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If you find yourself frequently switching between diet plans, unable to make lasting changes, you’ll know that weight loss isn’t always straightforward. Today, there’s an unlimited stream of diet advice. Plus, with many diets pushing extreme restriction or elimination of entire food groups, the results are rarely sustainable.
If this sounds familiar, you’re certainly not alone. The increased noise and competing diet advice have, in many ways, made weight loss more confusing and complex than it needs to be – leaving many of us feeling frustrated and disheartened.
However, there’s reason to be encouraged as, with the right approach, losing weight in a healthy, sustainable way is possible. Often, it’s the simple lifestyle changes which, combined, can make all the difference.
1. Limit your intake of ultra-processed foods
Ultra-processed foods are linked with an increased risk of overeating, food cravings, and obesity, so limiting your intake of them is one of the best things you can do to help manage your weight.
Ultra-processed foods tend to be high in added sugar, salt, and saturated fat, which research shows can intensify food cravings and cause overeating. However, science shows that this works both ways – the less you eat ultra-processed foods, the less likely you are to crave them.
Take this study, which found that 95% of participants who cut out added sugar and artificial sweeteners for two weeks said the food and drinks they’d previously consumed now tasted too sweet. A further 86% of participants said their sugar cravings stopped altogether just six days into the study.
Basing your diet around whole foods can help reduce your intake of ultra-processed foods. To learn more, check out our article: What are the benefits of a whole food, plant-based diet?
2. Establish a healthy sleep schedule and take steps to limit stress
In the busyness of day-to-day life, prioritising sleep and stress management are often among the first things we push aside to make more time. It’s easy to think these things don’t affect our weight, but research shows that they can make all the difference.
Among other things, sleep plays a role in appetite, such as by regulating hunger hormones, like ghrelin and leptin. This is why many of us experience greater food cravings and disrupted hunger cues after a bad night’s sleep. For example, this study concluded that sleep-deprived people were up to 55% more likely to become obese than those who slept enough.
Similarly, studies show that stress can significantly affect our eating habits, with many people turning to food to manage difficult emotions. In this study, women ate significantly more calories and had higher cravings when stressed, compared to when relaxed.
For this reason, the importance of reducing stress levels and establishing a healthy sleep schedule shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to weight loss.
3. Centre meals around protein and fibre
Beyond eating a healthy, balanced diet centred on whole foods, research suggests that certain nutrients may be particularly beneficial for weight loss – including protein and fibre.
Firstly, protein is by far the most filling of the three main macronutrients (protein, fats, and carbohydrates), typically leaving us feeling fuller after eating less food, and preventing overeating. In this study, when overweight men increased their protein intake to 25% of their daily calories, their food cravings were reduced by 60% and their desire to snack at night by 50%.
Similarly, research has linked high fibre intake with a reduced risk of being overweight. For example, this study found that people of a healthy weight ate more fibre than those who were obese.
Increasing your overall fibre intake is a good idea for weight loss – and overall health – but research suggests that soluble fibre may be particularly beneficial. Forming a gel-like substance in the body, it helps to slow down digestion and prevent blood sugar spikes, leaving you feeling fuller and less likely to overeat. Other studies have linked soluble fibre to lower levels of hunger hormones like ghrelin.
To up your fibre intake, check out our article: 10 easy ways to add more fibre to your diet.
4. Choose whole grains over refined carbohydrates
Carbohydrates often get a bad rap, particularly when it comes to weight loss. So, they’re often the first thing people avoid when dieting. However, carbohydrates are an important part of any healthy diet and, depending on their form, can actually support weight loss.
On the one hand, refined carbohydrates, such as pizza and pastries, are stripped of many nutrients during processing and are digested quickly, leaving you hungry again soon after. As a result, studies have linked refined carbohydrates with overeating and weight gain.
Meanwhile, whole grains, such as oats, quinoa, and brown rice, are associated with healthy weight maintenance. This is because they’re rich in vitamins, minerals, and fibre, and provide a slow, steady release of energy. In this study, whole-grain-rich diets were linked with lower body weight, as well as a reduced risk of diabetes.
To learn more, you might be interested in our articles: 9 healthy whole grains to add to your diet and 10 high-carb foods with powerful health benefits.
5. Try to avoid highly restrictive diets and tune into your natural hunger cues
Do you ever find that as soon as you start a diet, the more you think about food, and the more you end up eating? If yes, you’re certainly not alone. There’s even a term for it: ‘food noise’, described as intrusive and persistent thoughts around food, which can make it difficult to concentrate and even lead to disordered eating.
Many diets are too extreme, encouraging people to drastically restrict their calories or cut out entire food groups. Beyond making weight loss unnecessarily miserable, we know from research that highly restrictive diets can actually have the opposite of their desired effect.
This is because when you ignore your hunger cues and don’t get the energy and nutrients you need, the body responds by increasing cravings for high-energy foods.
There’s also evidence that engaging too deeply in diet trends that make you feel guilty or ashamed of your food choices can result in food cravings and an increased likelihood of overeating.
6. Be patient with yourself and remember it’s not a case of willpower
Previously, being overweight has been seen as a choice and solely the result of a lack of willpower. In many cases, this has left people feeling guilty or hopeless over their weight and food choices. However, we know from research that weight management can be complex and is by no means a matter of willpower alone.
Weight and appetite are affected by several factors, some of which we have no control over. This includes our genes and the way they interact with pathways in the brain. For example, one study found that people with lower levels of leptin (a hormone involved in appetite regulation) had incredibly strong appetites and became obese.
These genetic differences help explain why we differ so much when it comes to appetite and weight management. Above all, it’s key to highlight that there’s no one-size-fits-all weight-loss formula. Recognising this can help us approach weight loss in a healthy and productive way. The most important thing is finding out what works best for you.
Final thoughts…
With such a variety of diet advice available these days, it can sometimes feel impossible – not to mention overwhelming – to find an approach to weight loss that works for you. However, while everyone’s journey may look different, the good news is that anyone can reach a healthy weight.
For further reading, head over to our health section.
Have you tried any of the above methods? Or do you have any different helpful and healthy weight-loss techniques? We’d be interested to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
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