Common Weight Loss Gimmicks To Avoid

Light, low-fat and no added sugar are just a selection of the cleaver gimmicks aimed at unknowledgeable dieters seeking a healthier lifestyle, but did you know that opting for food and drink sources stating these particular claims can result in you consuming an abundance of salt and sugar?

As a firm believer in the healthy approach, brands such as slim fast, weight watchers and muller (light) never fail to amaze me with their ''healthier'' alternatives that are in fact bursting with salt and sugar...two things that not only contribute to an expanding waistline, but numerous health conditions!

This 26g slim fast chocolate caramel treat may contain 95 kcal and 2.5g of fat (1.5g saturates!) but it also contains a whopping 12g of sugar and 0.15g of salt, making it far from a healthy option for those seeking weight loss.

Top Tip: Knowledge is power in the weight loss world, and the ability to understand that low-fat products often contain large quantities of salt and/or sugar in order to compensate for a loss of taste as a result of the ''low-fat'' content, will prove invaluable.

Fitness & Weight Loss Motivation

When you can tell yourself that you're not losing weight, but getting rid of it with no intention of finding it again, you're not only one step closer to developing the habit required for successful, sustainable weight loss, but one step closer to a healthier lifestyle.

Dried Fruit: Tips

It may count as part of your 5 a day, but dried fruit is renowned for being high in natural sugar per serving.

Here is a great example of what a tiny 14g box of raisins looks like. Although it only contains 41 calories and 0.1% of fat, this minute serving also contains 9.7g of natural sugar - that's a whopping 11% of your recommended daily sugar intake!

Top Tip 1: Avoid opting for dried fruit that is sweetened with fruit juice and/or contains added sugar. These particular options will not only provide additional calories, but increase your sugar consumption per serving.

Top Tip 2: Never eat dried fruit straight from the bag as this will instantly increase the risk of overeating, upping both your calorie and sugar intake.

How To: Avoid A Mid Morning Energy Slump

Avoid a mid morning energy crash by opting for a breakfast based on unrefined starch. Poached or scrambled eggs on wholewheat or granary toast, fruit, and plain porridge with semi-skimmed milk, will all provide a steady release of energy and prevent the slump in blood sugar that causes energy to diminish.

Top Tip: Avoid common breakfast options such as sugary and processed cereals, muffins and sugary spreads which are just a selection of the culprits responsible for a mid morning energy slump. These food sources with minimal nutritional value may provide an instant surge of energy as blood sugar peaks, but will force your sugar levels to crash within hours.