Five Easy and Painless Ways To Help Lose Weight Fast

There are lots of websites and magazines that have many weird and wonderful ways on how to lose weight quickly, some of them work and some of them don't. Many of them are also giving out the information to promote their books, slimming products and programs. None of these are for me really, and I think that the only real way to lose weight is to make a simple plan which suits you and to make sure you stick to it, ie no cheating at weekends, or letting those little "treats" which are ok once a week, turn into two, three or four times a week. Here are five simple tips that have helped me lose some extra pounds, even when I haven't had much time for exercising - if I had, the results could have been even better.

Avoid All Full Fat Dairy Products

This means cutting out of your diet everything such as hard and soft full fat cheeses, cream, full fat milk, creamy yoghurts and butter or full fat spreads. If you use milk for drinks or cereals then use skimmed milk and look for low-fat but fruity yoghurts. These low-fat dairy products can still provide you with the calcium your body requires to keep bones strong.

Cut Down on The Carbs

Personally I avoid all breads (apart from the occasional wholemeal pita bread), pizzas, pastas, rice, noodles, crackers (apart from dark rye Ryvitas), cakes and biscuits. Instead of sandwiches at lunchtimes, I have salads which have a good portion of lean protein instead, such as tuna or chicken, which keeps me full up until evening. I sometimes have cereal at breakfast, but this has been All-Bran mixed with nuts and seeds, but usually I have filled up on protein again, with two eggs, scrambled with skimmed milk.

Become Teetotal - Just For A Little While

Yes this seems like a very difficult ask for a lot of people, but life does go on without having a drink - surprisingly! The two main reasons for cutting out alcohol if you want to lose weight are that you are taking in approximately 170 calories if you have a large glass of wine, plus the more glasses you have, the more your will-power shrinks, until you do get that kebab on the way home from the pub! It's not that difficult to find something else to occupy yourself with for a few weeks if you seriously want to drop some pounds.

Don't Eat Anything You Haven't Made Yourself

Yes, I'm not saying you can't go around to your mum's and have Sunday dinner - although I would advise having the meat and veg and missing out on the potatoes, but avoid readymade meals, take-aways and readymade sandwiches and snacks. It is so much easier to avoid unwanted fats and carbs if you make up your lunches and evening meals yourself.

What Foods You Should Fill Up On

You are probably wondering what there is that you can fill up with after reading the above, and this can vary to your own personal taste, but the main food groups should be lean proteins, fruits, vegetables and low calorie dairy products, plus a small amount of olive oil. The Mediterranean diet is based around these food groups and there are some great recipe books which have some fantastic filling and tasty dishes which you will probably want to carry on eating forever.

Like we always say, if this is a huge change in diet for you, then consult with your GP before making any drastic changes or cutting out food groups.