Weeks of glorious weather are bound to put us all in a great mood and – let’s be honest – probably led to some understandable overindulgence, too.
Barbecues, picnics, vacation breakfast buffets, cocktails and rosé wine may have left you going into fall with clothes feeling a little tighter than you’d like. That’s perfectly OK. Nobody should feel guilty about having a wonderful summer.
But as life returns to normal and we’re back at work and children return to school, now is the time to get back on a healthy eating track.
I’m a nutritionist treating many A-list clients at my London clinic and here’s what I recommend for a September diet reset to help you drop up to five pounds in ten days without feeling deprived.
This isn’t a miserable, punishing detox, rather a few easy lifestyle changes and diet tweaks to balance blood sugar and stop that fatal afternoon crash while enjoying the season’s most delicious food…
Re-establish routine
Structure tends to fall apart during the summer vacations. Travel, childcare and late nights often lead to irregular eating times and heavy evening meals. Now’s the time to get some normality back into your life.
From sleep to meals and snacks, our bodies thrive on routine, and having a plan in place makes sticking to a healthy eating regimen less likely to fail.
Intermittent fasting is the easiest and most effective way to reduce weight. I generally recommend a 16/8 plan. This means you have an eight-hour window in which you can eat – and 16 hours when you are fasting (water, clear liquids and a little tea and coffee with a dash of milk are permitted), which includes the time you are asleep.
Pick your window to suit you. If you can stretch to 18 hours of fasting, that’s excellent. If you need to reduce it down to 14 hours, that’s OK too. During your eating window you should aim to have two balanced meals – around the same time every day wherever possible – and two good-quality snacks.
Make your first meal your main one and your evening meal your lightest.
As we’re back at work and children return to school, September is the time to get back on a healthy eating track, says nutritionist Gabriela Peacock
Healthy snacks, such as vegetables from well-seasoned tray bake, will help prevent you eating too large a dinner
Find your ‘peckish’ point
Eating when you are hungry but not starving is key when it comes to losing weight – waiting until you are absolutely ravenous is a recipe for disaster.
‘Peckish’ is when you feel like you could eat something and that a small amount will satisfy you, such as a rice cake with a dollop of hummus or a good-quality protein bar. You never want to let your hunger get beyond this point to avoid slip-ups.
A problem I encounter regularly with my clients is that they leave too big a gap (sometimes more than six hours) between meals, particularly lunch and dinner.
What happens then is that you’re famished, blood sugar plummets and you end up eating a huge, carb-loaded dinner shortly before bedtime, which can create digestive issues and those extra calories get stored as fat while you sleep instead of being burnt off during the day.
So on this reset, aim to leave no more than three and a half hours between your two meals and to fit two snacks in between.
Snack, don’t graze
There’s a big difference. Grazing is when you mindlessly eat food all day long, much of it of little nutritional value – those chocolate cookies that you dunk in your coffee, the packet of chips you have on the go, the sugary treats you eat in the car, etc.
These are ’empty’ calories that you need to replace with sensible snacking. I’m very pro-snacking when there is a need to boost protein intake, keep you satisfied and stop you from overeating at meal times – everything sweets and cookies won’t do.
Your mid-afternoon snack is the most vital – this is the one that’s going to prevent you from eating too large a dinner and it’s especially important to have if you are eating out.
Favorite easy snacks that I rely on are: A hard-boiled egg (prepare a few and keep them in your fridge); Greek yogurt (full-fat, not fat-free) with berries, an apple and a tablespoon of nut butter; cottage cheese with cherry tomatoes; hummus with vegetable crudités or half an avocado and chocolate-covered nuts (I’m a big fan of Kind protein bars, such as their dark chocolate and nut one).
When it comes to your two meals, this is what I recommend.
Power up the protein
To make meals as nutritious and filling as possible, you need to make protein the hero of your reset plan. It’s essential for repair, energy and muscle maintenance and keeping your blood sugar regulated.
Make sure that whatever you eat – snack or main meal – contains a source of protein. With your two main meals, consider your source of protein first and build the rest of your meal around it.
I recommend a palm-sized portion. Good sources to include are lean red meat, chicken, turkey, tofu, fish, dairy, pulses, eggs, nuts and seeds.
Unflavored protein powder (I prefer vegan ones to the whey options as they’re easier on digestion) is an ideal way to boost your intake when mixed into a smoothie.
Choose any type of nut milk (almond, coconut, cashew) and blitz in any fruit (frozen is great for smoothies) with the powder.
The right color of carbs
When you focus on the quality of what you consume, there’s no need to ban any food group and that includes carbs, which you should have a small amount of in each meal.
They’re not the bad guys provided you choose the right ones, and that doesn’t include the beige variety.
Whatever beige carb you enjoy, there will always be a healthier brown version and they’re usually far tastier too, such as brown rice or quinoa instead of white rice and spelt pasta.
When it comes to bread I am more picky. Instead of processed white, go for rye, pumpernickel or sourdough.
You’ll eat less because they are so full of fiber and they freeze well, too.
A slice of processed white toast with butter and jam can be wolfed down in 30 seconds, followed by three more.
However, try a slice of toasted pumpernickel with avocado and smoked salmon and you’ll be amazed at how satisfying it is and how unlikely you are to overeat.
Revisit vegetables… and don’t fear fruit
September is the perfect time to bring back the veggies if they’ve been missing over the summer.
They’re going to be your main source of fiber on this plan – and I’m not just talking a couple of florets of broccoli with one meal.
One of my favorite things to do is a vegetable tray bake. Simply put some of your favorite vegetables on some parchment paper, spray with olive oil, season with salt and herbs and roast for 30 minutes.
Peppers, red onion, beetroot and carrots all roast well and are perfect to snack on during the day, dipped into some hummus or guacamole.
Bring as much color on to your plate as possible.
Aim for three different colored vegetables with both of your meals to increase your plant variety, such as kale, roasted beetroot or sweet potato (try my sweet potato and chickpea curry recipe). The more colors you have, the more you’ll increase your nutrients, fiber and phytochemicals (to fight cell damage and lower inflammation).
A good way to stay focused is to live by the 80/20 rule where you are eating healthily and sticking to targets 80 percent of the time, says Gabriela Peacock
Alternatively, cook a big batch of my soup (see recipe) to have as one of your two meals. Freeze what you don’t eat and keep for another time.
When it comes to fruit, contrary to what many believe it’s perfectly healthy and not sugar and carb-laden. Make the most of autumnal fruits such as apples and pears baked with cinnamon and chopped nuts for example. (I like to add a dollop of yogurt and eat at breakfast.)
My chia and berries overnight bowl (see recipe) makes a delicious and filling breakfast or lunch.
A word on wine o’clock
Several days without alcohol (ideally a week!) will do you the world of good on your September reset.
Don’t panic, I’m not taking your vino away forever but if you’ve overindulged this summer then giving your liver a break is a sensible idea, and it will accelerate fat-burning in the first ten days.
Going forward, try to stick with three or four consecutive days without drinking. When you don’t drink daily, you’ll find you enjoy your favourite tipple far more – remember to drink slowly and enjoy it. Don’t glug down mindlessly as a stress reliever at the end of the day when distracted.
Movement and rest
If you’ve had a summer of late nights and jet-lag then getting your sleep back on track is important. Don’t underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep and the impact it has on weight loss.
Whenever possible, go to bed and wake up at the same time every day and avoid screen time for two hours before you get into bed.
Avoid overheating your bedroom – the ideal temperature for sleep is between 64F (18C) and 68F (20C).
You might be thinking: ‘Yes, but none of that is going to help me shed the pounds.’ Wrong!
When we sleep badly, our stress hormone, cortisol, causes a physiological response in the body making you crave sugary snacks.
Your metabolism also slows, making it more likely you’ll store fat around the abdominal area. When it comes to movement, don’t underestimate the small stuff such as a lunch break walk around the high street or an evening dog walk.
Don’t limit yourself to thinking that resistance training needs to be done at a gym either. I have a box of ‘tricks’ beside my desk – hand and ankle weights and various resistance bands – and whenever I have to do a lot of reading or make phone calls, I do some bicep curls and leg extensions. It all counts!
A word on trackers. Some people find them motivating but if yours is making you anxious, then it may not be for you. If you become obsessed with your sleep quality, step counts and calorie burn readings, then it’s not beneficial.
Sleep-inducing snack
Foods that are high in tryptophan can help with sleep. It’s an essential amino acid that can promote serotonin and melatonin production – these are the chemical messengers that work together to regulate mood, relaxation and sleep.
A very small portion of cottage cheese, yogurt, chicken or a handful of mixed seeds and nuts can work wonders just before bedtime.
New buzz in supplements
It’s not necessary to take so many supplements you rattle, but key ones, especially during a reset, can help get our bodies back on an even keel.
My current favourite and one that’s causing a big buzz in the wellness industry is astaxanthin.
Derived from red algae, it’s an extremely powerful antioxidant – far more potent than vitamin C – with anti-inflammatory qualities, making it an excellent anti-aging supplement.
A good multivitamin is a sensible safety net for everyone along with magnesium bisglycinate to promote sleep and steady, sustained energy.
Nearly perfect is good enough
A good way to stay focused is to live by the 80/20 rule. That means that you are eating healthily, on target and sticking to your 16/8 window for 80 percent of the time. It leaves you with 20 percent room for manoeuvre, when you can have a pudding with dinner, a Sunday roast or a slice of birthday cake without feeling guilty.
Above all, be kind to yourself. Every positive change makes a difference.
Chia and berries overnight bowl
Serves 2 | Prep: 5 minutes | Chill: 6 hours or overnight
Chia seeds are high in protein, fiber and omega-3, with benefits ranging from supporting skin health to hormone balance. And the raspberries add a vivid antioxidant boost.
Ingredients
- 3oz raspberries
- 3.5oz natural live yogurt or nut yogurt
- 7fl oz almond milk
- 4 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tbsp agave syrup
- A squeeze of lemon juice
- To serve: A handful of mixed berries; a pinch of lemon zest
Method
Place the raspberries in a jar or container with a lid and break them up using a fork. Add the yogurt, milk, chia seeds, agave and lemon juice and mix well.
Cover with the lid and refrigerate overnight, or for a minimum of six hours.
Serve in a bowl with a handful of berries and finish with the lemon zest.
Turmeric-infused lentil and carrot soup
Serves 4 | Prep: 5 minutes | Cook: 35 minutes
Turmeric is an anti-inflammatory wonder nutrient that’s both aromatic and delicious. The lentils are high in protein and fiber, making this soup satisfying and filling while still reassuringly low in calories.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 4 large carrots, chopped
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 4.25 cups vegetable stock
- 5 tbsp Puy lentils (about 70g)
- 4 tbsp natural live yoghurt, or almond yoghurt as a vegan alternative
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- To serve: A pinch of chilli flakes and a handful of fresh coriander or parsley, chopped
Method
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add onion and carrots and cook for 10 minutes until softened.
Add the turmeric and cumin and fry for a minute until fragrant, then add the vegetable stock and lentils. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes until the lentils are cooked through.
Pour into a blender and blitz until silky and smooth, then return the soup to the pan and heat until it is piping hot. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Divide between four bowls and finish with a dollop of yogurt, some chilli flakes and a sprinkling of herbs.
Chickpea, sweet potato and kale coconut curry
Serves 2 | Prep: 10 minutes | Cook: 30 minutes
This is what healthy comfort food looks like. It’s a fantastic vegan alternative to the traditional Indian takeaway. The sweet potato promotes digestive health, as its soluble and insoluble fibre content supports a balanced microbiome. Serve with brown rice or quinoa and a squeeze of lime juice.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 1 large shallot, finely chopped
- 2 large garlic cloves, grated
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 0.75-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- ½ can (200g) chopped tomatoes
- 1 sweet potato, cut into 1.5cm cubes
- ½ can (200g) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ½ can (7fl oz ) light coconut milk
- 3.5oz kale, stalks removed
- A small handful of fresh coriander, chopped sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Melt the coconut oil in a large saucepan, preferably one with a lid, over a medium heat. Add the shallot and gently fry for a couple of minutes, or until soft.
Add garlic, turmeric, cumin, ginger and chilli flakes and cook for a further minute until the garlic is lightly golden, making sure it doesn’t catch.
Next, add the chopped tomatoes, sweet potato, chickpeas and coconut milk. Mix everything together, cover and leave to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until you can easily pierce the sweet potato with the tip of a knife.
Stir in the kale and let it wilt – should take around five minutes. Season to taste, sprinkle over the coriander and serve.
