Drop a Dress Size Without Realising it

Dec 3, 2010 Sophy Corness

However, you look at it, dieting and counting calories can be a bore. But there is no getting away from it, if you are overweight, you are almost definitely consuming more calories than you are burning up.

There is a tiny chance that you might have a medical condition but these instances are extremely rare, most people are overweight because they eat too much and they don’t do enough exercise.

But don’t despair, keeping in shape does not have to be a chore. Here are ten easy steps to help get you on track to drop a dress size for the new year without the pain of a strict diet.

Exercise

If you are reasonably young and you don’t have a medical condition, ideally, you should be doing up to an hour of exercise every day.

Joining a gym is just one option. If you have a dog, take over the daily walks, whatever the weather. A half an hour walk twice a day will make a big difference to you and your dog will thank you for it too.

Having children is a great excuse to revert back to your childhood and play football, build a den with them or take them to the park.

If you can’t bear going public with your exercising, there are some brilliant exercise DVDs that include all levels of activity and you can do sessions when it is convenient for you.

Shopping

Plan your meals in advance and consciously go for healthy options. View the fruit and vegetable section with new eyes and deliberately opt for unusual fruits and veg that you have either never tried or you haven’t had for a long time.

Avoid ready meals, crisps and sweets. Don’t buy them and don’t even venture into those aisles. If your partner and children moan, then tough. They will also thank you for it in the long run. Buy special treats such as yoghurts, exotic fruits and oven baked crisps. And use low fat cream.

Eat Three Times a Day

Aim for three meals a day. Have a healthy filling breakfast, muesili, brown bread, and fruit are brilliant to get you started.

Choose a light lunch of soup or salad pack with flavour. For supper go for lean meat or fish or a vegetarian substitute with vegetables and steamed potatoes.

Avoid Bread, Sugar and Alcohol

If you can avoid bread, sugar and alcohol for 80 per cent of the time you will lose weight. For example if you avoid bread on a daily basis it means you can have that gorgeous bread roll with your starter when you go out for a meal.

Think Moderation and Less is More

Yes, having that extra biscuit, piece of pizza, slice of cake WILL make a difference. Eat slowly until you are full then stop. When you wake up in the morning you should feel hungry and ready to eat. If you never really feel hungry then, chances are you are probably eating too much.

Eat Early in the Evening

If you can, try to eat earlier in the evening rather than later. Aim to have your meal as soon as you get home from work. If you can eat between 5pm and 6pm then all the better.

Avoid temptation to eat after your evening meal so that when you go to bed you are not full. This means that you have a good chance of burning off some of your evening meal before bed and fewer calories will be stored as fat overnight.

Don’t Eat the Kids Leftovers

You don’t need it, you don’t want it, don’t do it – you will regret it forever

Avoid Big Restaurant Meals

Try not to go for three courses. Two courses are usually adequate especially when most eateries serve super-sized portions.

Having a starter and a main course is more than enough but if you simply can’t resist a pud then have a main and then a dessert.

I tend to go for two starters, and most restaurants are happy to oblige.

Drink Water

Very often when the hunger pangs strike, it means you are actually thirsty rather than hungry. If you feel peckish in between meals, have a glass of water and very often you will find the hunger subside. Also have a glass of water before meals and you may well find yourself eating less.

Opt for Low-Calorie Alcohol

If you love beer or wine, consider swopping your favourite tipple for spirits. Sounds a bit bizarre but a rum and diet coke, or gin and low calorie tonic have far fewer calories than a pint of beer or large glass of wine.

Copyright Sophy Corness. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

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