A high fibre, plant-based diet is ideal for weight-loss and ongoing weight maintenance. Many diets will help you to lose weight fast, but they come unstuck when it comes to long-term success. Most of us are only satisfied once our tummy is full – literally – we have receptors in our stomach which tell us how much volume is in there and that is part of what gives us satiety or satisfaction with the food eaten. Unfortunately, our energy dense foods, such as fats, soft drinks and alcohol don’t provide the ‘bulk’ to let us know we are full so we keep wanting more (that coupled with blood sugar fluctuations from processed sugary foods). Eating whole foods such as vegetables and fibre-rich fruits like apples and pears will help us to feel satisfied so we don’t eat more calories than we need. We all know what the high calorie foods are – and if you don’t there’s loads of places to get the information, apps on your phone, websites and charts. Basically if it is processed, it is going to be higher in calories than its whole food counterpart. We need to keep commercially processed foods to a minimum. The real key is planning. Stock up on organic vegetables, salads and make crudités for easy snacking and meal preparation. If you feel like eating some ‘treats’ have a bowl of green salad and some crudités first so you can stop at a few pieces of chocolate rather than a eating the whole bar. If you are hungry, feed yourself. It’s impossible to keep up a diet that requires you to starve. If you’re eating whole foods and minimising processed foods the weight should start to drop off. For extra help and support a naturopathic nutritional therapist can be useful in helping you overcome any obstacles to your health goals. __________________________________________________________________________ Gemma Hurditch lectures at the College of Naturopathic Medicine. CNM trains students for careers in a range of natural therapies, including Naturopathic Nutrition, Herbal Medicine, Acupuncture and Naturopathy. There are CNM colleges across Ireland, the UK, and in the US. www.naturopathy.ie __________________________________________________________________