Oh go on then! I know we're all DYING to talk about our diets! Do you need to confess to Beaut.ie - or do you have a tale of triumph to report? We started the New Year with the best of intentions. But how many of us are managing to stick to our resolutions? Despite a slight attack of weakness with a bottle of wine and a very gorgeous Baileys coffee at the weekend I'm still hanging on in there!
I need some inspiration though! So here to motivate us is one of Beaut.ie's star dieters, reader Sarah, to share her tips with us.
7am I start every morning with hot water and lemon, a proven method for waking up the metabolism. The lemon attacks fat in the body. We like that! It’s important to drink this first thing before having anything to eat.
7.30am I’ve been going to the gym three mornings a week - Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so these mornings I have nothing to eat before the session, except the lemon and water. I work out for an hour with my personal trainer (sounds way more fancy than it is).
8.30am Within an hour of my workout I have one of the following to bring my blood sugar up and let the muscles recover:
- an omlette which I make in the microwave at work
- yoghurt (sometimes it's the easiest)
- on mornings when I'm organised I have a smoothie ready, throw in some berries, water, smoothie and sometimes banana and just blend it all up… treat!
- I tend to only have about 2 bananas a week now. They are very hard to break down (but half a nanna is good after a workout).
- On the mornings I don’t gym it, I have a boiled egg / omelette or scrambled eggs. My personal trainer swears by protein - it's the key to starting the day.
- I also take a multivitamin every day
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11am I have yogurt or unsalted nuts or a piece of fruit (a pear, grapes or apple). I used to have either a biscuit, cake or a sausage roll every day without fail prior to this new regime! A good tip also is to soak nuts over night. It reduces the fat content - and they are needed for skin, hair and nails! Of course I have a cup of pu erh now also.
1pm I have a brown pitta with salad & tuna. It’s very important to have protein at lunch, salad is not enough. I also make this gorgeous Italian vegetable bake (I posted the recipe on Beaut.ie last week). I have this with brown cous cous and its lovely! I find it more filling to have something hot plus it has hardly any calories whatsoever! And a cup of pu erh also.
2-5 pm I continue to drink my two litres of water then into the avo and a few cups of pu erh also to keep hunger at bay until dinner.
6pm I love dinner. I’ve been having really nice pieces of fish with the vegetable bake. I bake salmon with a little sweet chili sauce or cod and have it with all sorts of veg (asparagus is my favorite). Some days I will have beans or peas with it too if I'm very hungry. When I have chicken or beef I have lean cuts only and I make sure it’s cooked either in the oven or on the George Foreman.
That’s it then and if I’m peckish after this I will have more nuts for a snack but nothing heavy. Nothing after 7pm anyway.
Sarah has lost 6lb since she began her diet! Tell us what you think of Sarah's tips and how you're getting on - leave us a comment!
