Sunday, May 15

Health special: Flat tummy forever

By JAMES DUIGAN

Last updated at 2:26 AM on 15th May 2011

Beach babe curves? Check. Honed legs? Sort of. Toned tum? Eek! That holiday holy grail – a bikini body – is the one target that most of us find hard to keep under control. That’s why we’ve enlisted the help of celebrity trainer James Duigan (right), the man who shaped up Elle Macpherson, no less. This week, in part two of his Flat Tummy Fast diet and exercise plan, he shows how 12 simple lifestyle changes will help get your tum to beachworthy and beyond

1 Eat fat

I'm talking about good fat, the sort found in nuts, avocados, oily fish and oils. I’m not talking about bad fat – also known as transfats, which often go under the names hydrogenated oil, hydrogenated vegetable fat and partially hydrogenated vegetable fat. Good fats should be eaten every day. They encourage your body to burn fat around your middle, giving you a nice, flat tummy, and help to absorb vitamins and minerals more efficiently. So whenever you have a salad, always add some good fat to it, whether you drizzle it with olive oil or sprinkle over some chopped nuts or seeds.

2 Take a bath

Lots of my model clients take an Epsom salts bath just before a bikini photo shoot. Just add one or two mugs of Epsom salts (available at most pharmacies) to a hot
bath – not too hot, as you want to be able to sit in it comfortably. Epsom salts are an ancient remedy for drawing out toxins. Taking one or two of these baths a week will speed up your weight loss.

3 Spring-clean your insides

The ideal ratio of bacteria in a healthy human gut is 85 per cent friendly to 15 per cent
harmful. However, studies show that too many people in the West have this ratio the other way around. If your stomach doesn’t feel fantastic or if it looks or feels noticeably
different (swollen, sore, bloated, etc) after eating certain foods, then it may be time you cleaned up your gut in order to get your stomach really flat. To do this you must first eliminate all the foods, chemicals and products that cause the bad bacteria to breed.

Drink filtered water rather than the chlorinated water that comes out of your tap.
Eat organic meat. If money is an issue, eat meat less often and buy better quality for the times when you do. Non-organic meat comes from animals that are fed antibiotics, which you then end up consuming.
Cut out alcohol, which kills friendly probiotics (it’s also packed with sugar, which makes you fat).
If you have to take antibiotics, remember that they kill all bacteria – friendly and unfriendly – so always take probiotics afterwards to replenish your good bacteria.
Many everyday, over-the-counter drugs can lead to a paunch, so keep all unnecessary medications to an absolute minimum.
For a list of foods and supplements that will repopulate your gut with friendly bacteria, see part one online at you.co.uk.

4 Don’t overcook it

If you overcook food, you’ll kill off or reduce the number of nutrients it contains. Try to make sure about 50 per cent of the food on your plate is raw. If you can manage it, eat all your vegetables raw. If not, steam, blanch or roast them to retain as many of their nutrients as possible.

5 Beware of gluten

Foods that contain gluten can weaken your abdominal wall and make it slack, resulting in a protruding stomach. Lots of people are gluten intolerant, which can inflame the bowel and make it look bigger, especially just below the belly button. Foods containing gluten include: bread and pasta (unless otherwise stated)

most breakfast cereals
muffins l pastries l baked goods l pizza bases
pie crusts l biscuits l cakes l croissants l bagels
alcohol made from grains, eg, beer, whisky,
bourbon and liqueurs l cheese spread l ketchup
processed meats l margarine l oats l salad dressings l sausages l seasoning mixes l semolina l soups, apart from home-made l soy sauce and most Chinese sauces l sweets that contain stabilisers made from gluten.

6 Sleep it off

We’ve come a long way since going to bed when the sun sets and waking up when it
rises, but this is how our bodies were – and still are – designed to function. Most of
us follow a completely different sleep timetable to that of our ancestors, but if
you return to this old-fashioned way of sleeping you’ll lose weight, especially around your tummy and waist. A hormone called leptin is responsible for telling your brain when your stomach is full, and it also helps to control appetite and metabolism. Not sleeping properly disrupts this hormone, which is why you find yourself eating more when you’re sleep deprived. However, there are ways of tweaking sleep to resemble our ancestors’ schedule, but which are still practical for modern life. Here are five tips
for tummy-toning sleep:

In the hour or two before bed, turn off your laptop, TV and mobile phone, and keep your lights low. You need to make your environment dull and calm, in keeping with your natural body clock.
If your bedroom is too hot or too cold, you won’t sleep; the ideal is 16-18C.
If possible, have 15-minute power naps during the day. Even if you can’t fall asleep, have 15 minutes with no electronic gadgets, books or magazines. Just lie down with your eyes closed and breathe deeply.
Use blackout blinds in your bedroom to cut out any sunlight, street lights or lights from passing traffic. Failing that, buy an eye mask and pop it on before you go to sleep.
Establish a bedtime routine. Do something relaxing every night before bed, whether it’s having a bath, listening to music (studies show that classical music calms the brain), or reading a chapter of a book – then go to sleep at the same time each night, give or take 30 minutes.

7 Eat flat-tummy foods

It’s hard to escape stress in modern life, which doesn’t help us win the battle of the bulge. Studies show that the stress hormone cortisol causes our bodies to dump fatty deposits all over our tummies and waists. Being stressed all the time is like sticking on an extra inch of fat. But the following foods can help to reduce stress which, in turn, will keep your tummy flat…

Blueberries are top of my list because they’re a low-GI (glycaemic index) food, which keeps your blood-sugar (and energy) levels steady. Eat a handful of blueberries every day if you can.
Green vegetables, such as broccoli, kale and asparagus, the darker the colour the better.
Red, yellow and orange vegetables, including tomatoes, carrots and peppers.
Turkey contains an amino acid called L-tryptophan, which triggers the release of serotonin (a relaxing feel-good brain chemical).
At least 2-3 litres of still, room-temperature water sipped regularly throughout the day.
Natural, organic yoghurt provides a good hit of minerals, including calcium which is important for your nerves. Yoghurt also neutralises the acidity caused by stress.
Oily fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel contains lots of omega fatty acids, which control levels of cortisol and adrenalin (another stress hormone) in the body.
Almonds, pistachios and walnuts are full of vitamins B and E, which boost your immune system (whereas stress weakens it). Have a small handful of nuts every day.
Avocados help to lower blood pressure because of all the monounsaturated fat and potassium they contain.
Cantaloupe melon is an excellent source of vitamin C, which is great for beating stress.
Beef is full of iron, zinc and B vitamins, all of which have been shown to chill you out. But limit yourself to one or two portions a week, organic if possible.

8 Don’t be a screenager

Limit the amount of time you spend watching TV or browsing on your computer in the evening. It will suck the life out of you, disrupt your sleep and overstimulate your brain. Only watch one or two TV shows that you like, or go online to do something specific – never both at the same time, and not for longer than an hour or two a night.

9 Steer clear of vampires

Stay away from ‘energy vampires’. You know the ones I’m talking about – ‘friends’, colleagues or family members who drain you of energy with their negative attitude. Spend time with people who make you laugh or do things that you find fun.

10 Have a massage

Do this every week if you can, as it releases calming, feel-good hormones into the body. If you can’t afford it, get your partner or a friend to give you a foot or shoulder rub.

11 Take time out

Have some down time every day. Whether you’re alone, or with your favourite person,
spend at least 30 minutes of every day doing something relaxing.

12 Always have breakfast

Eat within one hour of waking up, otherwise your body will become stressed, with the consequences that entails. If you don’t have time for a proper breakfast, just grab a piece of fruit and a few nuts.

James Duigan is the founder of Bodyism, a unique nutritional and personal training system (bodyism.com). His clients include Elle Macpherson, Hugh Grant and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

Monday, May 9

Trim that tum in 7 days

Worried you'll have a bikini bulge this summer? Try the cult Flat Tummy plan and you could lose half a stone in just a week

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Last updated at 2:22 AM on 9th May 2011

Banish bikini bulge: Get a flat stomach in a week with the Flat Tummy Plan

Does your tummy feel bloated and flabby? Do you buy clothes to disguise your muffin top? Do you think your bikini days are long behind you?

Our tummies are always the first place to betray any weight gain — and as every woman knows, shifting a spare tyre can be notoriously difficult.

But according to Kate Adams, founder of the Flat Tummy Club, you can lose up to 7lb and knock inches off your midriff in just seven days by following the cunning diet and exercise programme that helped her lose more than two stone.

‘When I landed my dream job as a diet and health book publisher several years ago, I was absolutely thrilled,’ she says. ‘Unfortunately, even though I had all the latest weight-loss information at my fingertips I became so wrapped up in my ambitions and deadlines that I stopped looking after myself and piled on 2st.

‘All of a sudden, I found I couldn’t get my jeans done up and I had a substantial, stubborn spare tyre sitting around my middle.

‘Of course, I made resolutions to do something about it — but, like most people, I seemed unable to stick to any diet for more than a couple of days.

‘Eventually, desperate to make a change, I pulled together all my favourite strands of knowledge from across my ten years of health publishing and formulated my own weight-loss plan. A plan that worked so well at reducing bloat and excess weight that I lost 7lb in the first week and 2st in six months.

‘Even better, the excess pounds and unattractive muffin top have stayed away — I’ve been back in my old jeans for almost two years and even feel happy wearing a bikini.

‘By popular demand, I started to share my diet and exercise tips, first with friends and family and then through a website I set up called the Flat Tummy Club.’

Now you can join the club, too — and start losing weight today. Here, step by step, Kate shows you how...

THE FIRST STEP: EXAMINE YOUR HABITS

ALCOHOL WARNING!

A small glass of wine at dinner will do you no harm in the flat tummy department.

However, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of drinking too much, too often. For many of us, there is also a direct correlation between how healthy the rest of our diet is and how much alcohol we drink.

It’s not just the extra calories in that half-bottle of wine — but all the nibbles that often go with it. If you know alcohol is one of your vices, you will need to avoid it or strictly control the amount you drink if you want to lose weight.

When I started my Flat Tummy plan I found that addressing why I over-ate was just as important as looking at what I was eating when it came to creating a weight-loss plan to which I could stick.

Starting today — and for the rest of the week — carry a small notebook around with you and jot down everything you eat and drink, as well as any exercise you do.

Add as much detail as possible: do you eat lunch at your desk? What feelings trigger you to eat unhealthily? This may be hard to do — even painful — but it really is the only way to get a clear picture of where your weaknesses lie.

As well as keeping a diary, write down your weight, measurements (bust, waist, hips, upper thigh) and take a photograph of yourself as you are now. Charting your progress from week to week is a great motivational tool.

Once you’ve listed a few days of eating and exercise habits, you’ll be able to start to use what you have discovered to lose weight. Perhaps you’ve realised you should take a packed lunch to work to avoid the temptations in the local cafe.

Or maybe you need to opt for a relaxing bath rather than reaching for a bottle of wine at the end of a tiring day.

More...

THE FLAT TUMMY CLUB DIET RULES

In addition to your diary findings, these simple, tried and tested diet rules are all you need to lose excess pounds easily, keep your appetite under control and eliminate a bloated tummy. Adapt them to fit in with your lifestyle and the foods you like to eat, and I guarantee you’ll see your spare tyre start to deflate.

Eat three meals a day: a substantial breakfast (see above for recommendations); a main meal — eaten for lunch or dinner — which includes protein, such as fish or chicken, a small portion of wholegrain carbohydrates such as brown rice or pasta and plenty of vegetables, PLUS another, smaller meal of soup (non-creamy, home-made or shop bought) or a salad. Be sure to include plenty of the recommended Flat Tummy foods and at least five portions of fruit and vegetables.
Don’t go hungry. Skipping meals has been shown to affect blood sugar levels — which, in turn, affects willpower. Choose from the list of healthy snacks (see below right) and have one mid-morning and one at tea-time to keep your energy levels and resolve on an even keel.
Start your day with a digestion-cleansing squeeze of lemon in a cup of hot water and be sure to drink an additional six to eight glasses of water and/or cups of herbal tea throughout the day.
Steer clear of bread — the high levels of yeast and gluten in shop-bought bread can lead to a bloated stomach and see-sawing blood sugar levels. Instead of sandwiches, enjoy a big soup or salad. If you feel you need some extra carbs, choose oatcakes or sourdough bread, which offer a slow release of energy.
Avoid sugary foods if you want to put a stop to energy dips and cravings. Choose fruit for your snacks, or a couple of pieces of good quality dark chocolate.
Avoid adding salt to your food because it will encourage your body to retain excess water and help flatten that tummy.
Eating slowly and in a relaxed frame of mind means you are likely to eat less (you’ll notice when you feel full) and digest the food more effectively — preventing bloating or wind.
Watch your portion sizes. Check food labels to see what a recommended portion of various foods is considered to be (you’ll be shocked at how little that can sometimes be) and eat from a smaller plate to avoid any temptation to overload. If you’re eating more slowly, your appetite should be satisfied with less food than usual anyway.

FIVE FOODS THAT WILL FLATTEN YOUR TUMMY

FLAT TUMMY BREAKFASTS

Porridge with a little honey or fresh fruit compote OR yoghurt with fresh fruit and a sprinkle of granola OR scrambled/poached eggs OR grilled, lean bacon with
mushrooms or tomatoes

OATS: As well as being rich in filling complex carbohydrates and fibre, porridge oats are easy to digest (especially if you soak them overnight) — so they can help you eat less and reduce bloating. Don’t spend a fortune on posh oats. I find the finer texture of the cheapest, supermarket brands makes them easier to digest and, frankly, more enjoyable to eat.

NATURAL YOGHURT: Protein-rich, natural yoghurt is the perfect satisfying snack. Turn it into a dessert with a drizzle of honey and, for a delicious breakfast, top with fruit and a sprinkle of granola. Yoghurt also contains bloat-reducing lactobacillus — those helpful bacteria that feed our intestines and improve the way our digestive system absorbs nutrients.

If you want to get the full effect of its tummy-reducing bacteria, always buy full-fat, plain, live yoghurt — and add fruit or honey to it just before you eat it.

Low-fat yoghurts are best avoided, because they will often contain ingredients other than milk that will reduce any health benefits and may contribute to bloating.

MUFAs: Monounsaturated (plant-based) fatty acids, or MUFAs, are fast becoming part of the diet vocabulary. They are considered to be healthy fats, particularly when it comes to heart health, and are found in avocados, olives, nuts, seeds and dark chocolate.

Some studies are even starting to suggest that MUFAs might help to prevent or even target abdominal fat — so make sure you add small, regular portions of nuts, seeds and avocados to your meals.

GREEN TEA: Antioxidant-rich green tea is excellent for general wellbeing and for a flat tummy. It has mild diuretic properties and studies suggest it may even help to regulate blood sugar — which will reduce cravings for refined carbohydrates and sugar.

CUCUMBER: Cooling and diuretic, cucumber is good to eat when your tummy feels like a tightened drum. It can help to relieve fluid retention and its fibre-rich skin is good for digestion.

Other fruits and vegetables with diuretic properties worth adding to your Flat Tummy diet are watermelon, leeks, celery and asparagus.

SWEET TUMMY-FRIENDLY SNACKS

Bowl of fresh berries or cherries
One small banana
One ripe peach or pear
One fresh fig
One clementine
One strip of dark chocolate (three to four squares)
Glass of freshly squeezed juice or an Innocent smoothie
Two Nairn’s ginger or fruity oat biscuits

SAVOURY TUMMY-FRIENDLY SNACKS

Miso soup
Pot of low-fat natural yoghurt
Two handfuls of seeds
Handful of nuts
Half an avocado
Crunchy vegetable crudites with hummus
Two slices of ham and a few cherry tomatoes

GET PLENTY OF R&R

It’s really important to take time out to relax every day on the Flat Tummy programme. Cortisol, the hormone that is released when we are stressed, directs your body to store fat centrally.

It also slows down your digestion, so food can hang around in your gut, causing bloating. A good night’s sleep is vital for a healthy digestion and appetite control, too.