Do you have a sweet tooth? Do you love cheese croissants? Do you love pasta? At the same time, do you want to achieve the figure you have always dreamed of?

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Here are 8 tips on how to achieve it.

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Make up your mind: this is not a diet, it's a lifestyle change

The problem with temporary diets is that you're suffocating yourself for a while, giving up all sorts of tasty snacks. When you reach your goal, you let go of the austerity and the pounds come back. After that, you resolve to lose weight again. Again you give in to the reins, and again the pounds come back. We call this the yo-yo effect.

The very first step to long-term success is a commitment: it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change. If you've made up your mind that you are strong and persistent enough to make a lifestyle change, it's half the battle, and you will succeed!

Get rid of stress!

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When you are stressed, your body produces cortisol hormones, which can lead to overeating, binge eating and weight gain. Think about why you stress and what you need to do to reduce the amount of stress in your life.

Once you have the solution, apply it. You will find that you will sleep better, be more energetic and have plenty of energy to make lifestyle changes.

Change the ingredients!

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Go through your pantry, and get 80% slow absorbing ingredients. Why does this help?

Fast-absorbing carbohydrates cause a sudden spike in blood sugar, and then the large amount of insulin in the blood causes blood sugar to drop quickly. The sudden drop in blood sugar quickly causes hunger, which makes us eat repeatedly.

In contrast, slow-absorbing carbohydrates do not raise blood sugar suddenly, but gradually, so there is no sudden drop and we do not get hungry again in a short time.

Here is a short list of fast- and slow-absorbing foods / ingredients.

Fast absorbing foods / ingredients:

• plain white flour, pasta made from white flour, bakery products
• white rice
• fruits
• boiled potatoes
• bread substitutes such as puffed and extruded products
• milk, yoghurt, kefir
• fruit juices, vegetable juices, smoothies, cereals
  added sugar

Slow absorbing foods / ingredients:

• all pasta, flour, bakery products made from at least 70% wholemeal flour
• oat flour, oat flakes, oat bran
• bulgur, millet, buckwheat, quinoa, lentils, couscous
• basmati rice, brown rice, wild rice, red rice, black rice
• all vegetables raw and cooked, except cooked potatoes
• soups, stews
• cream
• oil seeds
• coconut milk, almond milk
• natural sweeteners: erythritol, xylitol, stevia
• meat, fish

Also note that certain cooking procedures can also speed up the absorption of slow-absorbing foods. In fact, any technique that breaks the cell wall of the plant will speed up the absorption of the food. Such cooking techniques include intensive cooking, blending, pureeing, dissolving in water, blanching, extruding and deep frying.

If you are preparing food primarily with slow-absorbing ingredients, you really don't have to give anything up. You can go for pasta, pizza, cakes, pastries. You can eat everything the same, just make it from different ingredients. And trust me, those foods are just as delicious!!!

Count the calories!

The formula for weight loss is simple: achieve a calorie deficit. What does that mean? You use more calories than you consume.

To know what your ideal weight is and how many calories and macronutrients you should be consuming, calorie counting apps can help you achieve this.

Most of these apps - like the free and ad-free Food&Tracker - use the same formulas as the WHO to calculate your optimum, and then all you have to do is measure how much you eat, record it and stick to your target.

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Eat more times, but less amounts!

Have your 3 main meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and include a snack in between. If you eat 4 or 5 times a day - but obviously less each time - you won't feel hungry and you will not feel the urge to eat the whole fridge.

Do sport!

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Exercise 3-4 times a week. If you haven't exercised for a long time, gradually start to move again.

Thanks to exercise, your body uses more energy, making it easier to reach your calorie deficit. You can also release tension and endorphins when you exercise, so you'll feel better because you'll be happier and more energetic.

Drink water or tea instead of sugary soft drinks!

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Juices and soft drinks have a lot of added sugar, which is unnecessary for our body. Drink water instead.

If you feel like you can't drink the water because you need a little taste, add some lemon juice, mint leaves and you've got a refreshing, healthy lemonade. Or you can make fruit tea on its own. You get the flavour right away, zero calories and it's much healthier.

Be patient and persistent!

Lifestyle change is not an easy process. Especially at the beginning, it takes a lot of patience, strength and perseverance to find out what works for you, what you like and what works for you. Take the time to experience it all, as it is not a diet. It is a lifestyle change that you will live by from now on. Don't be afraid to experiment!

If you are persistent enough, you will feel much better after just a few weeks. And in the long run, you'll achieve your goals and your dream shape!