There is a new diet that may be able to help you get rid of the unwanted extra pound painlessly.
For people who have overdone the festive food a little, it could be a quick and relatively best solution to shed excess weight without really trying hard.
A study has shown how dieters can reduce two inches from their waistlines in just only two months by increasing the proportion of protein they eat and cutting back on carbohydrates and fat.
In the study, the group of men and women followed a menu planner that combined healthy, high-protein breakfast. Over a four-week period, 45 volunteers, who were restricted to 1,000 calories a day, lost on average 10 lbs. 7 oz (4.7kg).
But an extended study carried out over eight weeks found that 12 of the overweight participants lost on average 14 lbs. 5 oz (6.5kg) on the diet.
Their waistlines shrank on average by two inches to 37in (94cm), their average body fat fell from 36.8 per cent to 34 per cent, and cholesterol levels dropped by as much as an eighth.
The menus feature snacks and ready meals including Asian-style Lochmuir salmon salad and char-grilled chicken and tomato risotto, with high levels of protein provided by fish and lean meat.
Nutritionists say that a diet containing a high proportion of healthy protein-rich foods can aid weight loss because they create a feeling of fullness faster than those containing carbohydrates or fat.
Popular diets of recent times which adapt the principle have included the Atkins Diet and the Dukan Diet.
The study, by scientists at the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health at Aberdeen University, found that the volunteers felt less hungry despite cutting their calorie intake by 40 per cent.
Senior research fellow Dr. Alex Johnstone recommends sticking to the protein rich diet only as long as it takes to achieve the desired weight loss, then trying to maintain it through exercise.
