Gold Coast Expert Says Diets Won't Help Beat The Bulge

"No diet" is the best diet, according to a Bond University researcher.

Dr Gina Cleo has conducted a study involving 75 overweight or obese people from around the Gold Coast, and her findings may surprise you.

The study found dieting doesn't work, because most people put the weight back on again straight away.

Dr Cleo says it's because we rely on willpower to resist eating unhealthy food.

"The problem with self-control is it works like a muscle; the more we use it, the more exhausted it gets."

She says the only way to not use your self-control is to form habits.

"Like when you sit in your car and put on your seatbelt: something you do automatically without thinking about it".

She says the key to losing those extra kilos is forming healthy habits, like eating from a smaller plate, going for a walk everyday or standing up for 10 minutes every hour.

"It's a process that take times, it actually takes on average 66 days to form a new habit," she said.

"This is not a fad, you're not going to lose 5kg in the first week, but you certainly are going to maintain weight-loss long term".