When you see the facts and figures surrounding American obesity, it doesn’t make for great reading. An estimated 160 million Americans are either overweight or obese. Three-quarters of the nation’s men fall into the category, as do 60 percent of the nation’s women. It isn’t much better for young people either, with nearly 30 percent of those under 20 falling into the overweight category too.

As a nation, we need to do more to combat obesity, and the obvious place to start is how can we start losing weight? If this is something that you are pondering, then you’ve come to the right place; here are five tips to help you shed some pounds.

• Eat breakfast

Lots of people mistakenly believe that skipping breakfast is a quick route to weight loss, but they don’t call it the most important meal of the day for no reason. A healthy breakfast such as oatmeal and scrambled eggs, banana pancakes or quinoa with vegetables can set you up for the day and will ensure you won’t feel the need to reach for unhealthy snacks by the time mid-morning arrives.

• Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables

While we’re on the subject of eating, then you should be getting through as many fruit and vegetables as you can physically manage. Fruit and veg are high in fiber and low in calories and fat. That means that they will help you break down fat cells more efficiently to add weight loss and fill your stomach up with the addition of a low number of calories. It’s a win-win situation.

• Drink plenty of water

Sometimes, our body will confuse thirst with hunger. What might be required is a cool glass of water to rehydrate us, yet we take the signals to mean that we’re hungry and so reach for a packet of potato chips instead. Drinking regular water throughout the day will prevent that from happening.

• Avoid stress

When we’re stressed, we can often turn to junk food as comfort which means that you won’t lose any weight – and even worse, you might gain it! There are plenty of ways to avoid being stressed, but one of the best is through implementing relaxation techniques whenever you feel stress coming on. These can range from breathing exercises to running to taking herbal remedies which can aid in the relaxation process such as lavender, lemon balm, and kratom. You can order kratom powder here.

• Use a smaller plate

If your kitchen cupboards are full of plates that are so big that they could feed one of the world’s largest armies, then you need to give serious consideration to your crockery choices. Huge plates encourage us to fill them up and therefore eat huge portions. By using smaller plates, you’ll be reducing your food intake while at the same time getting your body used to smaller meals. You might finish everything you’ve been served and still be hungry, but remember it can take up to 20 minutes for the stomach to tell the brain that it’s full. Smaller plates can help limit the damage of overeating because of that.