1. COUNT YOUR CHANGE
It might sound like some serious digits, but “if you cut out 420 to 520kJ each day over the next month, you can lose up to half a kilo,” says nutritionist Kristen Beck from beckhealth.com.au. Simple ways to do this, include: stripping the skin off chicken; using oil spray instead of butter; downsizing to a mini Milky Way; and having pizza without cheese.
2. THE DRINK SWITCHEROO
Apply the above approach to your beverages of choice. Swap your latte for a green tea (we recommend Tetley), and fizzy drinks for the diet variety.
3. FILL UP ON FIBRE
Loading up on lots of fruit and veg leaves little room for hunger pangs because, according to Beck, fibre-rich foods are “bulky, take a long time to actually chew and eat, plus fill you up, so you end up eating less overall”. And it’s easier than you think – just add some frozen peas to your spaghetti bolognese, or skip your ready-made fruit juice for a piece or two of the real thing.
4. SWEAT DURING A BREAK
Watching Gossip Girl tonight? Squeeze exercise into the ad breaks. For example, jumping rope burns about 42kJ a minute, so, with roughly three 3.3-minute ad interruptions per episode, you can whittle away 416kJ while waiting to see if Chuck and Blair eventually get back together.
5. GET A LOT ON YOUR PLATE
Just make sure it’s a tiny one! Eating from a smaller dish tricks the mind into thinking you’re consuming much more. Exercise this rule with caution, though, as it becomes pointless if your little plate is piled so high with fried chicken that it begins
to resemble the Leaning Tower of Pisa.