If you want to know how to lose weight naturally - then you have to treat food as a friend, not as the enemy. Too many people looking to ose weigt fall into the trap thinking that cutting out foods will help you lose weight. Wrong! In fact, it just gets your hunger up and at the end you will binge more on food and snacks - and stack on more fat. Your motto should be - eat to live. A healthy combination of good nutrition and regular exercise is the best option and this is how to lose weight naturally and in healthy manner. Below are 5 basic tips to get you going-

1. Eat less of the bad fats. For all people, even if you’re at a healthy weight, reduce the amount of saturated and trans fat in your diet, and look to switch from butter to poly or mono saturated fats such as canola or olive oil spreads. You can also cut down on saturated fat by eating lean meat, removing skin from chicken, choosing reduced fat dairy products and limiting take-aways, cakes, biscuits and pastries.

2. Eat the right carbs - refined carbs such as high sugar soft drinks, cakes, biscuits and pastries lacks nutrition. Limit these foods to once a week and non refined carbs such as wholegrain cereals, oats, wholegrain breads, wholemeal pasta, fruit, vegetables and legumes.

3. Reward yourself - each time you achieve one of your mini goals, reward yourself with things like shoes, perfume, a manicure, a movie or something you enjoy rather than clothes. Save buying clothes till you reach your final goal.

4. Eat in controlled portions - it may be difficult at first, but with patience, your eating habits will change for the better. Plan to have 6 healthy mini meals a day to prevent carvings.

5. Start preparing your own food - that way you know what you’re putting into your body. So why not pack lunch for work or start cooking in advance for 3 days - example, make a huge bowl of soup on Sunday with a chicken or a bacon bone and lots of veggies and store it in the fridge. All you need to do then is take the meal out of the fridge and eat it. No excuse to eat out or eat junk food.

Now these are just some of the tips to get you going. But before you try anything, consult your doctor. Remember fat loss will not occur over-night. By making the changes to improve your health, you will lose weight over-time! Now this is how to lose weight naturally for bigger results!