Preparing yourself to lose weight without effort

There is no greater harm in canned food, as long as they are canned naturally. Food that is canned in oil or syrup have extra calories that add little to no benefit to the food itself. Watch out for:

• Fish and vegetables canned in oil
• Fruit and fruit pulp canned in syrup
• Meat canned in glazes or oil

Despite what you might think, breakfast cereals are not your friends. An actual daily dose is way less than you might imagine (usually around 1/3 of a bowl) and it usually comes with lots of sugar, even the fitness versions. Go for some oatmeal or chia pudding instead.

We usually see drinks as a minor problem. Usually a cup doesn't seem to have that many calories (usually 50-100) so it couldn't hurt, right? But when you add up the calories of the drinks you had during the day, it ends up being a lot. This is also true for fruit juices.

Savory snacks are usually very nice to have. Despite that, they usually have a lot of things that will make your health hurt:

• Refined carbs
• Salt
• Trans and/or saturated fat

This cocktail of ingredients will make you want to binge on them. It will also add up calories quickly and make you retain water, thus increasing bloating and water weight.

Seems obvious, doesn't it?

Candy has a lot of sugar. Refined sugar.

The problem with refined sugar is that it is addictive and causes crashes after a while. This can put you in a loop where you consume sugar, then crash, then need more sugar to keep functioning properly.

Of course there's always sugar free candy, but be aware these can have laxative effects.

We all heard "an apple a day keeps the doctor away". That's not 100% false, but should be taken within context. Back when this saying first appeared, vitamin deficiency was common and vegetables were harder to access than fruit.

Vegetables have vitamins and fiber, same as fruit, but they also have a lot less sugar.

Many times, we feel hungry when in fact we are dehydrated. Water helps you feel full and avoid hunger for a while.

If you struggle to drink water, try tea or a sugar-free water flavor sachet.

Give it a try!

Yes, we know, five small meals and all that.

The problem with this is that it gives you a bad relationship with food and doesn't let you learn how your body feels when you're actually hungry. This makes it harder to know when you're physically hungry or emotionally hungry.

If you're not hungry, it's OK to postpone that meal for a while. But make sure you have access to something healthy if the hunger hits later.

If hunger hits at an unplanned time, you'll likely end up getting a less healthy snack. We've all been there, a savory puff pastry, a slice of cake from a bakery, a sandwich from the supermarket, a bag of chips...

The reason why we do this is because the less expensive, readily available things that are easy to eat on the go are usually unhealthy.

To prevent this, pack something healthy. Some nuts, a protein shake, a whole bread sandwich... Whatever suits you better.

Also, don't forget to take a water bottle with you. Remember, hunger might in fact be thirst.