Hot 5 tips to fat-loss success

"An objective without a plan is a dream" (Douglas McGregor)

Like anything else in life, the key to achieving your weight loss goals has to start with a plan. Try this step-by-step guide to ensure fat loss success!

1. Create a partnership. Yes, it's always good to workout with a friend as it can help boost  motivation but what you really need to do is create a partnership with your body, rather than battle against it. Do you ever look in the mirror and think means things about your body parts that you're not happy with? If so, you may be sabotaging your own health and fat-loss efforts. Instead flip negative thoughts into positive ones. Think about what you love about your body and focus on that instead.
2. Never go out hungry when shopping for groceries. You'll ALWAYS buy more than you need. Fix yourself a protein rich snack first - try half a cup of plain, low-fat yogurt with blueberries and nuts on top.
3. Navigate your way around the supermarket aisles to avoid temptation. Go around the perimeter of the supermarket first so you get your lean meats and fresh fruit and veg. Only go into the middle aisles to get 'clean' ingredients like oatmeal, whole-grain pastas or brown rice, low-salt canned beans and veg, nuts, olive oil, spices and tea. Avoid 'buy one get one free' offers as research shows that shoppers are likely to buy 30 to 100 per cent more than they thought they would!
4. Sit and slow down when you eat. Put everything on your plate that you want and put leftovers away in the fridge BEFORE sitting down to eat. Set the fork down after every bite to help slow yourself down and eat what you most want to eat first, instead of saving it until last. That way, you won't feel the need to rush through your meal to get to it.
5. Forget dieting - don't deny yourself food. Just find healthier alternatives for your fatty faves. Instead of salty chips, choose rice crackers or popcorn (minus the salt and butter!). Instead of biscuits and cakes, choose fruit, rice cakes, or toast with fruit jam. Choose a handful of dried fruit and nuts instead of lollies.

And reward yourself - for your fat-blasting efforts...but not with food. Choose manicures or pedicures, a facial, new playlist - anything that you love and consider an indulgence, but has nothing to do with food!

Top 7 tips to lose the baby weight

It doesn't matter whether you've just had your first baby, second, or have school-age kids, we all desperately want to fit back into those pre-baby clothes. And the good news is that you most certainly can and it's never too late to start - you just have to get started!

After I had my second baby I couldn't wait to get back into pre-pregnancy clothes - but it wasn't as if I could just walk out of hospital wearing my favourite pre-baby jeans: I was still lugging an extra 8 kilos and I had to work to get it off. Here's my top 7 tips to getting back into shape and feeling even better than you did before having your baby.

1. Ditch the mother's guilt. No-one ever tells you about the guilt that comes with being a Mum, but  realise that it's OK to spend sometime on yourself. After all, looking after yourself is the best gift you can give to your kids - if you're happy and healthy, then they are likely to be too! So if it means spending 30 minutes a day doing something that's just for you, then it's OK to make this happen.
   
2. Set some realistic goals for yourself. Take some time to think about what you really, really, want and work out a plan for how you can achieve it - and how to measure your success. After having a baby you might have a lot of weight to lose, for example, which can seem really daunting. So you need to break it down into small, achievable goals (like 500g per week for example).
   
3. Schedule exercise into your diary as morning appointment. Re-gaining your fitness and losing weight after having a baby is all about being consistent over time. Having a routine, especially if you have a baby, is going to be tricky but work out when your baby is most likely to be happiest, and slot in some exercise so that it happens most days of the week. Even if you have to break it down into three lots of 10 minute sessions!
   
4. Include your baby or your kids. Don't wait until your baby is asleep to exercise - chances are you'll find something else to do, and it's far better that they learn healthy habits early in life. When babies are very small, they're most happiest when with you so you can easily pop them on a mat next to you while you're doing your routine. As they get older, they love to get involved and do running, and jumping and squatting with you. Be creative!
   
5. Know that your eating habits will have the biggest impact on your weight loss goals. It's the 80-20 rule: losing weight is 80 per cent what you eat and 20 per cent exercise. Like any new Mum, sometimes you're going to be struggling to find the time to exercise (let alone find the energy), so even if you can't fit in much exercise - try to control what you eat (particularly portion sizes).
   
6. Eat smaller, regular meals throughout the day and drink lots of water. This is really important for new, breastfeeding Mums as you'll be constantly tired, thirsty and lacking in energy. Eating small, regular meals throughout the day will help stabilise your blood sugar levels and control those sugar cravings!
   
7. Plan ahead, organise yourself and just keep going. Take some time out to plan your weekly meals and exercise for the week - you can save a lot of time and focus on getting through one day at a time and doing the best you can for that day. Yes, you're going to have days when the baby is sick or screams a lot, or Miss Toddler whinges and hangs around your feet, or you dive into a whole packet of biscuits. But forgive yourself! Tomorrow is another day - you just have to keep going, and never, EVER give up!

The lowdown on cravings

A craving for a specific kind of food can be like an evil leprechaun sitting on your shoulder, constantly nagging you to over-indulge. And going on a 'diet' to restrict what you eat can make things worse.

A study in the International Journal of Obesity found that 91 per cent of women said they had cravings when they weren't on a diet, and once they started restricting their kilojoules, that figure went up to 94 per cent.

But if you give in to your craving more often, then this is going to push you further away from your fat loss goals! The good news is that you CAN fight the cravings if you understand a little more about them.

1. Cravings are all about your blood sugar. TRUE. If your blood sugar levels stay pretty consistent throughout the day, then your eating patterns should too. It's when you're starving yourself for hours that the cravings start - and blood sugar can drop way too low even after about four hours of not eating.
2. Chewing gum can help reduce cravings. TRUE. A 2009 study showed that chewing gum after eating lunch can help to reduce snack cravings, and decrease the consumption of sweet food.
3. Cravings are the body's way of saying that it needs certain nutrients. FALSE. Researchers have found no evidence that this is the case for the vast majority of the most commonly craved foods. Beware of those 'hunger imposters'. If you've eaten an hour ago but crave Tim Tams or a packet of chips - it could be that your brain is playing tricks on you. If this sounds like you, then try a visual distraction. Researchers from the Flinders University of Adelaide have found this may help to reduce the urge rather than just 'thinking about something else'.
4. Eating the same thing everyday can increase your cravings. TRUE. Its seems that variety could really be the spice of life. A study in the journal Obesity found that always eating the same kind of foods can actually increase your number of cravings.

Is guilt the 'new' stress?

Women have pretty much made guilt a way of life.  As a busy Mum struggling with work and family commitments, who hasn't wrestled with not being 'good enough' or leaving a toddler crying at childcare, or for eating the entire contents of the choc biscuit packet straight from the kitchen cupboard, or (heaven forbid) taking time out for yourself!

While the big MG (affectionately known as 'mother's guilt') has probably always been around, it's really one huge cause of stress we could all live without - especially when you consider that your body's stress hormone (cortisol) is already working overtime while you adjust to life as a busy Mum surviving on very little sleep!

And guess what? Abdominal fat cells have four times as many receptors for cortisol than anywhere else in your body. So if you're continually stressed-out, your abdominal fat cells will be calling out for cortisol and encouraging your body to store more fat around your belly. Now who needs that!!!???

So what you really need is to stop stressing and starting ditching the guilt! How? Here's my top three tips:

1. Be a sane Mum, not a 'Super Mum' and cut yourself some slack. Don't waste energy beating yourself up over something you did or didn't do, just forgive yourself and move on. So what if you ate a whole block of chocolate - just face facts and move on.
   
2. Allow yourself to dream. All Mums need a life beyond 'being a Mum'. What have you been putting off? It's time to act - take whatever small steps are necessary to fulfill those dreams. A personally fulfilled woman makes an amazing Mum.
   
3. Remember that small acts can have big pay offs for you and your family. The key is consistency: instead of working out one hour every fourth day, try 10 minutes three times a day, on most days of the week. The smaller acts are more likely to become a routine. And when fitness becomes a part of your life, your children want to be involved too. When I returned to running after pregnancy (in between breastfeeding and sleepless nights), my then Miss Toddler would greet me at the front door on my return with a water bottle in hand and then proceed to do her own 'running races'.

So next time you feel the tugs of mother's guilt as you're out kicking goals for your own health and happiness - push that thought aside. What you're REALLY doing is passing on all the benefits to your family: good nutrition and exercise habits to last a lifetime, protection against certain lifestyle diseases, positive self-esteem and above all, a happy, healthy Mum - bring it on!