It's diet time!

Hello lovelies. Yes I'm on a role with the blog posts tonight. 

So as you know it's January and a lot of people have 'go on a diet' as one of their new years resolutions. Personally I think its silly to say that on January 1st because you are just setting yourself up to fail because if your family is anything like mine you still have tonnes of Christmas chocolate/goodies left in the house (and who can resist those delish strawberry and orange creams? I know I can't!). So anyway, it's half way through January and I can officially say there is no more temptations left in the house, so my diet starts tomorrow and I am motivated to shed a few Christmas lbs. I start back at uni on Monday which is a good thing as far as my diet is concerned because I will be out of the house most days on my feet rather than lying in bed watching telly. I've already lost 10lbs since starting in September and I'm determined not to ever go back to how I was before.

I have always been fascinated by weight loss and healthy lifestyles and in the next few years I hope to focus on it in one of my modules in my Psychology degree. The amount of documentaries I've' watched and articles I have read means I am lucky to know quite a few tips when it comes to diets so I thought I would share some with you all. I hope this helps:

1. Dried fruit is great for your metabolism and is great if you are having sugar cravings because of its high natural sugar content. But don't worry though, its all natural sugar which means it is still good for you. Adding a handful of dried fruit to you breakfast cereal is a great way to include them in your diet if you don't really enjoy the taste of them on their own. I personally think that sultana's go great with Weetabix or 'Just Right' cereal.
2. Drinking more water is great for your body. Most of the time when you think you are hungry, you are actually just thirsty. The next time your tummy rumbles, have a glass of water or juice. If you are still hungry after that then get something to eat but you might be surprised. Ice cold water also speeds up your metabolism
3. To lose 1lb you have to burn more energy than you take in. Don't be scared, it's not as hard as it sounds. Your body naturally burns around 1200 calories a day just by being alive. You even burn calories whilst you sleep. Therefore the if you want to lose a healthy amount of weight then you should aim or around 1200 calories per day. However this doesn't take into account your current exercise levels. For example if you're an athlete then you are going to need much more calories than a person who works in an office.
4. Eat your breakfast! Breakfast is a very important meal because it gets your metabolism up and running for the rest of the day. Looking after your metabolism is vital when trying to lose weight and under eating can slow it right down. If you eat anything under 900 calories a day you send your body into starvation mode which means your metabolism completely slows down. When you under eat you can actually gain weight because your body tries to hold on to any food because it's not sure when it will next get any, therefore you don't digest your food as quick as you usually would.

They are just a few of my tips to help anyone that's currently trying to stick to their January diet. I hope this helps in some way and please feel free to leave any comments with your tips and tricks. Remember to stay safe and to be patient. <3