Think about your diet before you start it and plan ahead
More than 17 million people have started their weight loss plan this week, what with going back to work, however many admit that their lifestyle changes may not be permanent.
Only half say that they will stick to their health kick for more than three weeks, although only 6% of people predict being able to last less than a week.
Have you caved in on your diet yet?
We spoke to nutritionist Claire Hughes and she shared some diet tips and advice.
Q: The first question then is why do you think people wait to start their diet on a full week, and do you think it is advisable to do this?
A: The Marks and Spencer research has shown that people delay going on a diet until the week they go back to work. I think it is advisable because actually being at work gives you a structure to your day so sometimes it is easier to start a healthy eating plan when you are away from your house after the season where you have probably spent a lot of time sitting around watching TV – well if you are anything like me you probably have - so it puts some structure around it.
Q: According to the research more than one in ten find their January diet depressing. How would you advise that they make it more fun?
A: I think you can find a diet quite depressing if you decide to cut out food groups. So if you have decided you are having no dairy, you are having no carbohydrate it can actually be quite hard to follow. So I think you can use it as a time to experiment with food and try new flavours and set yourself a challenge of “well I like curry but how can I make it a little bit healthier?”
Q: How would you suggest they kick start their weight loss plan?
A: I’d suggest you kick start the weight loss plan by following a meal planner. I think you need some ideas to get started, you need some structure around it; you need to stick to a certain amount of calories. There are some meal planners on the Marks and Spencer website that can get you started and that gives you some kind of structure again to kick start your healthy eating regime.
Q: A lot of ‘boring diets’ are just down to the food that people are eating, have you got any healthy recipe ideas that you could share?
A: There are lots of healthy recipe ideas on the Marks and Spencer website and those ones are designed to cook foods that are full of flavour and that appeal to the whole family so there are a whole range of recipes on there that show that you can eat healthily but you don’t have to compromise on the food you eat and the taste of it can appeal to everyone.
Q: A lot of people complain about eating healthily takes a lot of time and effort, what sort of advice do you have for them?
A: I don’t think it has to take a lot of time to eat healthily. I think if you are really time short then that is where prepared meals can come in quite handy so the Marks and Spencer’s Count On Us range is low fat and calorie controlled and the Fuller Longer range is high protein and carb balanced if that is what you are looking for in your diets. So they are quite good to slot in on your lunch time or if you come home from work and you duly have no time at night just so that you stick to your plan. If not then it is also about planning so if you want to make recipes then it is about planning ahead so that you have got the ingredients and that you have them on your shopping list.
Q: Do you have any advice for people to encourage them to stick to their weight loss plans?
A: I think what I would say is don’t set yourself unrealistic targets. If you are losing weight then it is about doing it gradually and slowly rather than trying to lose too much in a short period of time. And also if you have a really bad day, then don’t right off the rest of the week. You can keep going with the plan just start again the next day.
Q: And finally, can you give us your ultimate diet tips?
A: Ultimate diet tips for me would be to have some of the foods that you like. So it doesn’t have to be one hundred percent of the time – eighty/twenty you can allow yourself some indulgent treats its just about how much of them you have so maybe save them to the weekend. Doing some exercise alongside any kind of healthy eating plan is a good idea, that’s good for your heart as well so it is quite good to kick start that although the weather outside is a bit miserable so weather permitting. One thing that really works for me is recording my calories actually and what I have eaten so you can either do that on an app if you have got a mobile device that lets you do that or you can do it just on a piece of paper or a notebook so you are aware of what you are eating.
Q: A food diary sort of thing….
A: Yeah keep a food diary. It is a really good way of looking at what we are eating because sometimes we don’t think we eat that much but actually we eat more than we think.