The Perfect Day of Weight Loss

You can always use your time better. Use this daily eating and movement plan to torch fat all day long.

Step 1 - 7:00am
Wake up and do two minutes of jumping jacks, high knee skips, push-ups or crunches.

Step 2 - 7:15am
Have two scrambled eggs and a slice of bacon. A 2009 Purdue University study found that a high-protein breakfast makes people feel fuller throughout the day, so they're less likely to overeat.

Step 3 - 7:45am
Hit the gym, and lower weights slowly. Taking three seconds to lower weights during full-body resistance training can rev your metabolism for up to three days, according to a Wayne State University study. (Study participants used a challenging weight for five sets of six reps for each exercise.)

Step 4 - 9:00am
Chug some milk. A diet with plenty of calcium-rich dairy can enhance weight loss, studies show.

Step 5 - 10:00am
Grab a protein-rich snack, like half a turkey sandwich on wholegrain bread with Swiss cheese. In a Georgia State University study, athletes who ate three 1000-kilojoule snacks a day were more likely to lose body fat and have more energy than those who didn't.

Step 6 - 11:00am
Walk briskly around the office for a while. A Mayo Clinic study found that lean people walk an average of five kilometres a day more than obese people do.

Step 7 - 1:00pm
For lunch, eat a spinach salad with grilled tuna and almond slices. All contain magnesium, a metabolism-friendly mineral.

Step 8 - 2:00pm
If your meeting is with just one or two people, do it West Wing style, walking the halls as you talk.

Step 9 - 4:00pm
Down a glass of iced green tea. According to a study in the Journal of Nutrition, the catechins in green tea reduce body fat.

Step 10 - 5:00pm
Have another mini-meal, and make it fiery. According to a 2006 study review, spicy foods help burn fat and kilojoules.

Step 11 - 7:00pm
Take a short walk before dinner.

Step 12 - 7:30pm
Eat dinner. If you ate lightly today, don't worry about a heavier meal now: "It doesn't matter when you fuel up; it's how much you put in the tank," says Dr Gary Foster, director of Temple University's Centre for Obesity Research and Education.

Step 13 - 9:30pm
Grab a good book (or magazine!), pop on some tunes and relax. Stress jacks up your levels of cortisol, a chemical that boosts abdominal fat.

Step 14 - 10:30pm
Draw your shades so the sun won't wake you early. According to a 2008 review in Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care, losing sleep affects the hormones that turn your appetite on and off, making you feel less satiated by food and hungrier overall.