Hi there,. . I could easily give you strict guidelines and an exercise routine, but lets face it who actually lives like that? So, here are some tips for people who have real, busy lives.... . . Please please PLEASE don't go on one of these calorie, carb, or points counting diets etc.... I don't know of anyone who has the willpower or time to actually do the counting let alone stick to the diet! Also, diet pills and quick fixes are sooooooooo unhealthy; the diet pills don’t even work!. . Just start eating healthier, watch the saturated fat you eat (fat that is solid at room temperature e.g. bacon rind, the fat in cheese, beef dripping...) don't deprive yourself of anything or it will just do your head in, you'll want it all the time! . . Try not to eat ready meals. If you do, check the labels for nutrition content – anything with more than 10% fat or sugar is a no go, and really watch the saturated fat. You need fat in your diet, but not saturated fat! . . If you fancy chocolate, have one of those little freddo bars by Cadbury, tiny bars of chocolate that satisfy the craving. Instead of crisps, try seasons by Quaker: don’t be put off by the fact they're crisp breads, its the same as eating anything made out of corn e.g. salt and vinegar chip sticks, wotsits etc! They taste gorgeous (not 2 fussed on the cheese and onion ones though, a bit bland for me!) and they only have 2.5g of fat, 0.4g of which saturates, fantastic! They do have over 100 calories, but if you're eating plenty of fruit and veg. based meals throughout the day this is fine. . . Try this site for healthy recipes (you can even filter the search results for recipes containing the most amount of calories and fat etc you want, or if you have to avoid certain foods you can use the filter to do this too, really good idea)
http://www.recipezaar.com. Its brilliant. Ivillage.co.uk is good too. the BBC food site has nice recipes, too. Just look for simple ones that don’t take too long or don’t require ingredients you'll use once and throw away. . . Look for healthy soup recipes to take to work. They’re so easy to make and last up to 3 days in the fridge so once you've made it you don’t have to worry about what to have for a few days! Just have a brown bread roll with it, I’m not keen but Kingsmill ones are lovely. But always use stock granules, much healthier and easier, and i actually prefer using them. The knorr chicken one is brill, I haven’t tried the vegetable one yet though. If you can't take hot food to work, try to steer clear of sandwiches, especially white bread. Try wholemeal pitas filled with grilled chicken and salad, Hellmann’s extra light mayo if you don't want it too dry, or use wholemeal bread or rolls. Greg’s bakers to stunning bread - I think it's called GI bread and its got seeds and stuff in it. Now I don't normally like stuff like that but its soooooooo nice! Try to keep fillings as healthy as possible.. . It doesn’t have to be salads, fruit and veg. all the time though - home made chilli con carne and bolognaise is really healthy as long as you use extra lean minced steak, and oil and water spray instead of just oil. Serve with medium egg noodles instead of spaghetti.. . You can even have a cooked breakfast if you're careful! Baked beans are sooooooo low in fat. Have them with a scrambled egg, wholemeal toast with a THIN scraping of low-fat spread (unless you’re having the beans on top, then you won’t need it!), grilled mushrooms and tomatoes, and 2 slices of bacon, grilled with ALL the fat cut off beforehand. but steer clear of those sausages!. . When frying, don't use lard or dripping - use SUNFLOWER oil, mixed with water in a spray bottle. You can even add herbs and spices for more flavour. And invest in a George Foreman grill, they're fab!. . Chicken and turkey are the leanest meats, and chicken is sooooooooo versatile there’s so many recipes for it! Even i