Top 10 Diet Tips

The basics of losing weight are no mystery - eat less, exercise more and watch the pounds fall off. Real life, however, is not always that simple. Sometimes we need a little push in the right direction before we can start to really achieve our goals.

This page has the top 10 diet tips from my model friends and me - tips that have helped motivate us to lose weight, and secrets that have made dieting easy.

These are all common sense ideas that are tried and tested. Follow some of the suggestions and see if they work for you!

1. Keep a Food Diary

Writing down every bite and sip in your food journal can be an invaluable tool for a successful diet. It can help you track what you are eating, and make you understand how much you are really consuming. Try writing down the calories next to each entry too.

2. Keep Snacks in the House

A common mistake of most dieters is to take all snacks out the house. Models know that snacking throughout the day is actually a key element of successful dieting. Everyone gets hunger pangs - just make sure that when you lose your willpower its with healthy, low-fat snacks rather than pizza or icecream.

Great ideas for healthy snacks are low-fat yoghurt, sweet potatoes, edamame and salted popcorn. Try to carry snacks with you when you leave the house too. A healthy nut bar in your purse will prevent you from stopping in at McDonalds on the way home.

3. Quit the Emotional Eating

Let's face it life is difficult! Many of us make excuses that bottle of wine or box of chocolates on a bad day. Perhaps you've lost your job, broke up with your significant other, or had a disagreement with a friend. Learning to deal with the pains of life without turning to food is an important habit to create.

Try to get stuck into doing something you love, like a hobby or your favorite exercise, when life deals you a blow. Alternatively, consider seeking professional help with emotional eating issues.

4. Don't Order the Sauce

Believe it or not, restaurant food doesn't have to be a dieter's nightmare. Dishes like salads, grilled meat and fish are perfectly fine for calorie-counting diners.. as long as you don't put a thick, creamy sauce on top of them.

Order dishes without sauces if you can. If you really have to, go for something light like a soy sauce or vinaigrette. In an Italian restaurant, try the sauces with a tomato base as they will generally be lighter.

5. Grill, Baby, Grill!

OK, baking and steaming are fine too, but you get the point! You have to steer clear of fried food if you want to lose weight. When you cook, try to use the absolute minimum of oil. Many foods contain natural oils that speed the cooking process anyway, there's just no need for spoonfuls of cooking oil.

6. Spice It Up!

Boost your metabolism with spicy food, it really works! Spicy food can make you feel more full, and it also gives your system a kickstart, forcing it to burn more calories.

You have to be careful though - lots of spicy dishes in restaurants are extremely high in calories.

Add ingredients like black pepper, ginger and chilli peppers to your home cooking for a flavourful way to increase your weight loss.

7. Frozen Fruit

Before you go to bed at night, throw some fruit in the freezer. It can be grapes, berries, or whatever's left in your fruit bowl just sliced up. The next day you have a nutritious, healthy snack ready for you.

There are two reasons why this is a great diet tip. Firstly, you eat the frozen fruit slower than if it were at room temperature. This gives your stomach time to tell you when it's full. Secondly, the lower temperature makes your body work harder, increasing your metabolism and helping you to burn off more fat.

8. Drink Lots of Water

I've mentioned it several times on my site, but when it comes to weight loss, water is a model's best friend. Staying fully hydrated will increase your metabolism, stave off hunger pangs, improve your complexion and slow down the aging process. What's not to love?

9. Green Tea

Studies have shown that drinking green tea between meals results in weight loss. Its not just the caffeine either, so coffee is no substitute. Buy some green tea and give it a try - it has plenty of other health benefits besides weight loss so you have nothing to lose.

10. Ditch the Mayo

In every model's list of foods to avoid, one of the tops spots is always taken by Mayonnaise. Low in nutrients, high in fat, adding Mayo to your sandwich can turn a healthy treat into a high-calorie nightmare! Try mustard instead, its much healthier and will help keep your snacks low in calories.