Top tips for a stress free weight loss

As we welcome 2017 and we make our New Year resolutions, there was never a better time to start taking care of your health. If your are looking to lose some weight, please do not try another fad diet, being too restrictive will only cause a 'yoyo' effect. Instead, focus on changing your lifestyle and improving your health and well-being. The following are my top tips for a successful and stress free weight loss:

• Avoid processed food. The rule is simple "if it came from a plant, eat it... if it was made in a plant, don’t’".
• Always have breakfast and make it a big one... the old saying "eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper", might actually be true.
• Include protein with every meal, it will make you feel fuller for longer.
• Eat five small meals a day - eating every three to four hours will help to reduce cravings and avoid overeating.
• Reduce sugar intake! Sugar is the bad guy - not fat!
• Eat a rainbow of vegetables and fruit, aim to have seven a day, meaning one low GL fruit (berries are the best) and six vegetables a day. Smoothies are a fantastic way of increasing your veggie intake.
• Reduce alcohol, or even better, eliminate completely. Empty calories, blood sugar imbalance, reduced willpower, plus alcohol is a toxin, your liver doesn’t need this extra load. 
• Get a good night sleep, I would never advocate getting up earlier to exercise. Sleep seven to nine hours per night, ideally starting before midnight.
• Adequate hydration is the key to a healthy elimination! Drink a minimum of eight 8-fl.-oz glasses of water per day (or herbal teas). By regular elimination, I mean going at least one a day, otherwise you are simply constipated and this must never happen. 
• Exercise three to five times every week, 30 minutes sessions, include HIIT as well as weight lifting in your routine, but remember that you can’t out exercise a bad diet.
• Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live in. 
• Seek help of nutritional therapist. If you struggling with weight loss, and you tried every diet possible, there might be an underlying cause stopping you from losing weight, such as under active thyroid or hormonal disturbances.