IT might be too early to mention Christmas. But when it does roll around, you’ll be smug that you started a weight loss plan weeks before, ready to slip into your sparkles feeling fabulous.
wants to help you lose two stone by Christmas, with the 3/3/3 plan.
Three workouts using little equipment, and three simple dietary tips, for three months between September and December.
If you joined us from , you’ll be four weeks in and already feeling changes.
Now, it’s time to turn things up a gear in Part 2.
If you stay consistent, you could shed 2lb a week and feel fitter and stronger without having to set foot in a gym or go cold turkey on the foods you love.
In the middle phase, motivation and willpower can wane.
Our advice? Stay firm now, and you’ll find it much easier to bat away mince pies and sausage rolls as party season creeps in.
Look for changes in the mirror and how you feel, not on the scales, which are not the most accurate measurement of the benefits of weight loss.
FOR PART 1 OF THE 3/3/3 PLAN, .
3 KEY DIET RULES
ON this plan, there is no need to overhaul your diet and massively to lose weight.
Instead, for each phase of this three-month programme, Healthspan nutritionist Rob Hobson will give you three new habits to introduce.
In Part 1, the habits were to eat protein at breakfast, fill half your plate with ‘volume foods’, which are low in calorie but fill the tummy, and learn and rotate a handful of simple recipes to stop you relying on takeaways or convenience foods.
Now, for Part 2, Rob shares three more habits that will help you to keep up your healthy eating, long term.
FIBRE SPRINKLE
FIBRE keeps you fuller for longer and helps your digestion to work smoothly, .
“We should all be trying to eat more ,” says Rob.
The recommended daily amount is 30g a day, which over the day, is equivalent to roughly a bowl of porridge, two slices of wholemeal bread and an apple, a cup of brown rice or brown pasta and a small handful of nuts.
An easy way to add more fibre is by adding nuts and seeds to your usual meals.
Rob says: “Keep a jar of mixed nuts and seeds in the kitchen somewhere on view.
“Add a couple of spoonfuls daily to foods you’re already eating, such as porridge, yoghurt, salads, soups or even pasta.
“Bulk buy your ingredients and mix them together yourself rather than splashing out on pre-made mixed.
“Try to include chia seeds in the mix as they are really high in fibre.”
3-SNACK FORMULA
HUNGRY between meals?
are not ‘bad for you’, if you do them right.
Instead of emptying out the biscuit tin, Rob suggests his simple snack formula to turn a snack into something more satisfying: base + protein + flavour.
He says: “Start with a base such as fruit, vegetables, oatcakes or wholegrain crackers.
“Add some protein which could be Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, eggs, hummus or edamame beans.
“Then add flavour with herbs, spices, salsa, mustard, pesto, citrus or a squeeze of lemon or lime.
“Protein can help with fullness and the fruit, vegetables or a higher-fibre base adds volume and fibre.
“The flavour part is important as well because food still needs to taste good!”
VISION CUES
WHEN you’re on a weight loss roll, willpower can wane.
Holding steadfast won’t carry you through for weeks on end – or a lifetime.
Changing your surroundings is also necessary, says Rob.
If you haven’t already, make your life easier and remove temptations from your eyesight, and mind.
For example, don’t buy multipacks of chocolate bars for the family f you don’t want to have a mental war with yourself every day about whether to sneak one into your mouth.
Your family or partner should support you, and pick up your new habits, too.
Rob says: “A really simple habit is to serve yourself a satisfying meal and put the rest of the food away, rather than leaving serving dishes on the table.
“Having more food sitting in front of you makes it very easy to keep eating without really thinking about it so it helps to remove visual cues.”
3 WORKOUTS TO BURN FAT
OUR expert Will Duru, a personal trainer and founder of fitness app, 12Reps , is taking the exercise up a knotch.
Part 1 involved workouts that only require body weight.
But for Part 2, you’ll be introducing resistance, to make your muscles work a little harder and help to shape your body.
You’ll need just ONE dumbbell of a challenging weight, ranging in price from £13 (1.5kg) to £30 (35kg) on Argos. Alternatively, buy a pair.
Items you have at home such as water bottles or tins also work well, or do the moves wearing a backpack filled with books.
Choose three days each week to work out, ideally with at least a day of rest in between.
As you get fitter over the month, feel free to add an extra round or two to each workout.
Aim for at least 7,000 steps every day, on a smartwatch, the Apple Health app on iPhones or Health Connect on Androids.
WORKOUT 1: LOWER BODY
Complete three rounds, taking rest between each exercise.
Weighted squats (12)
Stand with feet hip width apart, holding a weight by your chest.
To squat, bend your knees, push your hips back and lower down.
Keep your eyes and chest up, and don’t curve the spine. Push through your heels to rise.
Reverse lunges (20)
Hold a weight to your chest.
Step back with your left leg and bend both knees to lower until your left knee is grazing the floor.
Your legs should be at a right angle, with your knees in line (not over) your toes.
Push through your front foot to rise.
Do 10 reps, then swap legs.
Glute bridges (15)
Lie back on the floor, feet flat and knees bent.
Place a weight across your hips, then drive your hips up.
Squeeze your glutes (bum) at the top, then lower down.
Side lunges (20)
Hold a weight in each hand.
Stand with your feet together, then take a wide step to one side.
Bend the knee of your stepping leg, push your hips backwards, and keep your other leg straight.
Push through the bent leg to return to the start.
Do 10 reps, then swap legs.
WORKOUT 2: UPPER BODY
Complete three rounds, taking rest between each exercise.
Press-ups (10-12)
Get into a high plank.
Lower your chest to the floor by bending your elbows.
Then push up through your palms to rise.
If it’s difficult, start with your knees on the ground – you’ll still work the chest.
Bent-over rows (15)
Hold a weight with both hands with your arms hanging down.
Then, push hips backwards while keeping your knees slightly bent and keep your back flat.
This is your start position.
To ‘row’, working the back muscles, pull the weight up to your ribcage, pause, then lower down.
Overhead press (10)
Stand tall, holding a weight with both hands.
Press it up, overhead, then lower it back down to shoulder height.
You should feel it in the shoulders.
Tricep dips (10)
To work these arm muscles, sit on the edge of a sturdy chair or bench while gripping the edge, beside your hips.
Slide your hips forward off the seat, supporting your weight with your arms and feet.
Lower your hips by bending your elbows back behind you, until your upper arms are parallel to the floor.
Press through your palms to return to the top.
WORKOUT 3: FULL BODY
Complete three rounds, taking rest between each exercise.
Squat thrusters (12)
Drop into a weighted squat with the weight held in front of your chest.
As your rise, drive it up overhead.
Then lower the weight back down and repeat.
Hip dips (12)
Get into a plank position with your forearms flat on the floor.
Rotate your torso to drop your left hip to the floor, returning to centre using your abs.
Then repeat the right side.
Keep the core and gutes engaged.
Complete six each side.
Shoulder taps (12)
In a high plank position (straight arms), tap your right shoulder with your left hand, then your left shoulder with your right hand.
Move slowly and keep your hips as still as possible.
Split lunges (12)
Stand with a weight in front of your chest.
Step your left leg wide in front of your right.
Stay in this position as you drop into a lunge, by bending both knees, then coming up.
Complete six each side.
