How to lose 5 kilos - listen to your body clock

Weigh yourself on Friday and Monday

For those trying to lose weight, experts have long suggested stepping on the scales at least once a week – that’s the habit of most members of the National Weight Control Registry in the US, every one of whom has taken off at least 13kg and kept it off for a year or more.

A new study from the Washington University School of Medicine ratchets things up. Dieters tend to splurge on weekends, the research found – but a Friday weigh-in (especially done first thing in the morning, when your weight is lowest) provides positive feedback that can blunt the temptation to overeat, says lead study author Dr Susan Racette. And getting back on the scales on Monday can help you correct your course quickly if you’ve strayed, she says.

Eat dinner earlier

Recent research supports the folk wisdom that night-time eating is more apt to add kilos. In one study, researchers fed one group of mice during their normal waking hours and a second group when the animals usually slept. The mice that ate at the “wrong” time gained more than twice as much weight.

“If you think you’re doing everything right with your diet but you’re not losing [weight], try having dinner an hour earlier,” says lead study author Deanna Arble, at Northwestern University, in Washington. “It won’t hurt, and it might help.”

Exercise in the evening

If you want to get fit faster, a late-day workout is the most efficient way to go. Research by Dr Michael Deschenes, an exercise physiologist at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, shows that strength and endurance climb by about 5% between 4pm and 8pm, compared with morning hours, so you can push yourself harder. Your muscles are warmer, too, which will help you avoid injury.