SHRINK ME

Do’s and don’ts for dieting Here are some dos and don’t to be kept in mind while planning to go on a diet.

Fat-free diets are good for you
While it’s important to reduce your fat intake, if you plan on losing weight, you don’t need to cut out fat altogether. Dieticians say you still need to consume a sufficient amount of fat as it’s needed for energy, tissue repair and to transport vitamins around the body. Instead, say no to saturated fats like butter and go for healthier options like olive oil.

Eating late at night makes you put on weight
You have probably heard a lot of fit people saying they don’t eat anything after 7 or 8 pm in the night. When you have dinner is not as important as what you eat. A meal eaten late at night will not necessarily make the body store more fat. Just ensure that you eat a couple of hours before sleeping so that the food gets digested well.

Avoiding certain foods
There are lots of myths that certain foods are ‘good’ if you want to lose weight and others are ‘bad’. While fruits, vegetables and nuts are a healthier option, it doesn’t mean you have to cut out carbs entirely. Eating bread, pasta and rice in moderation is fine.

Slow metabolism is the problem
This is a common myth among those striving to shed those extra kilos. Experts say the larger you are, the more calories you need to keep your body working. People tend to put on weight, when they eat more than they burn. This is due to our largely sedentary lifestyles.

Crash dieting helps
While a drastic diet, can reduce weight in the short term, it can become a problem later. Doctors agree that this is an unhealthy method as it not only removes fat but also muscle and tissue. Crash dieting can also make you weak. Opt for a slow and sustained weight loss plan that will help you maintain your reduced weight long-term.

The Cambridge Diet

The Cambridge Diet was the diet to follow in the 1980s, and now it’s making a massive comeback with sales of the book on the rise. It’s a tough weight-loss plan that revolves around a regime of low-calorie soups, shakes and snack bars in the place of solid meals.

It’s very similar to Lighter Life – the meal-replacement diet that became hugely popular last year. You see a Cambridge Diet counsellor before you start, who will talk you through the diet and your reasons for going on it. There are six stages, with Stage 1 being the toughest and Stage 6 being the easiest (if you’re very overweight you may be advised to start with Stage 1, and you can make your way through the stages depending on your weight loss). Once you hit your goal weight, you can go back (carefully, and with the advice of a counsellor) to regular food.

The reason the diet was so popular thirty years ago was because weight loss is fast and dramatic. However, like Lighter Life, because of this the diet has also attracted criticism with some nutritionists worrying that the daily calorie allowance is too low (as little as 500 calories a day – though the makers of the Cambridge Diet say that all their shakes and snacks are specially designed to give you the correct amount of nutrients).

*To find out more about The Cambridge Diet, visit http://.Cambridge-Diet.co.uk