Get fit and lose weight for summer: My diet tips!

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Despite the rain and the wind battering the UK this April; I know what you are all doing.  All you women that have a holiday booked this summer; are mentally assessing your wardrobe and your weight.

We all do it.  It gets to April. There's a hint that summer is fast approaching.  The Easter school break comes and goes; and suddenly, the next big school holiday is the summer one.  It's time for heading to the beach and baring that skin in a swim suit.  Or bather.  Or cozzie.  Or bikini.  Or any number of other terms for the Lycra filled, no holds barred, shows every blemish and roll of flesh - piece of material that we all insist on wearing.

I'm doing it now; the assessing; not the holidaying.  I am sitting here with my entire wardrobe flashing through my brain, knowing I've put too much weight on over the last month due to consumption of at least two chocolate bars a day.  I know that I can halt the gradual weight increase by cutting back to my usual one bar of chocolate per day.  And I also know, that if I want to loose any weight, I'm going to have to cut out the chocolate all together; remember not to replace it with cakes and biscuits thinking they won't count; and I'll actually have to do some exercise.

I've always said I don't do diets.  I don't.  Not fad diets anyway.  All the methods my friends use: Atkins, Dukan, Slimming World, Rosemary Conley, Weight Watchers.  I have heard about them all.  I've watched people use them, loose weight, stop the diet, and throw the weight all back on again, until they, once again, start the diet, loose it all, and repeat the process in a yo yo fashion. 

If you are happy with the yo yo weight management system, then that's fine.  Loose the weight for the summer, put it all on again over winter.  Ensure to have two separate wardrobes.

Put I'm not happy with that.  I don't want to spend half the year craving food and stopping myself have eating what I love.  Life's too short.  Besides; that doesn't feel like a healthy long lasting approach to looking and feeling good.

So here's my 'diet'.  Here's what I do when I feel I have over indulged for a while and I need to get back on track.

There are two stages:

1. Halt the weight increase. 
That means I may feel a little hungry to start with.  My stomach will have expanded to accommodate my large food intact, so now I need to teach it to shrink a little again.  I need to do the following things:

• Cut back on the sweet stuff.  Recognising that if I've already had a bar of chocolate today I really don't need another.  This doesn't mean I can't.  It means I take a second to remember that I am trying to adjust my eating habits slightly and make the choice then.
• Making a few more sensible choices.  Picking lighter or smaller chocolate bars when I do indulge.  Or swapping for a biscuit (just one if I can manage it)
• Eating a few more omelettes (because they fill you up for longer and reduce snacking).  
• Drinking more water; particularly before and during meals.  Again because the water fills you up (reducing that hungry feeling) and dehydration is a major cause of bloating.  Who needs bloating on top of the bulge?

2. Encourage the weight to fall off
Continuing with the list above, I'll also add these things in:

• Have soup for lunch at least once a week.  This fills you up (liquid does so more than solids) and thus reduces snacking.
• Cut back on alcohol.  I love wine; but it is full of empty calories; so I try and have only one cherished glass at a time, with a maximum of one bottle per week if I am trying to loose weight.  
• Increase the exercise.  That means anything from walking to school as often as is feasible, to playing chase with the girls in the garden, to getting out to the gym, the local swimming pool, out on a bike or to a dance or Zumba class.  For my review of Zumba click here.
• Exercise even whilst doing other tasks.  There are stretches you can do whilst getting the dinner ready, arm toning you can do for 3 minutes before you settle down to watch the TV (or even during the adverts!) and bottom toning exercises you can do whilst cleaning your teeth (I always do this!  Check out how easy it is here)  
• And always, always have breakfast.  There's an old saying which goes something like; "breakfast like a King; lunch like a Lord and dine like a pauper".  The idea is that you need the most calories and energy first thing in the morning to get you going, but hardly need any calories to get through the final 2 or 3 hours between your last meal of the day and bedtime.  So eat more at the start of the day to enable yourself to have time to use it up and burn it off.  I always have cereal for breakfast; but I've noticed that if I add half a banana to it, in slices, I don't get hungry mid morning.
  

And my biggest tip?
Use smaller plates.  It sounds crazy but really does work.

I am convinced that one of the prime reasons for women putting on weight when they settle down and get married (or move in with a partner) is that they begin to eat all their meals with a man.  Men need more calories on average.  They eat bigger portions as a result.  If you use the same plate size as them; you'll end up eating just as much.  Which is, of course, too much for you.*

Use a smaller plate.  You won't even notice the food you've not eaten. If you are anything like me you'll want to clear the plate.  My upbringing means my body is comfortable that it's finished it's meal when the plate is empty; regardless of how large, or small, the plate was.  I am used to clearing my plate, and we didn't have second helpings of the main course when I was growing up.  There just wasn't any need for making more food that was required.     

One final word of advice
 If you are trying to lose weight, remember this.  To lose weight you have to use up more calories than you consume.  You know this; don't even pretend you don't!  You know also that it will involve feeling hungry to start with, whilst your body adjusts to smaller portions.  This is the stage where you have to be mentally strong and remember why you are doing it.

And once you get to your ideal weight the battle isn't over.  Now you need to learn what level of food and exercise you need to adjust to, to maintain a static weight.

So don't do 'A' diet.  Do 'YOUR' diet.  Find your balance.  Enjoy your food.  Enjoy your exercise.  Enjoy your life.

That, ladies, is my secret. 

***

I am 5 foot six inches tall and a UK size 12 (US 10 - conversion chart here) usually.  This week I am a UK size 14 (US 12).  I weigh 11 stone 5 pounds (72.12kg - conversion chart here) at the moment.  I am aiming for 11 stone for a comfortable size 12, but really I'll be happier when I can run around the garden for more than 5 minutes without getting tired.

You can browse Amazon here for fitness products. 

Tips for winding your baby

Does your baby scream every time they are laid on a changing mat?

Does your baby happily fall asleep in your arms, but scream the second they are laid in their cot?

There's a good chance they still have wind.

Even when they fall asleep in your arms after a feed and you wait a good half an hour before trying to transfer them to a cot, there's a good chance any screaming is to do with wind.

Our eldest particularly struggled with this, because it took us such a long time to work it out.  We'd wind her; she'd bring up some wind and snuggle into our arms, or up on our shoulder.  She'd fall to sleep.  Then we'd try and transfer her to a cot and the screaming would start instantly.  We thought it was all to do with wanting cuddles.  She'd sleep in her bouncy chair; sitting upright of course.  She'd sleep in her car seat. Sitting upright.  Spot the pattern yet?.  But she wouldn't sleep flat.  Eventually we learnt that she still had wind.

We discovered that we needed to test our winding success by leaning her back into a flat position whilst still on our knee.  If she started to scream, or arched her back, or pulled her legs up to her chest, then the wind hadn't all cleared, and we'd continue to wind her.

Sometimes she'd scream throughout the winding, and fling herself backwards whilst we were trying to sit her on our knee to wind her.  We learnt to stay calm and keep winding, because that was the only solution.

Some tips for good winding include:

• sit baby up on your knee, leaning slightly forwards, chin supported with one hand (obviously away from the neck) and rub your hand repetitively up baby's back.
• Whilst in this position, different rubbing techniques include using two fingers to snake up either side of the spine in a wave motion.
• Alternate rubbing (always upwards) with panting on the back.  Three or four pants, starting low on the back and moving upwards are particularly effective.
• Some parents find winding up on their shoulder easier.  The same hand motions can be used.
• Don't forget to use a muslin to protect your knee or shoulder in case more comes up than air!

Just remember you are trying to ease a pocket of air out from their tummy upwards to their mouth.  So the most effective winding eases the air pockets upwards.

Your baby may start to fall asleep sat up on your knee (despite how uncomfortable it looks).  Don't be fooled though.  Gently lie them backwards, to a flat back position.  If they wake screaming, your job isn't yet finished.  Keep that winding going.  If, however, they stay asleep, your work here is done.  Transfer to cot and pop the kettle on quick!  You probably won't get long!

I hope that helps.

For tips on how to change a nappy click here.

Help! My child doesn't want to go to school!

Late on Sunday evening, the night before school was due to start a new term after the Easter break, my friend's five year old daughter took a tube of toothpaste, squeezed out three or four large gloops, and rubbed it all into her dry hair like shampoo.  All over. 

Her mother, understandably, was fairly upset.  It took four actual shampoos and rinses to get the bulk of it out of her hair.  Bedtime was somewhat delayed.

You'll obviously have worked out that this child wasn't keen on school.  It's nothing new; she's been coming up with excuses to avoid going to school for the whole 18 months she's been in attendance.  Luckily, her mum, being the sensible woman she is, hasn't let her daughter win this battle of wills.  Attending school is not a debating matter.  But, the daughter has obviously inherited her mother's fighting spirit and stubbornness, so it's a battle of wills that continues to rage.

Excuses have included;

• I can only go to school when it's sunny.  
• I've broken my leg. (she obviously hadn't).  
• I can't find any socks (she'd hidden them all)
• I can't find my shoes (she'd hidden those too)

There's no doubting she's got a brilliant imagination.  But mum has had mornings where she has had to take her into school in her pyjamas, uniform in bag, and carry her to the door kicking and screaming.

Ironically, once at school, all reports suggest that she enjoys it.  She is super bright; reading texts far beyond her years; but appears to socialise happily in the school environment.

Her mother, though, is starting to wonder if she'll ever go to school without fuss.

Can anyone help? 

Is this something that she will eventually grow out of?  Or is it a habit that she'll find hard to break?  Is there anything more mum can do?

What inventive things has your child done to avoid school?

The National Trust: 50 things to do before you're 11 3/4 years old

We have enjoyed some of our best days out at National Trust properties.  And my favourite memories of childhood are set outdoors; so I was really pleased to see that the National Trust's current campaign aims to get children back outside.

Climbing trees; building dams; making mud pies; digging for worms; these are activities that were pretty much all children did in the 70s, but which, in today's technology and health and safety obsessed age, seem to have disappeared, victims either to the lure of the DVD and games consoles, or to the wrap-in-cotton-wool mentality of parents.  According to the report commissioned by the National Trust three times as many children are taken to hospital having fallen out of bed, compared to falling out of a tree.  A third have never even climbed a tree and a shocking one in ten can't ride a bike.

You can pick up a scrapbook from any National Trust property and start ticking off the activities; then continue the fun at home; visiting the 50things website and earning points towards an explorer badge.  Although it would be slightly ironic if all the children simply 'logged on' to earn their badge, instead of actually getting outside!

This is a great idea; and if you want to get started; here's the list:

Sudbury Hall & the National Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire

1. Climb a tree
2. Roll down a really big hill
3. Camp out in the wild
4. Build a den
5. Skim a stone
6. Run around in the rain
7. Fly a kite
8. Catch a fish with a net
9. Eat an apple straight from a tree
10. Play conkers
11. Throw some snow
12. Hunt for treasure on the beach
13. Make a mud pie
14. Dam a stream
15. Go sledging
16. Bury someone in the sand
17. Set up a snail race
18. Balance on a fallen tree
19. Swing on a rope swing
20. Make a mud slide
21. Eat blackberries growing in the wild
22. Take a look inside a tree
23. Visit an island
24. Feel like you're flying in the wind
25. Make a grass trumpet
26. Hunt for fossils and bones
27. Watch the sun wake up
28. Climb a huge hill
29. Get behind a waterfall
30. Feed a bird from your hand
31. Hunt for bugs
32. Find some frogspawn
33. Catch a butterfly in a net
34. Track wild animals
35. Discover what's in a pond
36. Call an owl
37. Check out the crazy creatures in a rock pool
38. Bring up a butterfly
39. Catch a crab
40. Go on a nature walk at night
41. Plant it, grow it, eat it
42. Go wild swimming
43. Go rafting
44. Light a fire without matches
45. Find your way with a map and compass
46. Try bouldering
47. Cook on a campfire
48. Try abseiling
49. Find a geocache
50. Canoe down a river

I'm afraid I'm fast approaching 40 years old and there are still 7 things on this list I haven't done yet.  I'll enjoy discovering those with my children.

Can you guess which ones?  Which have you done?

I have found the best jeans ever for mummy tummies!

Monsoon Farah Regular Jeans £45

I have discovered the best pair of jeans ever.  This is no easy feat.  I have been looking for jeans that fit me properly since, well, since I worked out that the boys in school preferred jeans to the flowery skirts I thought were trendy in the early Eighties.  

Even before I had children I struggled to find jeans that met my stringent criteria; stay up throughout the day; don't gape at the small of my back; be the right length.  I realise that these are completely unreasonable criteria.  They must be, because if they were sensible pre-requisites then the designers would have addressed them before now.  

However, it appears I am alone in my requirement to keep my jeans up on top of my hips and certainly alone in the wish that they didn't show off my pants at every possible opportunity.

Of course then I had children.  My pre-baby body was always larger at the hips, with a slim waist.  But now I have a tummy that certainly isn't concave, and so I discovered that, short of wearing braces with my jeans, I was unlikely to find any that stayed up without a belt.  

Therein lies yet another problem (I told you this was a feat) any mother that has a similar (overstretched) tummy from giving birth will know that belts, when worn on jeans that like to sit on your hip bone, are the most uncomfortable belts in the world when you try and sit down.  The belt rams itself into the folds of flesh that you wish you could magic away with 200 sit-ups a day.  Oh if only we had the time.  You end up having to hoist the jeans back up onto your waist before sitting down.  Not an attractive sight, and second only to hoisting tights up to the correct position by lifting one leg at a time into the air in an unseemly manner.

So, in a world that designs it's jeans for (so it appears) size zero models only, where would I find a pair to meet my needs?

It turns out, that I found them when I wasn't even looking.  When I had, in fact, given up the search in favour of actual trousers.  I found them at Monsoon; one of my favourite stores.   

The Farah jeans are beautiful.  They come in a short or regular length, which is great for me, as the regular is perfect.  Usually regular lengths are too short for me, and long lengths only good when I happen to be wearing 4 inch heels.

They don't gape at the base of your spine.  At all.  

They completely hide my mummy tummy.  Completely.  Without digging in at any point.  If you think they may look too high, don't worry.  They don't.  And I always wear tops that fall slightly over the top of my jeans anyway, so that's not a problem.

When I tried them on in the store I nearly cried.  I extend my heart felt thanks to the shop assistant who pointed me in their direction.

They fit!

If you have curves and usually struggle to find jeans that fit, try them.  You won't be disappointed.

I provide only one caveat.  These are 2% elastane, and so do make an attempt to slide down your hips.  You can feel them trying (if you stand up for a long stretch of time and are specifically concentrating); but they don't get far because of their shape.  I love them.  A lot.

***

This review is my honest opinion of jeans that I discovered in store and paid for myself.  I would be more than happy to test other products for Monsoon, should they be interested (wink).  I purchased the Farah Regular Jeans £45.