Winter is often a time when we enjoy those hearty, comfort foods…and sometimes get into some not-so-good habits, like overeating, snacking and getting out of step with our natural hunger patterns. So we’re sharing our top five tips for resetting your appetite, and stepping into spring feeling light and bright!

Our Top 5 Tips For Resetting Your Appetite

1. Go for Low GI Foods

There’s nothing worse than feeling hungry, so opt for low GI foods that will keep you fuller for longer (and who doesn’t want that, right?). The lower the GI of a food, the more sustained energy you’ll receive through the day. Make some simple swaps like replacing white rice for brown rice, processed breakfast cereals for rolled oats or natural muesli, or regular potatoes for sweet potatoes.

2. Track your Food

Being accountable for how much you eat is crucial to getting your appetite – and habits – back on track. Tracking how much you consume each day is a great way to do this, and it can be a real eye-opener! There are loads of easy ways to track your daily food intake: our 12WBT Daily App, 12WBT My Tracker, or My Fitness Pal. Even tracking for a week can show you what habits have creeped in.

3. Focus on Hydration

There are so many benefits of staying hydrated, but are you drinking enough water? Maybe not. Often when you think you’re hungry, you’re actually thirsty, so get in the habit of drinking eight glasses a day. If you get a hunger pang, drink a big glass of water and wait ten minutes – you may have just been thirsty! Tired of plain old water? Mix things up with herbal teas, or sparkling water with fresh lemon or lime wedges.

4. Don’t Skip Breakfast!

You might think that skipping breakkie is a sure-fire way to save some calories, and aid weight loss. Wrong! Eating a balanced, low GI breakfast each morning will give your metabolism a rev up, set you up for a healthy day of eating, and give you that much-needed sustained energy so you don’t reach for that 10am coffee and muffin in a panic, or overeat at lunch.

5. Make Salads Your Go-To Meal

As the weather gets warmer, it’s time to change your meals with the season, too. Which means, welcome back salad! There are so many light, fresh and delicious options to choose from, so get into the kitchen and get creative.Try the 12WBT Kale, Macadamia & Tomato Salad with Avocado Dressing – recipe below.

Kale, Macadamia & Tomato Salad with Avocado Dressing

This 12WBT recipe is a hit with our Members who love the fresh spring flavours, and creamy dressing. Try it today!

Serves: 2

Prep time: 20 minutes

Calories: 295 p/serve

Ingredients

• 100g Kale, trimmed & shredded
• 1 Tomato (167g), thinly sliced
• 30g Macadamia Nuts, roughly chopped
• 1 Zucchini (101g), cut into ribbons
• 80g Avocado
• 100g Low Fat Greek Yoghurt
• 1 Tablespoons Lemon Juice (20g)
• 1 Pinch Chilli Flakes (1g)

Method

1.Toss kale, tomatoes, macadamias and zucchini in a large bowl until combined. Arrange on serving plates.
2. Place avocado, yoghurt, lemon juice and chilli into a small food processor (or use a hand-held blender), and process until smooth.
3. Drizzle avocado dressing over salad to serve.