Holiday time is here and if you haven't kept up last year's bikini body here's a ONE WEEK way to get there
Panic not! Dietitian Juliette Kellow comes to the rescue with the ultimate 3-step plan to help you look and fitter in just one week…
STEP 1 THE DIET
Our easy-to-follow diet will quickly show results.While experts agree we shouldn’t lose more than 2lb a week in the long term, it’s normal to shift more than this when you first start a diet as your body adjusts to a lower calorie intake.
As well as seeing a difference on the scales and gaining room in your clothes, the buzz from losing weight should also leave you feeling positive and happier – and a big smile means people won’t be interested in what’s going on from the neck down!
Diet rules
- Choose one , lunch, dinner and snack each day – mix up your choices to get a range of nutrients.
- Have
300ml of skimmed milk a day on top of your meals – don’t skip it as
studies show low-fat dairy products eaten as part of a lower-calorie
diet speed up weight loss. They especially burn fat from around the
waistline, probably because of the calcium they contain.
- Skip (it’s only for a week) – there’s a reason it’s called a beer belly or wine waist!
- Oat topped banana and yogurt 1 banana with a 100g pot of fat-free Greek yogurt and 3tbsp oats.
- Wholegrain
cereal with berries. 2 Shredded Wheat with 2 handfuls strawberries and
skimmed milk. Tip: Research shows that people with a higher intake of
wholegrains are less likely to be fat, and they have smaller waists.
- Scrambled
egg and toast 1 egg scrambled with 1 chopped tomato on 1 slice
wholegrain toast with 1tsp low-fat spread. Plus a nectarine.
- Peanut butter and banana topped toast 1 slice wholegrain toast topped with 1tbsp unsweetened peanut butter and 1 banana.
- Cheese and cucumber bagel 1 toasted thin sesame bagel filled with 2tbsp low-fat cottage cheese and cucumber. Plus an orange.
- Raspberry swirl porridge Porridge made from 4tbsp oats and 275ml skimmed milk, swirled with 2 handfuls blended raspberries mixed with a stevia sweetener if desired.
- Bran flakes with blueberries and almonds 5tbsp bran flakes with 1 handful blueberries, 2tsp flaked almonds and skimmed milk.
- Tuna salad wrap 1 wholemeal wrap filled with ½ small can tuna in water, 2tsp low-fat mayo and salad. Plus a nectarine.
- Couscous
and bean salad Salad made from 4tbsp cooked couscous, ½ can mixed beans
in water, ½ green pepper, 1 tomato, cucumber, fresh coriander, lemon
juice and zest and 1tsp olive oil. Tip: Beans are packed with soluble
fibre, and this fibre has been linked to smaller midriffs
- Egg
and cress sandwich 2 slices wholegrain bread filled with 1 hard-boiled
egg, 2tsp reduced-fat mayo and cress. Plus 1 slice cantaloupe melon.
An egg and cress sandwich is a great lunch
- Crispbread crunch 4 rye crispbreads with 4tbsp low-fat cottage cheese and 1 tomato. Plus a peach.
- Hummus
and red pepper pitta 1 wholemeal pitta filled with 3tbsp reduced-fat
hummus, ½ red pepper and a handful rocket. Plus a slice of cantaloupe
melon.
- Take-out lunch 1 small pack of sushi (around 250 calories) and an apple.
- Jacket potato with prawns 1 medium jacket potato filled with a 100g pack cooked prawns and 2tbsp tzatziki with salad.
- Chicken stir-fry Stir-fry made from a spray oil, ginger, garlic, Chinese 5-spice, 1 small skinless chicken breast, ½ pack stir-fry veg, a splash of reduced-salt soy sauce and 1 pack ready-to-heat noodles.
- Mexican
no-cook fajita 1 wholemeal wrap filled with iceberg lettuce, ½ can
mixed beans in water, ½ small red onion, 1 tomato, ½ small avocado,
fresh coriander and 1tbsp half-fat soured cream.
- Salmon and
warm potato salad 1 grilled or baked salmon fillet with 3 new potatoes
in their skins, cut and tossed with chives, spring onions and 1tbsp
half-fat soured cream, with steamed tenderstem broccoli and carrots.
Tip: Several studies show that consuming omega-3 fats found in oily
fish, such as salmon, are linked to a smaller waist.
Stir fry chicken with cashew nuts and egg fried rice
- Mushroom and pepper omelette Omelette made from a spray oil, ½ red and green pepper, ½ red onion, a handful mushrooms, 2 eggs, a splash of skimmed milk and 2tbsp grated reduced-fat cheddar, served with salad. Plus 1 small pot fat-free fruit yogurt.
- Burger and
sweet potato wedges Grilled homemade burger made from 100g lean beef
mince, ½ red onion, fresh coriander and a splash of Worcestershire
sauce, with wedges made
from 1 sweet potato cut into pieces, sprayed with oil and baked. Accompany with salad. - Mediterranean pasta 1 small red onion, 1 courgette, ½ red and green pepper, ½ aubergine and 5 cherry tomatoes roasted in 1tsp olive oil and fresh herbs, mixed with 50g reduced-fat feta and 5tbsp cooked wholewheat pasta.
- Baked cod 1 cod fillet baked in foil with garlic, lemon juice and fresh herbs with 1 large jacket potato and steamed broccoli and baby corn. Plus an apple.
- Hummus and crudités 4tbsp reduced-fat hummus with 1 carrot and ½ green pepper cut into sticks.
- 25g
unsalted almonds or 6 walnut halves. Tip: It seems logical to avoid
high-calorie nuts when we want to lose weight. But eating a small amount
each day has been linked to slimmer tummies in women.
- Summer fruit salad 1 slice cantaloupe melon,
1 handful each of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, 1 peach and 1 kiwi fruit.
- Peanut butter crispbreads
2 rye crispbreads with 1tbsp unsweetened peanut butter. - Protein bowl Salad with 1 boiled egg and 2tbsp low-fat cottage cheese.
- Banana shake 200ml skimmed milk and 1 banana blended together.
- Bruschetta style bagel 1 toasted thin sesame bagel halved and topped with a mix of 1 tomato, garlic, ½ small red onion, parsley and balsamic vinegar.
Following our one-week exercise plan will help you burn fat so you lose more weight and tone muscles.
Plus exercise releases endorphins, which can help you feel happier and reduce stress and anxiety.
Exercise rules
- Do
a minimum of 30 minutes of aerobic exercise every day for the week,
more if you can manage it. Try swimming, brisk walking, cycling, tennis –
basically anything that gets your heart rate up and makes you breathe
faster. If you can’t do 30 minutes in one go, try three 10-minute
sessions.
- Also do strength exercises that work all your muscles
including your legs, arms, back and shoulders at least twice in the
week. This could be lifting weights, using resistance bands, yoga,
pilates or doing exercises that use your own body weight such as
push-ups and sit-ups.
You can get bikini body ready in a week
- Stand more! One recent study found women who stood for a quarter of their day were 35% less likely to be obese, while upping it to half a day reduced the risk by 47%. If you have a desk-based job, stand while you’re on the phone, go for a walk at lunchtime, and visit colleagues rather than email them.
STEP 3 THE TRICKS
There are plenty of easy things you can do to look slimmer in an instant. It’s what all the celebs do!Wear an uplift bra – lifting your boobs increases the space between your hips and bust, instantly lengthening and slimming your waist
- Get a good haircut – a fabulous style can slim a round face, disguise a double chin and show off your best features.
- Stand up straight – keep your shoulders back and your tummy in and you’ll look like you’ve lost 10lb in an instant.
- Wear high heels – they add inches to your height and lengthen your body.
- Enjoy a body wrap – most promise you will lose inches, making it look like you have lost a whole lot of weight – and it will also help your skin look great.
- Get a fake tan – makes you look slimmer and gives you that summer feeling.
Beat the bloat – overnight!
A bloated tum is a sure-fire way to make you feel more beach ball than beach babe.Fortunately, it’s easy to see your waistline shrink overnight with a few little changes to your daily habits…
- Make sure you’re not constipated, which can cause a bloated tum – swapping white bread, rice and pasta for wholegrain varieties, replacing sugary cereals with high-fibre ones, and eating more fruit and veg will help boost fibre intake.
- Drink plenty of fluids, ideally water – being dehydrated can cause constipation and make you tired so you feel less like exercising and more like snacking on sugary foods for an energy boost.
- Take time out for meals – eating on the move or speed eating means you’ll swallow extra air, which ends up in your tummy making you bloated.
- Chew every mouthful well – not chewing enough means your digestive system works harder to digest food and a by-product of this is wind!
- Sit up straight during and after eating – getting horizontal after a meal means gas is more likely to stay in your tum so let gravity take effect and stay vertical.
- Avoid sugar-free gum and mints – the sweeteners they contain (like xylitol and mannitol) have a laxative effect, which can makes you feel windy and bloated.
- Skip fizzy drinks and stick to flat ones – the bubbles go in one end, fizz around in your tum for a while, then leave from the other end!
- Exercise after eating – a walk will help gas pass through your digestive system
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