Three secret ways to lose weight

Capture the moment, lose the calories 
What did the waiter say to the diner?

Sir, your food is ready, shall I serve it or would you like to Instagram it first?

Most of us love nothing more than taking a photograph of our dinner before we eat it. It captures the memory of a delicious dish and we can share it with our friends and followers via social media. But did you know that snapping a pic of some mouth-watering treat could also make us eat more healthily?

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that people began to eat healthier food when they were asked to take a picture of what they were eating. The researchers believe that taking a picture concentrates your mind on what you're eating. Similarly, a recent study at the National Healthcare Group Polyclinics in Singapore found that diabetics showed a drop in body mass index when people took photos of every meal they ate for three days.

Take a picture of each dish you eat for a week. Then look back through your foodie photos at the end of week. Not only will you be able to see exactly what you're eating, you'll also note how big the portions are. This makes counting calories much easier and means that weight management becomes that much more manageable.

Super weight loss foods – how it really works
The health conscious have no doubt heard of the miracle that's celery. It's high in fibre and packed full of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients. But there's also a prevailing myth about celery – it's said that the act of eating and digesting a stick of celery actually expends more energy than the celery contains.

So, is it true – is celery a negative-calorie food? Well, not quite. The only truly negative calorie substance that you can ingest is iced water. Water has no calories, and drinking it iced requires your body to expend energy to bring the water's temperature down to body temperature. However, celery is an extremely low-calorie foodstuff. Two large stalks of celery contain only 20 calories, with one gram of protein, two grams of carbohydrates and no fat. Drinking celery juice frequently throughout the day can help curb your craving for sweets and rich food.

(Little) game changers
Drastic change isn't required to help you lose weight quickly and efficiently. There are loads of little tricks you can employ to ensure that you eat more healthily. For example, never shop on an empty stomach. Researchers at Cornell University found hungry shoppers were more likely more likely to buy fattening, unhealthy foods, while those with a full belly made more health-conscious purchases.

When you're serving dinner, serve food onto individual plates, and keep the extra food away from the dining table. It takes about 20 minutes for your mind to get the signal from your stomach that you're full. During that period, it's easy to snack unnecessarily. Also, when you serve food, do so on small plates. Many people report that a small plate full of food appears more filling than a large plate with a lot of empty space on it.

If you make these small differences to your lifestyle you'll see the pounds fall away. Following the above steps – and not forgetting that a balanced diet and exercise are key components to weight loss – is a great way to shed belly fat. If you need more ideas, go on our seven day diet exercise plan, or read about some secret foods that will boost your metabolism.