Can the iDip diet really help you lose weight and feel full?

Following healthy patterns of eating rather than strict regimens makes much more sense to nutritionists. Photo / 123rf

The individualised diet improvement programme (iDip) devised by researchers at the University of Illinois ups your fibre and protein intake. Could it have long-term health benefits? Bestselling author and Telegraph nutrition expert Sam Rice explains what you need to know.

Most diets are doomed to failure because they are overly prescriptive and impossible to stick to; step forward the cabbage soup diet. Popular in the 1980s, this diet allowed you to eat unlimited cabbage soup and little else. Not exactly a recipe for success.

As a nutritionist, following healthy patterns of eating, such as the Mediterranean diet, rather than strict regimens, makes much more sense. The iDip (or individualised diet improvement programme) is the latest, and works along similar lines.

Rather than focusing on cutting certain foods down, or cutting them out, the iDip is based on the sound nutritional premise that increasing fibre and protein intake will fill you up. Alongside a modest calorie reduction, it can lead to sustainable weight loss.

The iDip diet lets people create an individualised programme based on the foods they usually eat – but increasing their daily protein intake. Photo / 123rf

For the diet, devised by researchers at the University of Illinois, participants created an individualised programme based on the foods they usually ate – but increased their daily protein intake to around 80g and fibre to 20g.

So, if a chicken salad was on their usual menu, they would increase the amount of protein and fibre in it. They simultaneously reduced their overall calorie intake to no more than 1500 per day. As a result, the dieters successfully reduced their waists by an average of 7cm after six months, and a further 2cm after 15 months.

Increasing fibre and protein in your diet is easy and will make you feel fuller which should mean you eat less overall, helping to shift those unwanted kilos.

Here are nine tips on how to do it…

1. Have protein at every meal

To get up to 80g of protein per day you need to include 20-30g at every meal. For example, have scrambled tofu, eggs, oats, or yogurt with nuts and seeds at breakfast time, beans or fish for lunch such as a tuna and bean salad, and fish or lean meat with wholegrains for dinner.

2. Add cottage cheese to your morning smoothie

Cottage cheese is the original dieter’s food, but did you know it’s packed with protein, containing 2g per tablespoon? Rather than eat it the traditional way dolloped on a cracker, add a couple of tablespoons to your morning smoothie instead.

3. Make muesli

If you prefer a cereal-based breakfast, a 55g portion of this homemade muesli, which will keep for three to four weeks in an airtight container, delivers 12g of fibre and 6g of protein.

Homemade muesli can keep for three to four weeks in an airtight container. Photo / 123rf

Mix together 300g oats, 100g psyllium husk (available in all health food shops and online), 50g flaked almonds, 50g mixed seeds, 50g raisins.

4. Put down the peeler

Keeping the skin on potatoes means you’ll be getting double the fibre. Similarly, when roasting butternut squash there’s no need to peel it, not only is it quicker to prepare, there’s less waste and you’ll increase your intake of fibre and vitamins.

5. Eat more ‘everyday’ legumes

Protein is usually associated with animal products like chicken and eggs, but some vegetables are particularly protein-rich, in particular those I call "everyday" legumes, such as green beans, sugar snaps peas, mangetout and the good old-fashioned frozen pea.

6. Throw in a tin

Tins of lentils, beans and chickpeas are a convenient way to add more fibre and protein to a meal. Add tinned lentils to a Bolognese sauce, beans to soups and salads and chickpeas to a curry or tagine.

7. Switch to wholegrains

Wholegrain versions of staple foods contain double the amount of fibre, so switch to buying good quality, wholegrain bread, wholegrain seedy crackers, wholewheat pasta and brown rice.

Wholegrain versions of staple foods contain double the amount of fibre. Photo / 123rf

8. Snack on hummus and wholegrain crackers

Hummus on a seedy cracker is the perfect iDip snack for extra fibre and protein.

Make a delicious curried hummus by simply blending the following until smooth: 1 tin of chickpeas (drained and rinsed), 1 Tbsp plain Greek yogurt, 1 Tbsp tahini, 1 clove garlic, 1 large green chilli (deseeded), 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 level tsp each of cumin, turmeric and mild curry powder, a good pinch each of salt and black pepper.

9. Have a spoon of nut butter

If you want to see off the munchies, there is nothing better than nut butter. One tablespoon contains 4g of protein and a gram of fibre, as well as healthy fats, which immediately curb your appetite. Have some on wholegrain toast, stuffed into a pitted date or spread on apple slices for the ultimate satiating snack.