Chewing gum can cut those mid-afternoon sugar cravings, according to a new study. Buy a 10-stick pack (32p) at the start of the working week and chew two sticks each day instead of a bar of chocolate (40p) when cravings hit, and you’ll cut 1,400 calories and £1.68 a week. Dietician Lyndel Costain says: “Fill up at lunch on fibre and protein (lentil soup with ham, or salad with Brie and wholegrain bread), and you won’t feel as hungry by 3pm anyway.”
In a month: Lose 13/4 lb, save £7.28.
In a year: Lose up to 11/2st, save £87.36.

2. PUT DOWN THE TAKEAWAY MENU

With top restaurants making ranges for the big supermarkets, you can get takeaway taste for less cash and fewer calories. Take pizza – a medium deep-pan pepperoni pizza costs £7.50 to deliver, and just half of the pizza contains 906 calories. But an 8in Pizza Express Home Cook Margarita costs £3.85 and contains 546 calories if you eat the whole thing – just 273 if you split it with your partner.Try it once a week.
In a month: Lose 1lb, save £15.81.
In a year: Lose up to 12lb, save £189.80.

3. USE SMALLER PLATES

A healthy-portion-sized plate is 9in across – but the average plate is 12in. “This makes normal portions look tiny, so you serve too much,” says nutritionist Kate Arnold (Katearnoldnutrition.co.uk). Use a 9in plate (such as an Ikea Arv Side Plate, £1.29) and you’ll cut calories and cost by a third – big savings, as the average person in the UK eats 1,802 calories a day, and spends £34.97 a week on food, according to government figures.
In a month: Lose 4lb, save £50.51.
In a year: Lose up to 31/2st, save £606.14.

4. MAKE YOUR OWN SMOOTHIES

A medium blueberry smoothie at juice bar Crussh contains 235 calories and costs £2.65. “But you can make smoothies cheaply at home by mixing fresh, canned or frozen fruit,” says Natalie Savona, author of The Big Book Of Juices And Smoothies (Duncan Baird, £12.99). Her top credit crunch recipe is one banana blended with 3tbsp canned blackcurrants in fruit juice – add water if it’s too thick for you. It contains 147 calories and costs just 62p a day.
In a month: Lose 1/2lb, save £61.75.
In a year: Lose up to 6lb, save £740.95.

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5. TRY THE CEREAL DIET

It turns out there really is something in the lose-weight-by-cereal claim. Have a bowl of low-sugar cereal (like Special K, Bran Flakes or sugar-free muesli) for breakfast, a normal lunch, and cereal again for dinner. People lose an average 2lb a week, but you’ll also save cash as a bowl of cereal and milk costs an average of just 31p. Do the diet for two weeks, then stick to cereal for breakfast from then on.
In a month: Lose 4-5lb, save £27.33.
In a year: Lose up to 31/2st, save £328.07.

6. TURN OFF THE TV

Studies show we eat 36 per cent more pizza, 44 per cent more crisps, and 71 per cent more pasta if we eat them while watching TV. The television distracts us from noticing how full we are, so we eat more than we need. Switch off and you could cut your calories and food bills by at least a third – and if you have a swanky plasma TV, you’ll save the 4p it costs to run it for an hour.
Do it for a month: Lose 21/2lb, save £15.45.
Do it for a year: Lose up to 2st 2lb, save £185.50.

7. HIDE YOUR TREATS

If you put your biscuits in a transparent jar on the kitchen counter, you’ll eat twice as many as if they are stored in a dark container in the cupboard, according to research. If you normally go through one pack of biccies a week, hiding them will halve your costs and calories.
Do it for a month: Lose 1lb, save £2.51.
Do it for a year: Lose up to 12lb, save £30.16.

8. DUMP THE GYM - JOG WITH A FRIEND

Gym fees cost an average of £46 a month - yet 73 per cent of members never go! Swap for three 30-minute jogs a week and burn 825 calories - for free! You're five times more likely to stick to a workout if you do it with a friend.
In a month: Lose 11/2lb, save £46.
In a year: Lose up to 1st 4lb, save £552.

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Photography: Alamy, Retna, Photolibrary.com