Weight loss diet plans

Listen to your body

Listening to your body is like learning a new language. Instead of reaching for a snack on autopilot, take a pause and think. Are you hungry right now? Eat something if you are. If you’re not hungry, try to avoid eating.

You might be thinking about why you’re snacking so much. Are you stressed? Try to combat the stress first before resorting to food.

It can even go deeper than this: what are you hungry for? Is it a complete meal with protein and carbs? Or is it a ‘sugar’ craving? Can you satisfy this sugar craving with a healthier option, like a bowl of fresh fruit?

Being mindful of your body’s signals is a great way to adapt a diet to work for you.

Stock up on whole foods

Whole foods are unprocessed foods that retain their nutrients. Flavourings, preservatives and extra sugar and sodium can add calories to your diet. You may not even be aware of these extra calories.

Eating processed, refined foods can also take away some nutrients you need from your diet. This includes fibre, vitamins and minerals.

You can incorporate whole foods into your diet by choosing whole grains instead of refined grains. Whole grains include brown rice, bulgur wheat and oatmeal. While white rice is a grain, some of the nutritious elements of the grain are removed during processing which turns the colour of the rice white. Brown rice retains the bran and germ parts of the grain, though it can make it slower to cook.

Try to eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. There are many ways you can cook vegetables for a diverse, healthy and enjoyable meal. Try to make vegetables the focus of your main meal instead of meats and carbs. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat protein or carbs, but try not to make it the star of your plate.

Take it one meal at a time

Initially, preparing your meals can take time and energy, especially if you’re not used to doing it yourself. You don’t need to plan all your weekly meals in one go. Try to tackle one meal a day and be consistent for that one meal. This can be as simple as eating porridge with fruit for breakfast or including more veggies on your dinner plate.

Once you build up consistency with one meal, you can expand this to the rest of your diet. This makes a more sustainable and enjoyable way to introduce healthy dieting to your lifestyle.

Successful weight loss involves healthy weight management. Healthy weight management has more factors than just your diet, including:

Breakfast ideas

Breakfast isn’t the first thing on everyone’s mind, especially if you’re rushing to get to work! Skipping this important meal can impact the rest of your day. Try to fit a healthy breakfast into your schedule.

Here are some healthy breakfast meal plans:

Eggs contain many nutrients, like vitamin D, protein and fat. They help you feel satisfied and full, so you won’t have those hunger cravings throughout the morning. This makes eggs ideal as a breakfast ingredient.

Lunch ideas

Healthy lunch ideas are endless. If you find planning a week’s worth of lunches overwhelming, try some of these simple ideas:

Make it your own by adding a bit of what you enjoy but remember to use whole ingredients. Specific diets will encourage you to add more vegetables, seafood and less red meat to your diet, such as the Mediterranean diet.

Dinner ideas

Not many of us want to cook up a big meal when we return from work. With meal prep, you can make a batch of meals in one go and freeze the extra portions, so you’ll always have a nutritious meal ready when you need one.

Some healthy dinner ideas for weight loss include:

You can always add your choice of lean meat, such as chicken or fish, to any meal. If you don’t eat meat, there are plenty of vegetables that contain enough protein for your daily amount.

Dinner doesn’t need to be boring or a chore. You can make simple and fun meals by including plenty of seasoning and fresh ingredients.

Snack ideas

Everyone loves a good snack! Many snacks nowadays are full of added salt, sugar and preservatives. Too much snacking can lead to weight gain and other health problems if you're not careful. These include high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes.

Having a healthy snack means you can still beat that snacky craving. Some healthy snack ideas include:

You don’t need to give up tea or coffee to lose weight, but consider reducing how much sugar you have in your hot drinks.