Burn off the CHOCOLATE

Piled on the pounds? Get back on track and drop a dress size in seven days

- ROSE GOODMAN

If you’ve fallen off the diet-wagon and slipped back into old habits of consuming excess sugar and drinking one too many glasses of wine after a stressful day, it’s not hard to get back in line. It’s very easy to adopt an all-or-nothing mind-set with dieting, so once you’ve slipped up a couple of times, you may decide to stop depriving yourself and eat whatever you like, only for the scales to creep up and your jeans to fit a little tighter. But all is not lost as nutritional therapist Chris Newbold has devised the perfect seven-day damage control diet.

WHAT TO DO

GET BACK INTO A ROUTINE

This means eating three square meals a day, not grazing all day.

EAT FRESH, QUALITY FOOD

Cut out all processed foods and ready meals. They might be convenient, but they’re full of additives, chemicals and sugars.

EAT LARGE AMOUNTS OF VEGETABLES

Make each meal around 70% vegetables (this will provide healthy carbs) and around 30% good-quality protein – e.g. chicken, fish, chickpeas, beans, tofu, etc. use healthy fats, including olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, seeds, avocado and occasionally a tiny bit of butter. Drink plenty of water throughout the day.

CUT DOWN ON STIMULANTS

Such as coffee and alcohol.

DON’T SNACK BETWEEN MEALS

Latest research shows that fasting between meals allows the body to burn more calories and speeds up weight loss.

REPLENISH LOST NUTRIENTS