Seven easy ways to lose half a stone by June

Ever heard the saying that “summer bodies are built in the winter”? If you start now, then by June you could see a real difference in your physique.

Depending on how much weight you have to lose, a healthy and sustainable target is 1-2lb per week which, for the average adult, means cutting your calorie intake by around 500 calories a day.

By making slight tweaks to your eating habits it should be easier to reach the finish line and, who knows, these might become your new normal:

• Try mini fasting
• Reduce your portions
• Shave your calories
• Focus on nutrient-dense foods
• Pack on the protein
• Snack smartly
• Cut alcohol

1. Try mini fasting

If intermittent fasting feels too much for you, consider giving mini fasting a go. By pushing back your breakfast by a couple of hours, to say 10am, and not eating after 8pm, you’ll be fasting overnight for a full 14 hours.

A study published in Cell Metabolism found that overweight participants sticking to this limited-eating window saw a three per cent reduction in weight and four per cent reduction in abdominal visceral fat, due to a net reduction in calorie intake of 8.6 per cent.

With any form of time-restricted eating (TRE), make sure the day’s last meal is well-balanced and satiating to prevent late-night cravings.

Here are some handy tips to keep you fuller for longer, without adding inches to your waistline:

• Aim to fill half your plate with colourful vegetables, and just a palm-sized portion of protein (fish, meat, tofu, eggs etc), plus a similar quantity of complex carbs (wholegrain pasta, rice, beans, potatoes or other starchy vegetable).
• While you’re in the fasting zone, it is best to stick to water, unsweetened tea or black coffee.

2. Dial down the volume

It’s thought that our stomachs have an “appetite thermostat” and can become accustomed to receiving a certain quantity of food. If we slowly turn the thermostat down – by reducing our portion sizes – we will feel satisfied with less food and slash a few hundred calories a day into the bargain.

Put 20 per cent less food on your plate to start with, eat it slowly and wait. Only have more if you are still feeling hungry.

Here are some examples of choices you could make:

• Having pasta? A clenched fist-sized portion with sauce is enough – fill the rest of the plate with salad or vegetables.
• Planning pizza? One or two slices is plenty – once again fill up with salad or vegetables.
• Want to still tuck into a roast dinner? Have fewer roast potatoes and less meat, but more veg. And go easy on the gravy.
• Fancy a curry? Opt for a teacup-sized portion, then the same quantity of brown rice and some chopped-up cucumber, tomato and plain yogurt.

3. Practice calorie-shaving

There is no need to count calories to lose weight, but “calorie shaving” can prove effective and easily cut a few hundred daily calories a day.

You can apply this approach to almost everything you eat. Here are just a few examples:

• At 35 calories per teaspoon, reducing butter is a quick win. Butter just one side of your sandwich and don’t add it to veg after cooking.
• Mayonnaise packs a hefty 90 calories per tablespoon and can be replaced by thick Greek yoghurt for just 8 calories. Mix with tuna or egg for sandwich fillings, or in place of mayo in a potato salad.
• Removing skin from chicken will save you around 100 calories per breast.
• Try a couple of oatcakes with soup instead of bread, or opt for a wholegrain wrap rather than a sandwich.
• Save around 100 calories for each cuppa by having coffee with just a splash of milk rather than choosing a milky latte.

4. Focus on nutrient dense foods

It will come as no surprise that studies show lower feelings of deprivation are associated with greater weight loss. A simple but effective way to keep hunger pangs at bay is to focus on “nutrient-dense” foods. These are foods which are rich in nutrients relative to their calorie content – in other words you can eat a lot of them without putting on weight.

Of course, there are foods that are extremely nutritious but higher in calories, such as nuts, avocados, olive oil and oily fish. It’s still important to eat these foods for optimal nutrition but if you want more on your plate, nutrient-dense foods are the way to go.

But what foods are the ones to focus on?

The Aggregate Nutrient Density Index, or ANDI, is a scoring system that rates whole foods on a scale from one to 1,000 based on their nutrient content per calorie, the higher the score the more nutrient-dense the food. Vegetables rank highest. Leafy greens, brassicas like broccoli and cauliflower, asparagus, mushrooms, tomatoes and fruit like berries, grapes and melon are all great to fill up on.

5. Start with protein

Research has shown that a breakfast containing around 20g of protein can aid weight loss. A good hit of protein in the morning activates the hormones that curb appetite, reducing cravings and overeating later in the day.

Want to pack on the protein? Here are some foods to try:

• Porridge: 50g of oats made into porridge with 250ml semi-skimmed milk contains 14g of protein, adding 1 tbsp of peanut butter and 1 tbsp of mixed seeds increases this to the magic 20g.
• Eggs: A large egg contains 6g of protein, have two on some protein-rich rye toast topped with a sprinkle of grated cheese and you’ll hit your 20g target.
• Greek yogurt: A 150g serving of 2 per cent fat Greek yogurt has a whopping 15g of protein. Top with 25g nuts and some fresh berries to increase that to 20g.
• Smoked salmon: At the weekend, switch it up with 75g of luxurious smoked salmon (14g protein) on a slice of wholegrain toast spread with 1 tbsp cream cheese. That’s your 20g.

6. Snack smart

A study by the charity Nesta found that snacks make up a fifth of the calories us Britons eat at home – or around 370 calories per day. If you are already eating a protein-rich breakfast, and filling up on nutrient-dense foods, then your appetite should be better regulated, and you will be less likely to experience cravings.

But if the munchies really won’t go away, here are some healthy snacks that will hit the spot for under 100 calories:

• 2 tbsp of Greek yogurt with a handful of berries.
• A date stuffed with a tsp of nut butter.
• A square of dark chocolate and a few salted peanuts.
• An apple, pear, orange or small banana.
• A wholegrain cracker with hummus.

7. Opt for no/low alcohol

Alcohol is notoriously calorific, a large glass of red wine comes in at over 200 calories, and because it’s so quaffable it’s easy to sabotage our weight loss efforts without realising it. If total abstinence is too hard try having three to four drink-free days a week and limit your alcohol consumption on the other days to a couple of drinks.

Another great mantra for healthier drinking, coined by the broadcaster turned sober champion Janey Lee Grace is “keep the ritual, change the ingredients”.

If you love your end of day drink, there are lots of excellent no and low alcohol products on the market now. Zero beers have come on leaps and bounds and most brands offer a decent version which contain around half the calories of their alcoholic equivalent.

Low-alcohol wines aren’t quite up to the real thing taste-wise so try kombucha instead.

The Real Drinks Company and Mighty Brew are two of the best. They come in corked bottles like sparkling wine, and contain just 20 calories per 100ml compared to 80 calories for regular fizz.