It’s tough to find the time to eat right and exercise – but actually a few simple changes can make ALL the different to your waist-line.
Here, SHEmazing! gathers up a handful of insider weight-loss tricks and tips, so you can be trim and healthy without even trying…
1) Take the stairs:
No more excuses! But something as simple as taking the stairs can have a BIG impact on your waistline. Plus, after a day or two you won’t think twice about skipping the lift or escalator.
The same goes for standing; instead of diving for the nearest seat on public transport, stand up tall and burn calories while you commute.
2) Don't shy away from a cold blast:
OK, it’s maybe not the most pleasant thing at the time – but afterwards you'll feel great. And an added bonus is that a cold, 30-second blast during your morning shower could help you burn fat for the rest of the day.
If you just can’t manage that – at least then drink plenty of iced water. Indeed, German researchers found that drinking a litre-and-a-half of cold water daily can raise resting metabolism by about 50 calories: enough to shed a 1.5kg over the year.
3) Have more green tea:
Aim to drink a cup of green tea four times a day, and you could burn an additional 100 calories. That could result in weight-loss of a full kilo over the course of a month: not bad for doing very little other than sticking the kettle on.
If that’s not your thing a blast of caffeine can rev your metabolism by as much as eight percent, also burning around 100 calories daily.
4) Make sure to eat breakfast:
Mammy was right all along: it IS the most important meal of the day. That’s because eating breakfast jump-starts your metabolism. In fact, those who skip it (and there are a lot who are guilty of that) are four-and-a-half times more likely to be obese.
Stick to plenty of protein and slow-burning carbs though; that means that cereal, toast or fatty meats are out. A good bet? Scrambled eggs: in one study, overweight women who had two eggs a day for eight weeks lost 65 percent more weight than those who ate plain bagels.
5) Whip up some soup:
Home-made vegetable or chicken broth takes just minutes to put together. You can whip it up in the evening before you go to bed, ready for the following morning.
Have a mug before you head out for a meal (it will keep you away from the bread-basket and encourage healthier menu choices) or simply fill up a bowl and heat when you feel hungry – it will tick you over until dinner-time nicely and help you avoid nutritional pitfalls such as crisps, biscuits and chocolate.
6) Make Epsom salts part of your routine:
Weight-loss with no pain! Add one or two mugs of Epsom salts (available from pharmacies) to a hot bath to help draw out toxins in the evening. Get into a regular routine of two or three baths a week, and really speed up your weight loss.
Apparently this is a firm favourite with a load of models and celebrities – so certainly worth a try, we say.
7) Go to bed earlier:
A study in Finland looked at sets of identical twins and discovered that in each set of siblings, the twin who slept less and was under more stress had more fat gain around their tummies.
So switch off completely – that means leaving all electronic devices at the bedroom door – and move away from Netflix, you have some serious shut-eye to catch up on.
8) Just ditch the diet!
Sure, we’ve heard it all before – but it’s said for a reason: diets don’t work! If you’re carrying excess weight, then pretty much the only way to shift it is to come up with a long-term, slow-and-steady programme that champions a healthy diet combined with exercise.
Juicing, shake, meal replacement or supplement plans are a waste of your time and money. Not only that, but you could end up heavier than when you began.
So eat more nutrient-dense food, avoid empty calories and make real efforts to stay active. Give yourself one meal a week too to eat whatever you want so you’re never deprived.
