7 foods for losing weight

• Yoghurt

  Start the day as you mean to go on by dousing your cereal with pouring yoghurt instead of milk. 'Yoghurt has more protein in it than milk and should fill you up for longer – plus, it’s great with granola or muesli,' says dietitian Vanessa Hattersley.

  'Also, it might sound crazy but it would actually be better to have full fat rather than low fat yoghurt because the fat will also be more filling. In a lot of cases, there's very little difference in calories between the low fat and full fat yoghurts, as the low fat versions are often packed with sugar.'

• Pine nuts

  Releasing their very own dieting ‘drug’ in the form of hunger suppressing hormones, a sprinkle of these nutty numbers will stuff you in no time. 'Their secret ingredient is pinolenic acid – a polyunsaturated fat that works to stimulate powerful appetite-suppressing peptide hormones, which play a major role in signalling to the brain you're no longer hungry,' says registered nutritionist Nelle Ferguson.

  'Try in a couscous salad – that makes a great lunchbox filler for a long day in the office – by tipping 100g couscous into a bowl and pouring over 200ml veg stock. Cover and leave for 10 mins, and fluff up when all the stock has been absorbed. Slice 2 spring onions and 1 red onion and dice ½ cucumber. Add these to the couscous, fork through with 2tbsp pesto, some crumbled feta and a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts.'

• Eggs

  It’s official: eggs help cut calories by reducing your desire to eat! New research by Surrey University boffins found that participants who ate an egg for breakfast showed increased satiety, less hunger and a significantly lower intake of energy at lunch and in the evening – eggs-tra-ordinary!

  TV chef Paul Merrett, star of BBC’s Economy Gastronomy, suggests chucking them into a cheap and cheerful Chinese-style Egg Rice Stir-fry. 'Heat a wok and add a small splash of vegetable oil and get it nice and hot,' he says. 'Pour 8 eggs into the wok and allow them to sit for 30 seconds before breaking them up with a fork.

  'Add 75g frozen peas and 50g drained tinned sweetcorn and stir-fry for a minute. Tip in 300g cooked brown rice and 100g wild rice and 4 chopped spring onions. Work the ingredients together with your fork. Add soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce to taste, and serve hot.'

  Image: www.eggrecipes.co.uk/thinkoutsidethebox

• Chickpeas

  'Increase fibre in your diet and you’ll feel fuller by reducing levels of an appetite stimulating hormone called ghrelin, while increasing your levels of appetite suppressors,' says nutritional therapist Caroline Farrell.

  'Legumes such as chickpeas, lentils and kidney beans are a great source of fibre – try a Chickpea Curry for two, which can be thrown together in five minutes. Fry 1 chopped onion and 2 cloves chopped garlic in 1tsp oil for two minute, then add 2tsp curry powder and sauté until the onion is soft.

  'Pour in 340ml water, 1 can drained chickpeas, 2tsp veg stock powder, 2tbsp tomato puree, 2tbsp ground almonds and a handful of spinach leaves. Simmer until the spinach wilts and the sauce thickens, and serve with brown rice.'

• Nuts and seeds

  If you do end up reaching for a snack, bin the biscuits and go nuts instead! 'Eating small, nutritious snacks mid-morning and mid-afternoon will help to stabilise blood sugar levels. Always include a protein (vegetable or animal) as this lowers the GI of the carbohydrate and gives you more slow releasing energy so you feel less hungry,' says leading nutritionist Dr Marilyn Genville, author of Fat Around the Middle and The Natural Health Bible for Women.

  Try the following:

  • An apple with almonds.
  • 5oz pot of organic plain live yoghurt with seeds.
  • Fresh fruit with ½tbsp pumpkin or sunflower seeds.
  • Crudités (chopped raw vegetables) with a tahini dip.
  • Celery sticks filled with peanut butter.
  • A handful of nuts and seeds. Make your own tasty mix by buying big bags of pumpkin, sunflower, pine kernels, linseed and sesame seeds, putting equal quantities of each on to a baking tray and toasting them lightly in a medium oven until lightly brown. Sprinkle with tamari (wheat-free soya sauce), allow to cool, and then store in an airtight container.

• Ground spice

  Spice up your life but lower your weight with ground spices. Chillis are well known for increasing the body’s metabolic rate and making you sweat – thus burning calories – but cinnamon, along with other ground spices such as cloves and ginger, can also lower your blood sugar levels, which helps control your appetite, says registered nutritionist Nicola Drew.

  'Research has also shown that the blander the meal, the more you need to eat to feel satisfied so spices will add colour and flavour to your dishes and satisfy your tastebuds quicker,' she says.

  'Try a Spicy Prawn and Coconut Pilaf by cooking 250g basmati rice, according to the packet instructions, and blending to a paste a small piece of root ginger, 2 garlic cloves and 2 medium, quartered tomatoes. Set aside and heat a little oil in a pan and add 1tsp cumin seeds, 5 black peppercorns, 1 cinnamon stick, 3 cloves and 3 cardamom pods and, once sizzling, add 1 finely sliced onion.

  'Cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes. Add 1/2tsp turmeric, 1/4tsp chilli powder and 1tsp ground coriander and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally. Add 300g raw, peeled prawns and cook through, and stir in the cooked rice. Coat well and serve with a handful of flaked, unsweetened coconut.'

• Next Up: How to save money on food shopping

  When it comes to food shopping, some foods are worth the extra money and some are just as good when bought on the cheap.

See also:

• 10 ways to save time on your food shop