WHAT DO WOMEN REALLY WANT? AN EASY SUMMER SLIMMING PLAN!
According to a recent online survey conducted on Femail.com.au by Ultra Slim meal replacements, women are most concerned about their weight in the lead up to the summer swimsuit season*.
Of the 908 women surveyed, 68% said they were unhappy with their current weight while 62% confirmed that they diet every year in the lead up to summer*.
Former international triathlete, celebrity personal fitness trainer and Ultra Slim spokesperson Dean Piazza, does not recommend crash dieting and rapid weight loss plans to meet summer weight loss goals.
"A smarter approach is a regular routine of healthy eating and exercise with some periods of increased intensity to accelerate results. A loss of 0.5 -1kg each week is a sensible and safe way to lose weight," said Piazza.
Piazza says meal replacements as part of a healthy lifestyle can be an easy and safe way to lose weight. In fact, studies and reviews show how the use of meal replacements compare favourably to other weight loss methods as a safe and effective way to lose weight in the short term and also to maintain weight loss in the longer term as well^^.
"The Ultra Slim range includes meal replacements of shakes and ready-to-drink products. Theyre easy to prepare, tasty and may assist in healthy weight loss diets," added Piazza.
Ultra Slim also allows for a little indulgence within the calorie-controlled healthy eating plans too - thats why Ultra Slim has delicious snack bars in its range.
Even though a year-round healthy eating and exercise plan is recommended, summer seems to be the time when most women start to think about weight loss, with 44% of the women surveyed more conscious of their weight during the warmer months*.
This is good news according to Piazza, who says "the warmer weather reduces your appetite and longer daylight hours means more time for exercising".
Piazza recommends the following practical tips to ensure women reach their summer weight loss goals:
Walking
"Walking is an easy way to lose weight. It has a low impact on the joints and can be done anywhere, anytime. Walk to work, walk home, walk to the shops, walk everywhere. Using a pedometer is also a great way to measure how far youre walking - aim for 10,000 steps per day to maximise results." Hire a trainer
"A trainer can speed up your results as they will push you harder, show you new exercises and motivate you to achieve your goals. A trainer will get you to the next level faster, safely and include variety to stop you from getting bored."
Don't eat late at night
"One contributing factor to gaining weight can be eating late at night, especially foods such as pasta, rice, bread and potatoes. During the night youre not burning as many calories as you are during the day and excess calories consumed at night can be stored as fat. Instead, aim to eat protein based meals in the evening or better still take the guesswork out and substitute your evening meal with an Ultra Slim milkshake."
Exercise first thing
Piazza recommends training first thing in the morning before breakfast: "This means your body will be burning fat as the main source of energy. In simple terms - burning fat faster! Exercising at any time of the day is great but for faster results, do it in the morning."
Never skip breakfast
"A healthy breakfast will kick start your metabolism and provide you with enough energy to get through the morning without craving fatty snacks. The Ultra Slim ready-to-drink milkshakes are a great option for those who are time-poor."
Train with a friend
"Make a regular appointment to see your friends and lose weight while catching up on all the gossip. You can use each other for support and motivation. Having an appointment to meet someone means you will be less likely to skip the workout."
Get a massage
"Massage speeds the recovery rate of muscles and reduces the risk of injuries. It also gets the circulatory and lymphatic systems moving and flushes out toxins" according to Piazza
Use meal replacement formulas
"Meal replacements are a good way to help kick-start a healthy weight loss diet" says Piazza.
Dean Piazza, in partnership with Ultra Slim, aims to help the growing percentage of Australians, who are overweight, lose weight and get fit through a targeted fitness program and the help of meal replacements.
The Ultra Slim meal replacement program replaces a maximum of two meals per day with nutritionally balanced shakes, ready-to-drink products and bars. For further information on Ultra Slim products or healthy eating meal plans, visit www.ultraslim.com.au. Note: Meal replacements should not replace individual professional/medical advice for weight loss SOURCE:
*Ultra Slim research conducted online with more than 900 responses. Research conducted on www.female.com.au. Please see website for further details.
^^ Medical Journal of Australia, ?Volume 184, Number 2,??16 January 2006; www.nationalobesityforum.org.uk; National Health and Medical Research Council, National clinical guidelines for weight control and obesity management, Canberra: Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, 2002.