If you feel that your pants are a bit tighter after the festive season you are not alone! Millions of people will start January off in the hope of losing the weight they gained during December.

I would like to encourage you to steer clear of detox and fad diets as a quick fix solution. Although heavily marketed these diets are not considered to provide healthy and sustainable weight loss.

Here are a few tips to help you lose weight the healthy way:

1. Decrease your portion sizes
2. Remember that it takes up to 20 minutes for your body to digest your food, so eat slowly to avoid overeating
3. Have 3 small meals per day (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and add some fresh or dried fruit as snacks in between
4. Cut out the treats that may have snuck in too regularly during the holidays – things like crips, nuts, biscuits, cakes, chocolates etc.
5. Focus on eating complex carbs, lean proteins and good fats
6. Don’t skip breakfast – I think the benefits have been well documented on my blog!
7. Increase your intake of vegetables and salad – make sure half of your plate is made up of these foods!
8. Cut out alcohol for the rest of the month
9. Avoid fizzy drinks and fruit juice and stick to still or sparkling water. You should be drinking at least 8 glasses a day
10. Up the exercise. The sun is shining, the weather is sweet. Enjoy the outdoors and burn some calories! For weight loss you should do at least 150 minutes of cardio a week!