With the summer sun – and that longed-for beach break – now tantalisingly close at hand, our thoughts are turning to shedding the cosy winter layers and honing what’s been hiding underneath.
But if achieving that fabulous bikini body means losing a few extra pounds, it’s a relief to know even the smallest of changes can make a massive difference to your shrinking waistline. Nutritionists agree that despite the popularity of diets such as the Dukan, Atkins and GI, the only path to long-term weight loss is to adjust diet and lifestyle to ensure you eat fewer calories than your body uses.
Clare Grace, research dietician at the Queen Mary University of London reports: “Weight gain occurs when the number of calories eaten is greater than the number used by the body.” In fact, to gain, and therefore lose 1lb in weight, you’ll need to eat – or avoid – an extra 3,500 calories.
Sounds like a challenge, but it needn’t be. Cutting back or burning off an extra 100 calories a day could help you lose 10lb a year, so just a couple of changes to your daily diet could see you beach-ready and bikini fit in time for the summer!
Five easy calorie crunchers
1. Oranges and lemons – It makes for a refreshing start to the day, but that glass of orange juice packs a calorific punch with around 110kcals for a 250ml glass. Shave 100 calories from your morning tipple by replacing orange juice with a blend of PLj Lemon Juice and water (£2.29 for 500ml from Sainsbury’s and Waitrose). At less than 7kcals per glass, it also delivers 75% of the RDA of vitamin C in every serving so makes good sense all round!
2. Banish the biscuit tin – It probably comes as no surprise, but biscuits are crammed with calories – just two Hobnobs clock up a whopping 142kcals! For a more nutritious snack with your cuppa, nibble on a kiwi fruit and a Satsuma. At 14kcals and 18kcals a piece, you’ll be laughing all the way to a lower dress size.
3. Keep things open – Providing the filling is relatively healthy, a good wholesome sandwich can make for a tasty, filling meal. To save on the calorie content, think Scandinavian and opt for an ‘open sandwich’, using one slice of bread rather than two. It’ll save you around 100kcals, and if substituted with a healthy side salad and fat-free dressing, will be just as satisfying!
4. Season for the season – Rather than smothering steamed vegetables with lashings of butter, sprinkle them with lemon juice and fresh herbs for a delicate, fat-free and calorie-crushing flavour.
5. Winning with wine – At the end of a long day, there’s nothing quite like an evening tipple. Every 250ml glass of wine delivers 185kcals, so opting for a small glass (89kcals for 120ml) or better still, a gin and slimline tonic (56kcals for a single serving) will help you to continue the saving.
It’s not just about cutting calories from your daily diet though – you can also make a difference by moving more throughout the day to speed up your calorie burning potential.
Five easy calorie consumers
1. Be a mean cleaner – Throw yourself into a 20-minute cleaning frenzy of vacuuming, scrubbing, mopping or tidying, should see you burn off around 100kcals.
2. Go the extra mile – Walk a mile further than you normally would every day and you’ll clock up a 100kcal deficit. Running the mile will burn the same – you’ll just complete the mile a little more quickly!
3. Window shop – Take yourself off for a 40 minute shopping spree at lunchtime and burn 100kcals while you’re at it!
4. Dig it – Digging and raking reap the biggest benefits in terms of calorie burning in the garden – just 15 minutes could see you 100kcals down.
5. Ironing out – Work up a sweat with the ironing pile! Just 25 minutes of enthusiastic ironing could see you burn 100kcals!