Why a vegetarian diet guarantees slimming success

Cutting out meat nearly DOUBLES weight loss by changing how we store fat

• Following a plant-based diet also improves our satiety and energy levels
• Vegetarian dieters find their eating plan and exercise routine easier to stick to
• Researchers believe a vegetarian diet can help people stay lean as they age
• Such a diet may particularly benefit diabetes patients if it reverses their disease 

Dieters who follow a vegetarian eating plan lose nearly twice as much weight as calorie-restricting meat eaters, new research reveals.

Cutting 500 calories a day and adopting a plant-based diet results in an average weight loss of 13.67lbs (6.2kg) after six months, compared to 7.05lbs (3.2kg) in meat eaters, a study found.

Researchers believe this may be due to vegetarian diets changing our fat storage and insulin sensitivity, as well as making us feel more energized, which encourages people to stick to their eating plan. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4599346/On-diet-vegetarian.html

Try the HAND DIET: Measure food portions using just your fingers, thumbs and palm

• A portion of meat should be no bigger than the palm of your hand
• Carbs such as pasta should be no bigger than a clenched fist
• A serving of butter is the size of a fingertip, cheese less than two fingers 
• Recent research found portion sizes have doubled in 20 years 
• Many people eat FIVE times the recommended serving of pasta, for example

If you like to pile your plate high, then this revealing graphic is likely to depress you. But it could also help you lose weight on the so-called 'hand diet'. 

It shows exactly how much of certain foods we should be eating - and it's probably a lot less than you think.

Experts say that a lack of portion control is one of the main reasons so many of us are overweight - with many of us eating way more than we should be.

Experts say that a lack of portion control is one of the main reasons so many of us are overweight - with many of us eating way more than we should be

For instance, a portion of meat should be no bigger than the palm of your hand - and carbs no bigger than a clenched fist. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2537130/Portion-sizes.html

Want to stop snacking? Eat half an AVOCADO at lunch to banish hunger pangs

• People who eat avocado with lunch feel 40% less desire to snack
• They also feel more satisfied for the three hours after their lunch
• Eating an avocado with lunch increases calorie and carbohydrate intake at that meal but does not increase blood sugar levels

Want to banish unhealthy snacking between meals? Then add an avocado to your lunch.

Eating half an avocado at lunchtime can boost feelings of fullness and reduce the temptation to snack between meals, experts claim.

Their study compared the effects of incorporating a fresh avocado into a lunch with the effects of eating a standard lunch.

They aimed to determine how avocado consumption would influence satiety, blood sugar, insulin response and snacking. 

The researchers studied 26 healthy but overweight adults.

They found that participants who added half a fresh avocado to their lunch reported 40 per cent decreased desire to eat in the following three hours as well as a 28 per cent reduced desire to eat over the subsequent five hours. Read more at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2536448/Want-stop-snacking-Eat-half-AVOCADO-lunch-banish-hunger-pangs.html

Walk this way... and lose 10lb in four weeks!

How simply putting one foot in front of the other can beat the bulge 

Next time you are out on a busy street, look around you. There will, no doubt, be people walking and going about their daily business. So far, so ordinary. 

But stop for a moment to really watch. Hunched over, shoulders tense, arms unmoving, heads often bowed – the simple act of movement seems a struggle for many. 

And that is because they are not walking correctly. I admit it sounds ludicrous – starting to walk is a milestone most of us pass shortly after our eighth month of life, usually with the help of our parents. But, typically, bar a little self-taught fine-tuning, there ends the lesson. 

Getting off on the right foot: Sports scientist Joanna Hall, right, and her client Karen Walsh, left, go through their paces

As adults, a life spent sitting at a desk, struggling around with heavy bags and wearing all kinds of lovely-looking but unforgiving footwear takes its toll on our posture. 

Just as we often sit incorrectly, we also walk incorrectly. The knock-on effect? An epidemic of joint pain – in particular bad backs – affecting millions of us. 

About eight in ten of us have one of more bouts of lower-back pain at some time in our lives. One Department of Health survey suggested that 15 per of adults are in continuous pain from a bad back.

With this in mind, I first set about researching efficient and posturally correct ways of practising the everyday activity of walking.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2326637/Walk-way--lose-10lb-weeks-How-simply-putting-foot-beat-bulge.html