FIT IN THE CITY
FITNESS & DIET EXPERT
1. CHOOSE YOUR POISON WISELY: UNLESS YOU WANT AN OVERHANG like Johnny Vegas, go easy on the beer. An eight pint binge means you’re taking in a whopping 1,600 empty calories – that’s the calorie-equivalent of a very large takeaway. Spirits with diet drinks and champagne make for better waistline choices.
2. BACK AWAY FROM THE BUFFET: CHEESE STRAWS, PEANUTS, sausage rolls – everything on that buffet table has the potential to fast track you to a plus size. Stick to crudités, pretzels and chicken tikka if you don’t want to gain a dress size from the office do alone.
3. AIM FOR A POST-PUD WORKOUT: UNLESS YOU’RE DRAWN TO THE Queen’s speech like a moth to a flame, do something physical after lunch. Wrapping up warm may not seem as tempting as polishing off the Quality Street, but the boost in oxygen you’ll get to the brain from heading outdoors will make you feel far livelier than collapsing in the armchair. Even if you can’t be bothered to venture outside, get moving somehow – a game of Twister’s better than nothing.
4. GET STUCK INTO THE TURKEY: NOT ONLY IS TURKEY FAR LOWER in calories than other meat, it’s also an excellent source of tryptophan, an essential amino acid that can help elevate your mood and improve sleep. Load up on vegetables, too.
5. HAVE A JANUARY EMERGENCY PLAN: IF ALL GOOD INTENTIONS GO to pot, have an emergency plan. Book a gym induction, buy every celebrity fitness DVD going, dust off the Wii Fit and ensure that all evils (anything high in cals) are banished from your desk drawer by January 1st.
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