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‘I dropped 22kg by walking home!’

Diet Club

I was once 83kg. I had to go to work after being at home for years. Well, I started working in a local nursing home and instead of catching the bus home, I walked home briskly at 6pm, taking about 20 minutes. I did this five days a week.

When I got a car, a girlfriend was interested in keeping in shape too, so we would go walking around the park in Yokine three times a week. I got hooked on walking and would go sometimes on my own with my Walkman.

I went from 83kg to 61kg in 12 months. I also exercised to music at home. My diet consisted of grilled lean meat and vegetables or salad, fruit and/or yoghurt and stir-fries of lean meat or tuna, sometimes prawns, with vegies and rice.

I would recommend walking and watching the diet to anyone, as this does work. But even knowing this, I stopped walking due to other commitments (a relationship), used to eat all the wrong things and went back up to 75kg.

I have decided to get back to it now the warmer weather is here, for a healthier lifestyle and a new me. It really works. Motivation is the key to starting.

Maxine Spoor

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Elle Macpherson’s organic secret

Elle Macpherson

Now single and 41, the Body, Elle Macpherson has found new confidence and health through her totally organic diet.

Splitting from her millionaire Swiss financier partner seems to have done Elle Macpherson a world of good. The supermodel, businesswoman and mother-of-two is brimming with confidence and loving her new single life.

At the age of 41, she looks better than ever, as lithe and toned as a 20-year-old.

“It’s wonderful,” says Elle, barely two months after she and Arki Busson parted company and revelling in her newfound freedom. “I find it a boost to know I still look good enough, even at my age, for women to be reacting as if I was about to steal their man. I’m not, of course, but the sense of mischief gets you motivated!” Elle has recently said that she and sons Flynn, 7, and Cy, 2, are coming home to Australia and she’s looking forward to the future.

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Smudge-proof eyeliner

Question:

I have tried almost every eyeliner on the market and spent a lot of money trying to find one that does not smudge under my eyes. It’s driving me crazy. Any suggestions?

Tamara

Answer:

You need to apply a primer or foundation over your lids to allow your pencil to stay put. Once you’ve drawn on your pencil, seal it with the same colour eyeshadow and you will find that your liner will stay put. Try the Rimmel range of liners, they’re great.

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High protein diets

Judy Davie

I’ve been reading a lot about weight loss and high protein diets but as I don’t eat meat, only seafood, I wonder if I should snack on protein bars.

A great big resounding “no” is the answer to that one. While it’s true that a diet with extra protein than the body requires (approx 0.75g per 1kg body weight) can help on a weight loss diet, it’s not a good idea to eat these manufactured protein bars.

Remember when low-fat was the dieting mainstay? It created a low-fat food product epidemic which only succeeded in making the country fatter. Why? Because the products all tended to be high in energy with a high GI.

Who knows what the long-term implications of the numerous high-protein products appearing on the market will be, but I would suggest there’ll be an impact.

The liver is the organ responsible for processing foreign substances and toxins in the body. When it becomes overburdened it slows down and is less efficient. A less efficient liver becomes fatty and sluggish and toxins accumulate. Accumulated toxins impede the digestive system and a slow digestive system slows our metabolism. The result of a slow metabolism is that our bodies do not burn as much energy from either the food we eat or the fat we store.

Manufactured products are full of foreign substances. They’re not natural and cannot play the same role as natural protein.

Extra protein in the diet gives a feeling of satiety; in other words, it helps you to feel full for longer. A recent French study on rats found that a protein-boosted diet decreased hunger and reduced the amount they consumed. While there’s no question that extra protein is useful, the quality of the protein you consume is critical for good health and most probably, weight loss.

If you enjoy seafood then there’s a limitless amount of protein to be had from the sea. During the day it may be harder to find a cooked fillet of fish but canned fish in the form of tuna, salmon, mackerel and sardines, while providing slightly less protein than fresh, is still a good source and will supply the body with essential omega-3 fat as well.

We often overlook octopus, mussels, calamari and oysters for protein. Not only are they protein-rich foods but, surprisingly, mussels, octopus and oysters provide more iron than beef and lamb. Calamari and eggs are both high in cholesterol but, unless you have high cholesterol, it shouldn’t present a problem, provided the diet is also rich in fibrous fresh vegetables and whole grains.

The table below gives you the protein and energy content for 100g of protein rich foods.

Protein and energy content

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Vesna’s body blitz

Vesna

Big Brother‘s Vesna Tosevska is thrilled. Now well into her weight-loss program, the reality TV star has settled into her exercise regime – and loves the fact that she’s got more room to move in her clothes.

“The program’s going really well,” says Vesna, adding with a laugh, “Today was the first day that I actually looked forward to going to the gym. I’m really starting to enjoy exercising.”

Woman’s Day has asked Melbourne personal trainer Troy Hill, from Fitness First gyms, and Melbourne dietician Melanie McGrice to assist Vesna in her quest to lose the 12 kilos she gained during her time in the Big Brother house.

“For the first couple of weeks, you don’t really see results, but now I am,” says Vesna. “Because I was carrying the extra weight, it was a little bit hard for me to move around and exercise.

“But now that the weight is dropping off, I’m feeling a lot fitter and I’m even getting back into some of my old clothes again.”

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Low self-esteem

Judy Davie

I have very, very low self-esteem. I start well on all diets but then can’t get the motivation levels to stay there and that’s what lets me down every time. Hoping you can help.

I wish I had a magic pill to tackle this very common issue for women battling to lose weight. That you’re not alone should be comfort in itself.

It’s a case of chicken or egg — does the extra weight contribute to your low self-esteem or is the low self-esteem contributing to the extra weight? Regardless, one thing we know is that losing weight will definitely improve your self-esteem. What it won’t do is completely put your world to right.

Where people get confused is thinking that once they arrive at their target weight, life will be hunky dory. Life is full of setbacks, regardless of your shape; but it’s how you view these setbacks that’s important. A positive confident person will see a setback as a challenge, something to get over, where a less confident person will see it as a personal blow, something that holds them back in life. The positive person sees it objectively, the negative person subjectively.

Changing the mindset to see things as a challenge is the key to all goals, including weight loss.

Take your mind off your weight for a while and look at how you deal with all issues.

  • Do you think you’re not good at anything?

  • Do you constantly remind yourself of events and actions where you haven’t been successful?

  • Do you feel life is unjust and things are not your fault?

  • Do you hold off doing things believing you can’t do them?

  • Are you reluctant to give things another try because in the past you’ve been put down by someone or failed previously at something similar?

  • Have you convinced yourself that you don’t like supportive, successful people and therefore block attempts to be like them?

  • Do you fear that any attempt will result in failure?

  • Do you fear your attempts may be successful?

  • Do goals and projects seem overwhelmingly hard?

  • Do you anticipate failure?

  • Do you feel generally exhausted and unable to muster the enthusiasm to do more than you’re doing right now?

If you’ve answered yes to most of these things, notice that each of the questions asks about whether you feel, fear, anticipate or remember — all things that are going on in your own mind. Of course there will be some things you don’t do as well as others and there will have been times when you’ve been unsuccessful, but that applies to each and every one of us. You can choose to focus on these times or move on.

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Healthy treats

If you want to give your dog a yummy, healthy treat without the risk of your dog choking, try fresh raw chicken necks! It may sound horrible but they are very cheap, easy to find (at any butcher or supermarket) and due to the soft cartilage are very difficult to choke on. Plus, they help to keep your pet’s teeth clean and breath smelling fresh.

They’re even great for pups, cats and kittens. I work at an animal shelter and they all seem to love them!

Alice

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My secret love letters

I have always liked writing mystery letters to handsome strangers. Some people like to jump out of airplanes, some people bungee off bridges, but there’s nothing like the suspense of posting a cheeky letter off and seeing what happens next.

It’s always been a fun way to pass the time for me. Anyone that happens to take my eye, I’ll jot down a little mysterious something and send it to them. It’s a little quirky, but you should see their faces the next day.

Some people might think it’s mean or nasty to play with people’s emotions like that, but it’s all harmless fun and the guys I send them to always look like they could use a bit of excitement in their lives. They need a bit of a buzz and this is the perfect way to do it. And so what? If nothing else, it gives them an interesting story to tell their buddies.

But it doesn’t always work out.

About six months ago I first laid eyes on this cute blonde guy who started working at a café I go to. He was gorgeous and looked very at home in his black T-shirt making the coffees.

Naturally he always had the girls sitting around him at the counter trying to chat him up, but he never took them seriously. You could see that. I toyed with the thought of saying something myself, but the girls all looked so desperate and silly, gushing and laughing too loud at every little joke he made. I didn’t want to be just another face in the beeline, so I usually just sat in the corner watching.

Even though I had been going there for so long, the only words I ever spoke to him were my coffee orders. In that whole time I never found out his name, so I simply had to write “To the blonde cutie” on the envelope that contained my mystery letter and address it to the café. The problem was that the mail came at lunchtime the next day while his girlfriend was visiting. I was there to witness it all.

When the mailman passed the post over, she eyed the letter like a hawk and started making a fuss about it in front of everyone. She was yelling and pouting and trying to get him to open it right there and then, but he wouldn’t. You could see he was trying not to make a scene before the customers but she wasn’t backing down. Eventually she couldn’t help herself and ripped it out of his hands and read it herself. My words.

When she was finished she tore it up into little pieces, screamed and broke up with him right there on the spot. Then she ran out of the café leaving everyone stunned, not to mention poor blondie who had to continue working the rest of the day.

I don’t think he knows I wrote the letter, but unless someone writes to tell him, it’s going to be my little secret.

And now I know he’s unattached, maybe I’ll ditch the written messages and deliver him a personal one. I hope he likes Italian food.

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Penelope Cruz’s chocolate and red wine diet

Penélope Cruz

Here’s how sexy Penélope Cruz indulges her cravings while on a healthy food and exercise plan.

Gorgeous Penélope has an enviable figure, yet she makes no secret of loving food. “When I am working, I have to eat a lot because I need the energy,” says the Madrid-born actress.

“I try to eat healthily, but I love fried food and bad things. Give me a plate of bread, some oil and salt and I’m happy. But you can’t eat like this all the time.”

When Penélope, 31, wants to lose a couple of kilos, she turns to NutriFit, an American gourmet catering service which provides delicious, healthy meals for figure-conscious stars. According to Jackie Keller, founder of NutriFit, Penélope loves the plan as it allows her to eat all her favourite foods without feeling she’s on a diet.

“Penélope wanted to lose a little weight in preparation for a film role,” Jackie says. “She’s 5’5″ [165cm] and weighs about eight stone [51kg], but she likes pasta, pizza and rice-based dishes.”

Along with Angelina Jolie and Uma Thurman, Penélope followed the NutriFit diet and shed the kilos by eating three balanced meals and three healthy snacks every day. Her daily kilojoule intake was about 5900. By following a similar eating plan to Penélope and incorporating some exercise into your day, you can expect to lose 3.5-5kg in a month!

“The plan is designed to give you a diet made up of 50 percent favourable carbohydrates, such as brown rice, 25 percent lean protein and 25 percent healthy fats,” Jackie explains.

The only things banned from the diet are foods high in saturated fat, such as butter and full-fat cheeses. But you can still eat chocolate and drink alcohol. “We discourage the over-consumption of alcohol, but studies show that red wine has some protective benefits. Dark chocolate is allowed as long as it’s portion-controlled,” Jackie says.

Jackie encourages portion control to avoid overeating and followers are told to eat when scheduled to, even if not hungry. “Vegetables should take up half the plate, the protein should be the size of one quarter of the plate and a small portion of healthy carbs should fit in the other quarter.”

She also advises following a regular exercise routine of 30 minutes at least five times a week.

For details, go to www.nutrifitonline.com

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Cuticles

Question:

I am right-handed but the cuticles on my right hand are terrible. How can I get nice cuticles which will make my hands look better?

Christine

Answer:

You need to apply a nourishing hand and cuticle cream such as Cutex Hand & Nail Cream. It is available at supermarkets, variety stores and chemists. Alternatively, you can apply almond oil around the cuticles and leave it on overnight.

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