Weight-Loss Success; 10 Top Tips to Avoid Hunger Pains

Research has shown that the vast majority of people who start a weight-loss regime give up before reaching their target weight, in fact many never make it to the end of month one.

A huge contributory factor for this lack of success can be attributed to those dreaded hunger pains-the problem they create is two-fold. Firstly there’s the awful empty sensation, the rumbling stomach that weakens our resolve and cracks our iron self-will. Secondly, chances are that if you have waited too long between meals and the hunger pains have taken hold you are more likely to over compensate when you do eventually sit down to eat, consuming far more than you would otherwise have done.

The good news is that there are several things that we can do in order to ensure that hunger pains don't lead to our dieting downfall:

1. Get organised and be prepared, work out a weekly menu which includes 'diet compliant' snacks and drinks.

2. Eat little and often; having six smaller meals a day encourages your stomach to expect less food, you'll also be reducing the periods between each meal making hunger pains less likely to occur. Question; what is a "small meal?" Answer; anything from a piece of fruit to a main meal made up of small portions of meat/fish and vegetables/salad items.

3. When away from home be sure to carry some low calorie high nutrient snacks in case you get the munchies, this will ensure that you don't buy some calories dense snack food or sugar rich sweets.

4. Drink plenty of water, not only is this great for general health; kidneys, skin and hair but it will help to ward of hunger.

5. Never ever skip breakfast-this leads directly down the road to temptation, rather eat a good meal containing foods with a low glyceamic index such as oats-this can help us to feel fuller longer as they take longer to digest and release sugar slowly into the blood stream.

6. Eat plenty of high fibre foods such as fruit, fibrous vegetables, whole grains, cereals and wholemeal bread.

7. Get distracted! Constantly thinking about food and what you can't have will only make you desire it even more. Go for a walk, clean out the kitchen cupboards, phone a friend, just do something to take your mind of it.

8. Protein naturally suppresses the appetite so should be included with every meal. Good dietary sources of protein include poultry, fish, lean cuts of meat, eggs and nuts.

9. Remove temptation! Clear all the "goodies" from the car, bedside cabinet, kitchen cupboards and the fridge. If a hunger pain does strike you’ll be less likely to succumb if calorie laden quick fixes are notavailable.

10. The final tip is to employ the 'back to front' approach to weight-loss, a unique method that will help to banish those hunger pains for good!

Diane Collyer is the founder of No More Big Knickers, a website dedicated to helping people lose weight with as little discomfort as possible by utilising her unique and effective 'back to front' approach to weight-loss-a method that can be downloaded from her site:

http://www.nomorebigknickers.com