Sell-out for cellulite knickers

We all know just how useful modern support knickers are. Worn under that perfect dress they smooth out all the bulges and bumps that come with age and cellulite. But they aren’t very sexy when your clothes are off, are they?

So, why are women flocking to stores in Europe to buy up the latest cellulite knickers like they are made of gold? Probably because the latest designs seem to be worth more than their weight in gold. I have tried these cellulite knickers, having grabbed a pair back in April. The Scala Bio-Fir Anti Cellulite knickers are total innovation. They cover the body from just under the boob line down to mid thigh. Great for that smoothing effect.

But, if you wear them for six hours for 30 days – just a month – they seem to act to actually reduce cellulite so you actually look better with your clothes off as well. Too good to be true, I hear you scoff. But it does seem to work. I certainly noticed a difference. I also felt slimmer and more toned and they cellulite on my thighs seemed a lot less obvious. I wore shorts on holiday without worrying so much!

The fibre that is used to make the knickers squeezes your tissues to smooth the dimpled orange peel skin that is typical of cellulite. They feel tight when you first put them on but then it feels like wearing a body glove. The material also contains biocystrals. Apparently, they get warm when you wear the knickers and this is claimed to get your skin metabolising fat at a higher rate. The cellulite just melts away… Well, perhaps not quite that dramatically, but there must be something in it. I admit they do get a bit hot on the warmer days in summer but to get rid of cellulite, it’s well worth ‘glowing’ a bit.

At just £25 a pair, these knickers sell like hot cakes. When are you getting yours?

See you soon,

Jen x

Which foods reduce cellulite and which foods make cellulite worse?

Whatever other sites and magazines may claim, there aren’t specific foods that either cause cellulite or get rid of cellulite. But what we eat does make a difference. Eating a diet that is high in fats, sugars and processed foods is low in vitamins and minerals and it tends to make us pile on the pounds. Our bodies are starved of essential nutrients while swamped with empty calories.

Being overweight and not having vital vitamins and minerals to help the body deal with toxins and free radicals makes cellulite much worse and more obvious. Drinking a lot of coffee is also bad news. Coffee is a stimulant to the brain but doesn’t do much for the circulation, which can get sluggish in the fatty areas of the buttocks and thighs. Poor circulation leads to worse cellulite.

Alcohol and smoking are bad news for health in many ways but both also make cellulite more of a problem. You only have to look at some of the young celebrities who smoke, drink and generally have a ‘party ‘ lifestyle. Some have obvious cellulite even now, in their 20s.

So, if you want to avoid cellulite or reduce cellulite, how can diet help? Dieting is generally good as losing weight promotes fat loss, particularly if a healthy weight reducing diet is combined with exercise. This gets the circulation going in the skin and tones up the muscles underneath the cellulite, so the appearance of the bum, tum and thighs improves. Of course, crash diets and fad diets aren’t the way to go. What you really need is a sustainable lifestyle change. You need to re-educate your mind and your body to eat foods that provide nutrients and the energy you need – but forget the empty calories packaged as treats. They’re not treats – they’re just bad news.

See you soon,

Jen x

Feel like you are getting nowhere… read on…

When I had my second child, now a strapping 13-year old, I had put on nearly 3 stones in weight – that’s over 40 pounds. Did I feel huge!

With a small baby to take care of, you can’t really trip along to the gym everyday and spend a lot of time preparing nutritious, low calorie meals! So losing baby weight can be particularly difficult. I did learn two important things from that time – to eat more slowly and to take extra exercise whenever I could.

One thing I invested in was a stepper – just a few pounds – and put it a safe place in the living area, away from cooking and trouble. I found it relatively easy to do 10 minutes of stepping three times a day – making a total of 30 minutes. It fitted into my routine really well.

I also ate a lot of fruit – and whole foods such as brown rice, wholemeal pasta and wholemeal bread. Bolstered up with fresh chicken and fish, this gave me the basis of a diet I could maintain when the demands on my time were so great.

Of course, the cellulite was a real problem. Cellulite increases during pregnancy because of the hormones that your body produces. With the extra weight that I had gained, my hips and thighs looked terrible! But, don’t despair. The low fat, high fibre, high whole food and fruit and vegetable diet that is ideal for weight loss is also a very good anti celluite diet. Having less weight around helps, but this sort of eating plan is also good for reducing water retention and keeping toxins and free radicals to a very low level in body tissue.

I was also lucky enough to have an understanding partner and a  mother who babysat for me twice a week and I was able to go swimming at the local pool three or four times a week. That is such good exercise for toning the muscles, burning fat and getting rid of cellulite. Its also such a great stress reliever – it takes you right away from your everyday routine and allows you to really relax.

I really must do more these days – but now the babe can swim better than I can!

Love

Jen x

Don’t think thin!

When you are dieting and watching your weight, your main focus should never be to become thin. That will only lead to a really negative body image and you will see yourself as a failure. It is also dangerous as it can lead to eating disorders and depression.

 You need to keep in mind a good mental picture of you at a healthy weight, looking and feeling great. Don’t get too hung up on ‘being thin’. Stick thin is not attractive anyway.

Instead, try to eat in such a way that you’ll lose weight naturally. You can do this by planning your meals to include health and nutritious foods. The first thing to do is to make sure that you get enough fruit and vegetables in your diet, preferably at least 5 portions of one or the other each day. Second, reduce the number of fatty and high calorie foods you eat  – they won’t fill you up and you will be taking in more energy that you use. Third, drink lots nad lots and lots of water but not too much alcohol! Alcohol is packed with calories and it is also very dehydrating.

As silly as it sounds, talking to other people, sharing in their experiences and learning from their mistakes can help motivate you. Its a technique that is used to stay on target  in many areas of life, so why not do the same with dieting? Groups such as Weightwatchers offer great forums for people to come together and help one another whilst benefiting themselves as well by picking up on information from their fellow dieters. These organized groups can also offer fantastic sets of diets and controlled calorie foods to help you understand your body. They will help you to see eating healthily and doing more exercise as a normal part of your life after the initial changes have been made. That is why these groups often market themselves as weight management groups rather than purely dieting groups. The idea is to bring about a change in the way you think about food – so that you can make changes that will help you throughout life.

Each of these goals can be more easily achieved if you work with groups who can support you and offer you advice to achieve your goals! Why not look for a local group today? People do tend to lose weight more quickly when they have support.

 And come back to Diet Next to keep on track – we have plenty of diet tips and advice and its a fun site to explore,

Best

Jen x

Why not join a weight loss group?

When we try and make changes in our lives by ourselves they tend to be really really hard to maintain. But, when we have a few people around us who are there to support, motivate and inspire us, the task becomes easier.

Weight loss groups can offer great support when you are trying to lose weight and get rid of cellulite. Sharing your problem with other, sympathetic people gives you the support that comes from others investing in your need to lose weight. They can also help  by providing you with materials nad advice to show you to lose weight and manage your diet over time. Be strong -  you can make a continuing, positive, change to your life.

Some groups even have their own diet products and foods that can be a really useful part of your dieting program. But, as with anything, it’s about finding something that will work for you and that you feel comfortable with. When you do find a weight loss or exercise group that suits you, you’ll be able to stay with for a long period of time. This is what you have to do if your diet is to be successful – there are no quick fixes for weight loss and cellulite control.

Its a good idea to look at the classes, groups and programs offered in your local area. Meeting regularly will help adjust your attitude to food and eating in general and will allow you to achieve regular and sustained weight loss.

Eating healthy meals each day, without over-eating or breaking the rules isn’t easy but it is what you need if you want to achieve your goals. It’s so easy to be tempted by high fat and high calorie foods – who can resist chocolate. Not many of us and certainly not me!

But if you can avoid these foods, which contain a lot of sugar and fat but nothing really of nutritional value like vitamins and minerals, you will start to feel and look better and this will form an important part of your weight loss and anti cellulite campaign.  So, eat plenty of fruit – oranges, apples and pears are all great foods to eat when you get a craving and they fill you up. They also provide you with vitamins and minerals you need without the fat and calories. Fruit can also help keep your blood sugar very well balanced as they have a high glycaemic index – they release their sugars into your bloodstream slowly, rather than in a rush. You will feel you can carry on for longer between meals if you have a high value fruit snack mid afternoon and mid morning.

Dn’t forget that another aspect of being healthy is certainly exercise. Walking for 30 minutes a day for five days a week can make a massive difference and if you keep the focus on being healthy, you’ll find the regular walking you make far easier to maintain and far more enjoyable too! Swiming is another great way to exercise and burn off those calories, toning up your body in the process.

Most weight loss support groups will encourage you to be more active – some even hold their own exercise classes. Give it a try soon – you really won’t regret it.

Love,

Jen x

Crash diets – are they worth it?

So, you’ve tried crash dieting and lost a lot of weight very quickly. But are you now realising that you can’t keep this up? You need to find something else quick to help you keep your weight down in the long term – before you turn to food to make you feel  better!

We’ve all been there. Now that I have conquered my own battle with excess weight I want to pass on all the tips I have ever learned. I’ll also let you into my secret – sign up today for my free newsletters delivered direct to your inbox! You also get the free cellulite report to…

One thing I didn’t realize at first is that Iwas drinking ‘full fat’ soft drinks. I thought that this was better as I had cut out all beer and wine, known to be full of empty calories. But my soft drinks almost gave me as many calories!

So, I switched to flavoured mineral waters – or mineral water with some low calories squash or cordial. There are some really exiting flavours around and you don’t feel you are missing out – and you don’t miss the calories at all!

Remember that if you are going to have a snack, have a healthy one. Choose some fruit (watch your portion size though… 8 grapes is plenty, not the whole bunch!

Which brings me on to portion control – we have a whole article portion control – don’t leave it to your own judgement to measure out the right sized portions at first. Weigh and measure so that you can see the size of portion you should be eating. You may be surprised at how big your idea of a portion actually is!

And, one of the most important diet tips – drink lots of water. This helps keep you hydrated, helps you feel alert and able to concentrate and it flushes all the toxins out of your system. Aim for at least 8 glasses a day (4 pints). And make sure its just water – all other drinks should be extra…

Love

Jen x

Do you understand portion control?

Losing weight is a long term project; its more about a change of lifestyle than a quick fix. If you lose weight very fast, you shed the pounds to start with but then it comes back on in a few weeks. When you realise you haven’t really achieved anything at all, you get demotivated – and probably eat for comfort.

I have done this so many times – until I discovered a great secret way of staying motivated to keep the lifestyle changes up. Learn more about that by signing up for my email newsletters! I will also be telling you about it in future posts.

But, in the meantime let’s  run over a few small changes you should make to your diet to help the weight just slide off!

Lets start off with portion control. Eating too much at each meal and underestimating the amount you eat is a classic mistake. It can easily wreck your weight loss program. The formula of losing weight is simple really. You need to take in less energy in your food that you are using up in your daily activities. If you think you are balancing this out, but you are choosing portions that are too big, you won’t lose weight. You might even gain weight. Extra calories in the larger portions will be absorbed and turned straight into fat.

It’s a good idea in the beginning to actually weigh food out so that you see how big portions should be and compare this with your own guestimate. Who knows what 2 oz of pasta looks like? But if you do some weighing, you do start to get more of a feel for the right sized portions. You may be surprised that they look smaller than you had been guessing before!

Another good tip is never to go without food so you get really hungry. We have all done it. You start by skipping breakfast and drinking coffee then having a salad for lunch. By 4pm you could eat whatever is in the fridge! Start with a healthy breakfast – wholemeal toast, a boiled egg, whole grain cereal and skimmed milk, yoghurt and fruit. Not all in the same breakfast of course! Then have fruit juice instead of coffee and snack on 8-10 grapes before having a healthy sandwhich and more fruit at lunch.  Have an apple mid afternoon and then a sensible dinner – grilled chicken or fish and vegetables.

Constantly boosting your blood sugar with slowly released sugars in fruit really helps.

Try it and let me know if it works for you,

Love

Jen x

The third phase is the pre-maintenance phase and by this point you should have lost quite a lot of weight, up to fifteen or so pounds during the induction phase and then as much as you needed to in the ongoing weight loss phase. The Atkins diet says that the aim during this phase is to find true balance point of your body with regards to the amount of carbohydrates you can take in each day without gaining weight which may actually take your body out of ketosis! Once you’ve found this balance point you’ll be able to move into the final stage which is simply entering a period of lifetime maintenance.

Here the focus is really on keeping positive and sticking with the diet in general so that you don’t return to your old habits and begin gaining weight again. What is important is to keep the basics of what helped you lose weight in the first place: unprocessed foods, not too many carbs and other sugary foods.

This four stage diet which we covered in part one and two of the diet was the most popular diet in America between 2003 and 2004 with up to one in ten American adults on the diet. So, whilst not for everyone, the Atkins diet is certainly one you can try out and see if you like. If not go for another diet and start losing weight another way, but I think the Atkins is a great place to start because it provides a really clear path to losing weight through a number of stages that should keep you from feeling hungry and tired at all!

So the first stage – induction. This is a rather tough few weeks where you are simply trying to get your body to enter a state of ketosis which is when your body begins to start burning fat and protein instead of glucose so as to produce energy. To reach this state you are limited to 15 grams of carbohydrates a day, not including those which come from fiber and certain other sources. Of that fifteen, the majority must come from green vegetables and salads such as asparagus. On the protein side of things, most meats, chicken and fish are absolutely fine and you are encouraged to enjoy eggs and other protein rich foods too. Whilst this seems like quite a fun way to diet, it must be noted that you can’t just ‘pig out’ on foods and eat and eat and eat; meats must be eaten sensibly and in good amounts. Plus, you are required to drink copious amounts of water so as to prevent toxins building up in your body and alcohol is forbidden!

The next stage in the diet is what is known as the ongoing weight loss phase where you slowly increase your carbohydrate intake but keep it inside of the zone where you keep losing weight. This is done by using 5 gram increments to increase the amount of carbs you’re taking in in a controlled way. There is also a prescribed set of ‘rungs’ which you climb up as you go from week to week which provide you with different foods you are allowed to eat. You’re supposed to keep this up for as long as it takes for you to get within five kilos of your desired weight and then move onto the next stage, pre-maintenance which will be considered in the next article.

So, tune in next time and see what the next stages of the Atkins diet are!

Problems in dieting often have roots in people not really knowing what they’ve eaten each day or week and therefore not knowing what to change to lose weight over time. Therefore we encourage you to keep a good detailed plan of everything you eat each day so that you can make the small changes to your diet to enable weight loss. Such a diet can also help keep you focused by being able to put a structure on to your diet and create a history so that you know what made your diet easier and what made it harder each day depending on when you ate, how much you ate and even with whom!

Finally, by starting to enjoy your diet you’ll stop seeing it as a burden and begin to appreciate it as a way to change your life style in the longer term so that you can be more positive in your outlook and the way you approach life in general. So, take a day a week to indulge yourself with a break from your diet in the form of a chocolate bar or a small cake or cookie. Plus, start to take exercise in groups so that you can make friends and use your time exercising more socially and also use the fact you are exercising with other people to motivate you to work harder to lose weight and keep exercising.