GUEST POST: With the recent sunshine meaning those winter layers are starting to come off, a few of us may be looking in the mirror and starting to panic at the prospect of baring it all on the beach come the holiday season. Give it a few more weeks and the magazines will be shouting about their ‘4-week bikini diet’, or ‘find your six-pack in 10 days’ or some other unrealistic nonsense. But, many of us will sign up hoping that this time will be different. You know it won’t! Fad diets like this don’t work – in fact they can make weight control more difficult in the long-run for all sorts of reasons.

You may also remember a few years ago the furore caused by a certain protein supplement manufacturer and their ‘Are you Beach Body Ready?’ advert that promoted an unrealistic ideal that simply made the vast majority of us feel inadequate! See what we thought of that advert here.

So, what should we do instead? Well, by starting now we can make plenty of small changes to our eating and activity that will be far more effective than a massive effort with 4 weeks to go. It’s the ‘tortoise and hare’ thing! Just do something, anything, activity-wise that you can stick to. It’s better than starting and failing a gym routine that you can’t keep up. And make some small changes to your eating – cut right down on sugar for example. Or aim to get your 5 fruit and veg per day.

Bariatric Cookery Says: If you wish to review what your basics are on a WLS regime then check out the feature here – take a little time to refresh your mind as to what they are and make a conscientious effort to go back to them for continued success or a u-turn if things have got a little out of hand …

 

Click here for the Back to Basics Regime

 

Be honest with yourself. How likely are you to succeed on a crash diet or punishing work-out regime? Set yourself some small goals instead. Whilst you may not end up with the beach-body of a super-model you will have a sense of achievement from avoiding the damaging fad diets, so making weight control easier in the long-term. You will be feeling much more positive having made progress with good nutrition goals. And you will feel healthier, fitter and toned. All of that is a far better way to be beach-body ready!

Feature courtesy of Dr Sally Norton.  NHS Weight Loss Consultant Surgeon.  Health Expert & Writer.  www.vavistalife.com