Put that (butter) knife down! (General Weightloss & Healthy Eating Tips)

Name: Jess-L

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Product:	General Weightloss & Healthy Eating Tips
Date:	07/04/04 (160 review reads)
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I do try to eat reasonably healthily but I am not naturally a skinny little thing and every morning when I get in the shower, I can't help but notice my little belly and wobbly thighs! One day in February, I realised I couldn't wear a certain top because my stomach stuck out too much, and decided to do something about it - OK, I wasn't overweight, but I could easily have passed for someone who's three months pregnant!

As it was, I quickly remembered I was on, which was why I was bloated (what a horrible word!) but I still wasn't happy. I'd ignored the creeping weight long enough - admittedly I had jumped up from a size 6-8 to an oh so massive size 10 (!) but I felt really flabby and unhealthy.

Over the course of these two months I've lost 9 pounds (more than half a stone) with very little effort! That's 1 and a half pounds a week without even trying. At the beginning I tried faddy things like the Atkin's, but although I lost weight quickly, it reappeared just as fast and made my breath stink! In the end, I was so fed up I decided to simply eat healthily and see where that got me!

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The main thing I did was change the foods I ate. No I'm not telling you to bin your chocolate! You can make some quick, easy adjustments to your foods that will lower the calorie/fat content straight away. I'll give you a quick list so you get the idea...

Plain flour - wholemeal flour
Butter - margarine
Coca Cola - Diet Coke
Milk chocolate - dark chocolate
Fried rice - boiled rice

It's not hard to make a few changes to your shopping list and with a bit of initiative, you can really cut down on the amount of calories and fat you eat. I can't guarantee that every low fat and calorie product you buy will be good for you - margarine has been criticised for containing hydrogenated fats, and Diet Coke is full of sweeteners, but still, you should see some chang
es.

Also, be creative! Instead of loading your Special K with sugar, try chucking in a bit of fruit instead and swap full fat milk for semi skimmed! I am trying so hard not to sound like one of those booming, patronising middle-aged American ladies in leotards and I think I'm failing miserably, but you get the idea!

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This next idea sounds mad but eat whatever you want. In moderation! There's no use staring at that chocolate and then hiding it away because you'll only binge on it later. Have a few chunks of chocolate, and give the rest away. It sounds so obvious but you can't eat what you don't have!! If there's no-one else around and you have no willpower, put it in the bin - unwrapped. What works for me as well is microwaving a few chunks because there seems to be so much more chocolate when you do that, and you feel more indulgent!

Have a little of what you fancy and that'll make all the difference. Depriving yourself does no good at all and will make you go loopy!

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Whenever I feel a bit tetchy and want more toast (I've eaten six slices in one go before!) I give myself a manicure, do the dishes, have a bath - anything to distract myself! By the time I've finished doing whatever I'm doing, the craving will usually have passed and I don't have the desire to block up the toaster by frantically squashing slices of bread into it!

If the craving is still there, screaming out to be shut up by a bar of Galaxy, put lip gloss on. This won't work if you're a guy (unless you're Graham Norton) but do try it if you can, and use your most expensive one as well! I can't bear to ruin that lovely £10 sparkle by doing something as redundant as eating (!) so it works really well for me! Just keep reapplying and you'll be OK...

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Don't feel like you have to eat everything on your plate either -
eat till you feel full and bin the rest. There's no point stuffing yourself with food just because you don't want to waste it - would you rather chuck away a few chips or gain weight? Never put leftovers in the fridge either; put it straight into the bin. It sounds a bit ruthless but again, you cannot eat what isn't there! If you can't resist, put all the leftover food onto one plate - it looks a lot more when you're eating it all from one plate rather than when you go round picking away at several plates!

Also, try to have a glass of water with every meal. If you hate the taste of water, swap it for fruit juice or cordial! It fills you up to some extent and stops you feeling so hungry - so you eat less! Bingo!

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Make an effort to change your eating habits - try eating more healthier foods that you actually enjoy! Maybe you hate bananas, oranges, celery, etc, the usual fruit and veg but how about mango? Watermelon? Strawberries?

I started to eat lots of apples and carrots because they stopped me snacking on biscuits and chocolate and I soon started to quite like the taste of them! It got boring though, and I decided to sod it and asked my mum to bring me a takeaway from work. I ripped the paper open, breathed in the smell of fish and chips and... felt sick to the stomach. I could almost smell the fat! I physically could not eat it, it turned my stomach. Since then, I am eating a lot more fruit and vegetables and fatty fried foods make me feel quite ill!


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So that's my advice! They don't sound like much but by drinking more water, eating chocolate, having pampering sessions and swapping Coke for Diet Coke, I've lost more than half a stone! I lost the weight in two weeks very quickly, and have since levelled out at a steady weight which I am happy with.

I would be really happy if you kept in mind a few of those tips because they really worked
for me and I didn't have to give up my beloved cheese and onion crisps! Obviously this will not make much difference if you're Rik Waller but if you just want to be able to fit into that dress by next Saturday and need a quick - and safe - fix, why not give try it??

Thanks for reading.

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