful instead of wolfing your food in a rush. Before going back for seconds, stop and think – do I really need more food?

Switch to low fat dairy
Yoghurt makes a great snack but be sure to read the back of the pottle… many of the ‘low fat’ products have simply switched the fat content for increased carbohydrate and sugar. Your best bet is to go for low fat natural yoghurt and add flavour with some fresh fruit. Switching from full fat milk to low fat milk is also going to cut your fat consumption without you really noticing much difference. The Sun Latté milk is 99.9 fat free, but has full body and added protein and calcium so it makes the shift to low fat milk painless. Swap your traditional cheddar cheese for Edam or Light and you will also cut plenty of calories and saturated fat without too much drama.

Fibre up!
Research reveals that a diet rich in fibre keeps you feeling full for longer – and better still, high-fibre fruit and vegetables enrich your body with vitamins. Great sources of dietary fibre are: wholemeal bread, jacket potatoes, porridge oats, beans, lentils, peas, nuts, seeds, brown rice and muesli. As an added bonus, Leeds University research now indicates that young women who eat a diet rich in wholegrain cereal and wholemeal bread grains decrease their risk of breast cancer.

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