Fitness coach shares 21 food cheat codes for weight loss: 'Chew your food until it becomes liquid, eat on a blue plate'

By incorporating thorough chewing into your eating habits, you'll experience improved digestion, increased feelings of fullness, and better overall health.

According to fitness coach Dan Go, losing weight and getting in shape is not just about counting calories. On June 10, he took to Instagram to share a post titled 'Food cheat codes I know at 45 that I wish I knew at 25' and said, “Using some of the tips here, you might be able to control your eating in a way where you don’t need to count calories at all.”

He added, “My suggestion to you is to treat these as behaviour changes rather than hacks. Yes, they work in a pinch, but do better when applied long-term to your nutrition strategies.”

According to Dan, here are 21 things you should know if 'losing weight and getting in shape' is your fitness goal:

1. Avoid drinking alcohol. It is negative calories, ruins sleep, and makes you hungrier while lowering your energy and focus the next day.

2. Chew your food until it becomes liquid. This improves digestion and increases your feelings of fullness.

3. Eat from smaller plates as this tricks your brain into thinking it had more food.

4. Stop eating in your car, eating with a phone in your face, and eating in front of a TV. Avoid all forms of distracted eating to be more mindful of your feelings of fullness.

5. To lower cholesterol levels, add psyllium husk to water or your protein shakes.

6. Don't eat until you are stuffed. Make a habit of eating until you are 80 percent full to improve digestion, energy levels, and weight loss.

7. Take a walk after meals to improve digestion and boost energy levels.

8. Drink water before and after your meals to increase your feelings of fullness.

9. Try to avoid drinking water with meals to avoid eating your food faster.

10. If you have trouble snacking at night, it is because you did not have enough nutrition earlier in the day.

11. Brush and floss your teeth after dinner to prevent nighttime snacking.

12. Volumise your food with vegetables to feel fuller at each meal.

13. Dine on blue plates. Research shows people eat less if there is a high contrast in colours between the plate and the food, with blue being the colour people eat the least.

14. When cutting weight, use potatoes as your carb source. Potatoes are the best at improving fullness levels.

15. Drink soup before meals. Research shows drinking low-calorie, dense soups at the start of a meal can reduce food intake by as much as 20 per cent.

16. When eating out, avoid the bread bowl. It adds unnecessary calories and amplifies your appetite before a meal.

17. Stop eating foods that cause you to overeat. this sounds simple, but there are some foods you cannot stop eating when you consume them. Avoid them.

18. Eat similar meals every single day. This makes eating simple, removes decision-making and helps you hit your macros and calories consistently.

19. Avoid eating things out of the bag and this can cause overeating. instead, put your portion on a plate and put the bag away.

20. Stop eating your emotions. This will only numb them, which causes them to come back later.

21. Instead of trying to avoid 'bad foods', focus on eating healthy ones. This helps create an identity that eats healthy foods.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.