Our nutritionist’s golden rule to prevent weight regain

So what's my golden rule?

Just pick one food.

Yup, it's as simple as that.

Whether it's something healthy like cucumber sticks with hummus or fruit, or something a little more indulgent like ice cream or crisps - just stick with it.

Under the rule I advocate there must be no mixing of snacks in the evening - or as I like to call it ‘no kitchen disco’.

Typically when we have a problem with binge eating we usually feel frustrated, like we aren't able to control anything. So we might start with the best intentions and reach for an apple.

Then we might have a slice of cheese or a bit of bread.

Then we might reach for chocolate cookies and ice cream.

Before we know it we've moved on to chips and crisps and chocolate.

This kitchen disco can go around and around. ultimately leading to weight regain down the road.

So the golden rule is to pick an item for your evening snack and stick to it.

So If you start to have ice cream, go ahead. You’re allowed to have ice cream, but nothing else. If you start with crisps then that’s that.

The rule is backed up by studies that indicate the mixing of flavours could override the signals our body sends to our brain that our stomach is ‘full’.

As I shared with Wales Online: “Our stomach is very poor at maths. It can’t count how many crisps we’ve had or how many scoops of ice cream we’ve had. The only thing our stomach knows is the ‘stretching signal’.

On the other hand, we feel taste signals with our tongue. The tongue is located much closer to the brain than the stomach. So switching flavours will always lead to more food because the tongue taste signals block the stomach stretch signal and this is how the roller coaster goes on."

In simple terms, the more we change and mix flavours the less we will feel the stretching of the stomach.

So if you want to gain control, pick one snack and stick with it!