Style guru, Mimi Spencer, author of 101 Things To Do Before You Diet, tells us how to slim down the easy way…
Anyone who’s been on a diet will know how prescriptive they can be. If you’ve ever faced bacon and eggs for the 10th day on the trot on the Atkins regime, found yourself boiling up a vat of flatulent vegetables for cabbage soup, or shunned entire food groups because it was the wrong time of day, you’ll know just how demanding deprivation diets are.
But still, you may grumble, “I wish I was a bit slimmer.” Well, thankfully, there are masses of ways to achieve that state of nirvana without going near a diet. What you need is a Live-It, not a diet.
You need ways to feel proud of your body and its beautiful curves, and ways to eliminate self-hate. Whatever the Hollywood elite would have you believe, the path to righteous, slim living can’t be bought in a jar.
The changes come from within. You need to access body confidence, and develop a balanced, healthy relationship with the contents of your fridge. There are countless ways to do this. Here’s how, in three bite-sized portions:
Dress slimmer
Know your stripes – you need to know the tricks that will shave off kilos. There are tons of routes that will take you there, if you know the way. For now, know that horizontal stripes are more slimming than vertical (yes, it goes against all you believe to be true, but studies have proved it). And wear light-absorbing colours that will make you look smaller.
Elongate your figure with long ropes of pearls, a silken scarf or a V-neck jersey. Add heels too. And twinsets are the perfect thinning agent – the shell gives you fit, the cardigan disguises your tummy.
Buy shapewear, and a properly fitted bra. The kilos will dissolve, I promise you.
Eat slimmer
Eat more brown food, less white. The simple expedient of choosing wholegrains over the refined alternative will lead you into a whole world of thin.
Don’t be ambushed by kilojoules. You know where they lie in wait – when you’re bored, at parties, when you’ve had three G&Ts and a fourth seems like a brilliant idea. Plan ahead. Know your enemy.
Head it off at the pass by eating a healthy meal before you go out, by making every second drink you have water, by understanding your hunger (and knowing that almonds make a great and filling snack).
Ban your fat five. You need to be particular here, not general, or it will feel like the bad old diet days. Think simple. If your nemesis is cheese and onion chips, forbid them. Just them. Have salt and vinegar, have toasted-cow flavour, whatever. Just don’t allow your gluttonous five through the door.
You’ll be surprised how great an impact this will have on your waistline. Simply introduce these make-a-difference ideas into your daily life and you’ll see the weight drop off and the confidence flood in. No cabbages to boil, no carbs to fear, no protein shakes. No problem.
Think slimmer
Use mindpower. Interestingly, this is no idle dream. Studies have shown that a woman who thinks and believes she is exercising will lose weight and gain tone. Someone who has the same level of activity but doesn’t think she is exercising, will not. Your mind has enormous power – so use it.
Change the record. Shake up your day and break those habits. If you always have the same sandwich-cake-coffee combo for lunch, do something different. Shock your system with the new and it will reward you by making you look way better in your favourite pair of jeans.
Know that you are beautiful. Already. Right now. Stop telling yourself (and anyone else within earshot) how fat, wobbly or unappealing you are. You are what you think you are.
Click here for your copy of Mimi Spencer’s eBook, 101 Things To Do Before You Diet, R155. It contains many more helpful tips and tricks.
DISCLAIMER: Before starting any diet, you should speak to your doctor. You must not rely on the information on this website/newsletter as an alternative to medical advice from your doctor or other professional healthcare provider.
