The Make Do Diet - 3 Wise Points

Smallest point - 100 situps a day = 1inch waist loss in 10 days. Fact.

Medium point - did you know, that if you eat protein or carbs, your body has to work quite hard to digest it and store it in your body. But fat goes in complete, and gets stored immediately as FAT...so the saying a minute on your lips and a lifetime on your hips has some merit....

Big point - this is very important to learn, why you must stop and think.

The release of a “new diet” where some celebrity shows impressive weight loss in a matter of weeks is somewhat seductive. Yes, weight creeps on slowly – or even a magnificent 3-4lbs after a weekend of overindulgence – and you know, there are ways to quickly lose “weight” on the scales, but no crash diet can sustain its initial weight loss – mainly because the weight is water and a little bit of carbs and not a lot of fat.

This week, we are going to play “Stop and Think” – much like an amber light on the traffic lights.

1. Fat – breaking down protein and carbs takes energy and increases your metabolic rate. Eat fat and it goes straight to fat on your body.....so, please don’t cut it out altogether as it is a vital component for transportation of hormones, makes your hair shiny and your skin soft – but reduce your saturate fat (ones that are solid at room temp) to 10% of your diet. Butter only one side of your sandwich, spray your oil onto you pan, eat less cheese, cut the fat off your meat etc

2. Carbs – buy the best you can. Organic if possible (grow your own?) – bright colours, red, yellow and dark green. Add as much as you can to your meals – frozen chopped spinach and peas can be added to many dishes, as well as grated carrots or courgette. Stay away from processed foods, eat brown bread, or spelt if you get IBS (the fast fermentation of cheap white bread can often cause bloating). Rice and potatoes in hand size portions only.

3. Protein - increases metabolic rate and reduces hunger pangs, so try to include a little at each meal – yoghurt, beans and nuts are all good sources. If you want meat, then about the size of your palm is a good guide for mealtimes.

4. Pause – it has been noted that there is a natural “pause” during our eating phase. We eat continuously when we are hungry, but once we have reached a point of being “satisfied” then we tend to “Pause” – put our knife and fork down, have a drink etc. IF you want to lose weight, LOOK for this sign and STOP eating at that point – put your knife and fork together and push your plate away – portion control is often where even the healthiest of eaters gets let down.

image: Sweaty Betty

Summary
1. Remeasure – you will be delighted if you have managed to do the sit-ups as I bet you have lost inches even if the scales have stayed the same.
2. Keep up the sit-ups – and try to do a few more if you can – they will help you get your waist back.
3. PAUSE – stop and think at every meal.
4. Keep the 30 mins exercise and add a 10 second BLAST every couple of minutes to get out of breath – run faster, jump, anything to make you breathless - it will help you burn more calories.
5. Eat the best possible food – make your plate look as colourful as possible.