“Getting a good amount of protein in your first meal can be transformative for managing hunger; this benefits appetite control throughout the entire day and has been shown to reduce late night eating,” says Stephenson. She also suggests increasing fibre by adding milled flax seeds and psyllium to meals, as well as opting for beans and lentils over grains.
How to increase your motivation
After the first few weeks of any weight loss programme, it’s common for motivation to dwindle, particularly if the results are diminishing too. Dr Heather McKee explains that with weight loss, there’s usually a number we’re aiming for, but that this “is not what keeps us engaged”. Instead, we should go back to our intrinsic motivation, or our “why?”
“Knowing why what we’re doing is meaningful, and what it contributes to our life, is what creates that long-term change,” says McKee. “We need to ask ourselves, ‘Why does it matter to me, and me alone, to do this?’ – because research has shown that if we’re doing something for another reason, say, because the doctor told us to, it’s going to be very difficult to stick to.
“It could be, ‘It gives me energy and confidence, I feel stronger, I’m more focused at work, I’m a positive role model for my children.”’
McKee advises trying to build habits we actually enjoy. “It could be dancing to Beyoncé, or hiking – if you can find the joy, the rest is easy,” she says. “And focusing on the feeling you get from those activities, such as accomplishment, or clarity, trains the brain to want to engage.”
Small changes are key. “Focus on building a minimal viable habit – something small which we do consistently, because that consistency is key,” she says. “If we tell ourselves we’ll do just 10 minutes of exercise, and we do it and maybe even supersede it, dopamine is released in the brain which makes us want to do it again and again.
“That’s how we beat plateaus and make lifestyle changes manageable and sustainable.”
How exercise can help you beat a plateau
A growing body of evidence suggests that resistance training is essential for weight loss: one Harvard study found that weight training is more successful for reducing belly fat in men than either moderate or vigorous aerobic activity.
“A great way to accelerate fat loss is to focus on increasing muscle,” says Stephenson. After the age of 30, muscle mass naturally drops by up to 8 per cent per decade until the age of 60, after which the rate of decline is even faster – but this can be reversed. For a full-body workout that builds gradually week by week, try following trainer Matt Roberts’s four week programme.
“Muscle has a huge impact on metabolic health and blood sugar regulation,” says Stephenson. “In simple terms, it acts as a sponge for sugar and bypasses the need for our bodies to produce and release insulin, which decreases our insulin load, making it easier for us to burn fat. In addition, muscle burns calories even at rest, increasing our metabolic rate.”
She also recommends adding in extra spots of exercise throughout the day: “Studies have shown that just 15 minutes of brisk walking after a meal can help lower postprandial glucose and contribute to healthier blood sugar balance, which can be especially impactful if you’re at a desk all day.”