A doctor with expertise in weight loss has shared five top tips for shedding some fat without restrictive dieting.
This Morning doctor Sara Kayat said a good place to start is measuring your waist size. She added that a healthy weight around the waist should be less than half of your height, reports the Daily Record.
Dr Kayat said: "For example if you are five foot four, you want your waist to be 29 inches. But if you’re 32 inches, that’s when you’re in that unhealthy zone, so we want to try and bring that down."
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Dr Kayat went on to share five tips that she sticks by - but added that "there is there is so much advice out there" when it comes to weight loss.
Eat properly
Dr Kayat said: "Learn to eat properly again! Have a table, a plate, learn to chew, learn to appreciate the tastes on your plate rather than shovelling it in on your way to work or at your desk, or in front of the TV."
The expert explained that when you learn to enjoy eating, you will make it a regular part of your day and not just a necessary thing to do each time you wake up.
Eat more but keep it healthy
While you shouldn't be restricting your food intake, you should be making sure that the food you are consuming is healthy and good for you.
Dr Kayat said: "Not feel so restrictive when it comes to dieting, you can actually eat more.
"So it’s eating more of the right foods, the lower calorie higher nutrient foods, found in a lot of plant-based foods. The restrictive aspect of dieting can really put people off."
Keep an eye on your snacking
Snacking is a normal human function and is not unhealthy initially - but what you are snacking on can end up being bad for you. Bad snacks includes processed foods that are high in sugar and salts.
The expert added: "An ideal snack is something like nuts - they’re really high in healthy fats, high in fibre and protein - everything to help stabilise blood sugars so you don’t get these massive cravings."
Some studies have shown that 'grazing' - eating four to five small meals a day - can help with weight loss, but Dr Kayat notes that this is a personal preference.
She added: "It really depends on you as a person and also what you’re eating. For some people, grazing works, for others they need that structure in their day otherwise they end up grazing too much."
Cut down on alcohol
Dr Kayat also advises that people cut back on alcohol when they are trying to lose weight, as they tend to be high in calories.
However, she added: "There are so many really good low-alcohol and no-alcohol drinks out there now, we have the options to swap. A lot of people just miss that taste, and we have that option now, so it’s a really viable option for people."
Keep away from crash diets
A crash diet is something that requires you to drastically reduce your calorie intake, sometimes by cutting out entire food groups or just eating one thing.
This style of dieting can actually do more harm than good at times.
Dr Kayat claims that these diets are unachievable, adding: "There’s lots of celebrities out there endorsing them but they don’t work, you end up yo-yo-ing, it can affect your metabolism, it can affect the way your body stores fat."
The expert also suggested that as well as creating healthy eating habits, exercise is also a great option.
She said: "With exercise, it’s about finding the right balance as well. A lot of people go in too hard too soon with exercise. You really need to slowly build it up, it will be easier to fall off that exercise wagon otherwise."
Dr Kayat also notes that you should, "try and find the joy" in exercising.
