Want to lose weight? Don’t overcook food

People trying to lose weight should avoid overcooking their food and even try eating raw produce wherever possible.

This is the opinion of James Duigan, personal trainer of Elle Macpherson and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who told the Daily Mail that vitamins and minerals are destroyed when things like vegetables are in a pan for too long.

"When we don't get enough good nutrients we don't feel satisfied and soon start to get cravings," he went on to say.

Mr Duigan recommended aiming for half a plateful of raw food at each mealtime, or – if you can't face that – swapping traditional cooking methods for steaming, baking, blanching or grilling to lock in more goodness.

One vegetable that is often overcooked is broccoli, which actually only needs to be steamed for five or six minutes.

Adding a spicy food such as mustard, horseradish and watercress to it while serving could also boost its cancer-fighting properties, a recent University of Illinois study found.

Are you guilty of overcooking your food?