EASY WAYS TO ACHIEVE A SUMMER FIGURE

Written by Amy Poole I Photographs by Matthew Kane

Summer is here and we’re all driving ourselves crazy aiming for a toned and lean figure. It only feels like a couple of months ago we were still chomping into the mince pies. It’s never too late to turn your life around and improve your confidence, so we’ve got some realistic tips for you.

KEEP YOUR SUMMER FIGURE ALL YEAR ROUND – Losing weight can seem like a daunting task, especially when you’re focused on shifting plenty of pounds in a short amount of time. Our biggest tip is to carry on living your life and don’t allow your new diet and lifestyle change to take over your thoughts.

“It’s important that you love your body during this change. Otherwise, you’ll still be unhappy when you’ve reached your goals. Confidence comes from within, so remember to remind yourself that you’re beautiful inside and out.”

Avoid a strict diet, but instead introduce new foods and workout regimes into your routine slowly, in order to keep it up. Instead of thinking about all the foods you should be avoiding (saturated fats, sugar and salt), focus on adding more of the right foods to your diet. By adding more fruits and vegetables, you’ll naturally crave less processed foods. Do not tell yourself that certain foods are off limits, as this will evoke an instant craving. Tell yourself that you are going to snack on nuts and your metabolism will increase, which as a result, will help you to burn fat.
Move more, a lot of us are guilty of leading a sedentary life, we spend more time sitting than moving. Fitness trackers, such as the FitBit, encourage you to walk around every hour to meet a daily step goal. These quick five minutes of activity add up to help you burn an additional 200 calories a day. Be conscious of how you spend your free time too, and avoid sitting on the couch watching the TV for hours. When the adverts come on, get up and start moving by doing star jumps, sit ups, and jogging on the spot. These bursts of energy will help add to your calorie burn each week.
Stop eating late, if you eat your dinner past 7pm, you might want to prepare meals in advance and eat earlier. It’s proven that those who stop eating four hours before hitting the sack are less likely to store fat as than those who munch until bedtime. This is purely because your body has more time to digest and burn off the food it would ordinarily store as fat. If you do find that you are peckish at night, try a hot drink, find a good herbal tea mix that you like and munch on a very small handful of nuts and learn to know the difference between a craving and hunger.

DO YOU HAVE ANY WEIGHTLOSS TIPS?
It’s important that you love your body during this change. Otherwise, you’ll still be unhappy when you’ve reached your goals. Confidence comes from within, so remember to remind yourself that you’re beautiful inside and out.