Are you wondering why you can’t seem to lose enough weight or stick to a healthy weight? Do your good intentions go out of the window at every opportunity? In theory it should be easy to lose weight or to maintain an ideal weight. You eat fewer calories than you use. But in practice the task can be difficult and stressful. Get back to basics with these simple weight management techniques to try every day.

1. Never skip meals. If you want to lose weight it can be tempting to assume that if you miss meals and consume fewer calories you will lose weight faster. But skipping meals causes spikes in your blood sugar levels, creates unnecessary hunger, and messes about with your metabolism. Eat small, regular meals and make sure you are not going more than about three hours without eating. In particular, always include breakfast as this meal gets you going and helps set-up your metabolism for the day’s activity.
2. Watch your portion control. Piling your plate high will result in overeating. Make sure you limit your food servings to a fist-size for carbohydrates, the size of a deck of cards for proteins, and an unlimited serving of vegetables. Choose wholegrains for your carbohydrate serving, for example brown rice or wholemeal pasta.
3. Wait 20 minutes after eating if you are still hungry. If after the 20 minutes you still want something to eat, choose a piece of fruit or a low-fat yogurt.
4. Increase your fiber intake. Fiber from wholegrains, beans, fruit and vegetables fills you up so you reduce the risk of overeating. You can also lower your cholesterol through a diet high in fiber.
5. Be physically active every day. Don’t get too obsessed with counting calories or measuring portion sizes – if you add physical activity into your day you end up burning calories which makes it easier to lose weight or stay at a healthy weight. Build activity into your daily life – for example, park away from your destination so you have to walk further, take the stairs, play energetically with your children, and spend energy doing the housework.
6. Drink plenty of water. Keep hydrated in order to feel more energetic, have clearer skin, and feel fuller. If you are hungry, try a glass of water before food as dehydration can easily be mistaken for hunger pangs.