Health and Beauty - Everyone's Talking About...
Everyone's Talking About...
Sharon’s five-minute-a-day fitness regime At last! Stop feeling guilty about skipping those hour-long sessions at the gym. A new fitness craze sweeping the US – and whose latest A-list fan is Sharon Stone – says we only need to work out for five minutes a day. The actress, looking fantastic at 48, is a fan of “integrative” exercise – the hot new buzzword from the States. Sharon said recently that she had ditched herhigh-powered workouts in favour of short, practical exercises. “I still do push-ups and sit-ups, but I also try and do things like walking up the stairs and not taking an escalator or lift,” said the star. “I’ll also park my car further away from a store so I have to walk a few steps more. I guess
if you keep it up over a long period, you don’t have to do too much.”
Sharon is considering bringing out her own fitness video based on the five-minute regime. “People have asked how I stay in shape so many times over the years, so maybe I should.” She also follows the GI diet and has cut out all sugar. “I’m not a big eater and I don’t drink alcohol much at all. I do everything in moderation. I’m pretty much a healthy person.” Integrated exercise – which advocates simple calorie-burning activities like housework, lifting up your children and walking (yes, honestly!) to shift the pounds – was predicted to be 2006’s hottest fitness regime by the prestigious New York Times. It’s backed up by new research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which says that three 10-minute bursts of activity a day have the same benefits as a 30-minute workout.
In my opinion, the best tips are walking home from the shops laden with heavy bags (hurrah!), washing the car, going for a run with your baby in a pram, gardening and walking the dog. Sadly, not included is lifting a glass of wine to your lips, or trying on shoes.
WHAT'S IN
DAILY WEIGH-INS: University research shows this habit helps you to lose and keep off weight.
BANANAS: When singer Beyonce craves a bar of chocolate, she reaches for a banana instead. This saves her 300 calories per craving.
MANUKA HONEY: A lower GI alternative to sugar, with anti-bacterial activity.
WHAT'S OUT
WEIGHT DENIAL: Burying your head in the sand about your size allows weight to spiral out of control.
BANANA CHIPS: They are fried in oil and each serving has 532 calories and 30g of fat. Why would you ruin a perfectly good banana?
GOLDEN SYRUP: An alternative to sugar but with a high GI.
CREDIT: One and a half hours of disco dancing = DEBIT: Apple pie with crème
fraich (450 calories, 45g fat)
(foto mandada antes)
CELLULITE GETS THE BOOT
Jemima Khan and Sadie Frost love these Swiss MBT trainers and so do we. Not only do they shift cellulite (their curved soles work the back of the thighs and improve circulation), but they also help you burn five times more calories when walking or jogging. What’s not to like, especially as they’ve bought out a whole new fab range? Masai Barefoot Technology trainers, from €179: Tel. 932 010 289; www.mbtspain.com
LOTTA BOTTLE!
Milk lovers tend to be slimmer than those who drink very little. Nutritionists believe the calcium in milk helps burn fat and maybe even reduce the amount of fat we absorb from our diets. New research has discovered that taking calcium supplements doesn’t have the same weight-loss
effects.
THE SPICE OF DIETING
Did you know that you can shed pounds by cutting back on salt? Lots of slimmers still eat around 15 grams of salt a day - three times the government recommendation. But our bodies retain water to help dilute the excess salt, so by cutting down to just three grams a day you can flush out up to 1.5 litres of excess body fluid, which will register a 1.35kg loss on the scales. Between 75 and 80 per cent of our salt intake comes from processed foods, so the easiest way to cut back is to make meals from scratch.
A typical daily menu with 15 grams of salt includes:-
BREAKFAST: Cornflakes, two slices of toast
SNACK: cereal bar
LUNCH: ham sandwich
SNACK: packet of low-fat crisps
DINNER: ready-made lasagne
A typical three-gram salt day includes:
BREAKFAST: natural muesli
SNACK: banana
LUNCH: grilled chicken and salad
SNACK: low-fat yogurt, apple
DINNER: pasta with home-made tomato sauce, with a pinch of salt
IS YOUR MEDICINE MAKING YOU FAT?
Some anti-depressants and certain anti-histamines may make you pile on the pounds. Ask your doctor to check the small print – and change your prescription if weight gain is a side effect.
DID YOU KNOW?
Drinking five cups of strongly brewed “builder's tea” a day increases fat burning by up to 13 per cent.
EASY-PEASY
An enzyme in split peas may possess fat-burning properties, experts reckon. They are also rich in lignans, types of plant super-nutrients that are low in fat and also help to keep our skin youthful - so dig in.
DOUBLE MEASURES
Drinking out of a tall, slim glass helps you to make a drink last twice as long as drinking out of a short fat tumbler.
AND FINALLY…
Did you know that Hollywood actress Calista Flockhart only eats when wearing her sunglasses? I’d advise her to take them off if she wants to remain slim. Eating in the dark, or in dimmed lighting, makes us eat more because we think no one can see!
