In a shape-up panic? Got a holiday, wedding or hot date coming up? Fear not. We've gathered 28 quick-fix fat burners guaranteed to streamline your body in just two weeks...
Nutrition tip: Read nutritional labels. Knowledge is the first rule of fat-burning. 'Look beyond buzzwords like organic, home-made, reduced fat and natural and go for low fat instead,' says Dr Paul Nesvadba, from the Food Science And Technology Research Centre at The Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. Watch out for sugar and salt content,too, and aim to eat things with less than three per cent fat. Steer clear of saturated fats — these clog your arteries and mostly go straight to your thighs.
Fitness tip: 'Exercise early in the day to raise your metabolism for as long as possible so you can burn more fat all day long,' says David Marshall, dubbed the Body Doctor after his success at shrinking celebs such as Sophie Dahl. 'Exercise at Sam and your metabolism will be elevated till 9 or 10 at night, whereas if you work out at 6pm, you only get that benefit for a few hours 'Try morning sun salutations or a brisk walk — the more vigorous the workout, the greater the rise in your metabolism.
TUESDAY pukka packets
Nutrition tip: Burning fat means avoiding TV dinners, but you can still follow the advice of TV chef Jamie Oliver. The Naked Chef is a fan of cooking en papillote — wrapping food in greaseproof paper or foil packets. It's a simple technique that seals in natural flavours and juices without added fats.
Fitness tip: Climb a hill. Mark Ford, a personal trainer from London's Fitness Exchange, suggests a five-minute hill walk, which burns up to 50 calories. Do it every day and bank the 5lb-a-year weight loss.
WEDNESDAY cut cravings
Nutrition tip: If you're prone to energy dips and cravings, try taking 100 mcg of chromium with your lunch, says nutritionist Natalie Savona. 'It's easy to get hold of, not too expensive, and reliable. It's a mineral that helps transport sugars into cells where they are used to produce energy, and so improves metabolism and helps keep cravings for sweet and starchy foods at bay.'
Fitness tip: Be the popular one in the office by making the tea or coffee. It will get you on your toes, burning fat as you walk to and from the office kitchen. Burn even more fat by offering to go on the lunchtime sandwich run.
THURSDAY bean feast
Nutrition tip: 'Losing fat is easier,' says Savona, 'if you eat protein with every meal, as it fills you up for longer, releases energy slowly and makes a meal more satisfying' (see Friday: Go Nuts). Refried pinto beans are packed with protein and minerals. Eat with vegetables and lean meat — but skip the nachos and cheese.
Fitness tip: 'Interval training is one of the most effective ways of burning fat,' says celebrity personal trainer Matt Roberts, author of Fitness For Life Manual. 'Research shows that it has greater effect on basal metabolic rate than constant pace training for the same amount of time and, because you can work out at a higher burn rate, you use more calories.' To interval train you need to perform two minutes of high-intensity exercise, followed by one minute of active rest, and repeat for more than 20 minutes.
FRIDAY eat chocolate
Nutrition tip: Giving yourself a short-term treat will produce long-term rewards by keeping your motivation levels high. Feast on chocolate by making your own low-fat chocolate cakes. Whisk 3 eggs, 1 tbsp of cocoa powder, 1 tbsp of cornflour and 25g of caster sugar together, then heat 450m1 of semi-skimmed milk and pour over. Mix and pour into ramekins. Stand them in a roasting tin of water and bake at 150°C for one hour. Remove, cool and enjoy at around 150 calories per cake.
Fitness tip: Buy yourself a workout video - that way, whenever you get the urge, you can slot in a little fat-burning exercise.
SATURDAY go bananas
Nutrition tip: Having friends to supper? Make a healthy dessert that even pudding addicts will love - grilled bananas. Simply place a large banana in its skin under the grill or on the barbecue until the skin turns black. Then slit it open, fill with passion fruit, et voila - a Hot Banana Rash in five minutes flat. Note that, while a slice of banana-split cheesecake weighs in at 429 calories, a Hot Banana Rash contains about 100.
Fitness tip: Forget the weekend papers and go for a 30-minute jog. 'Thirty minutes' jogging will burn around 300 calories,' says Ford, 'depending on your weight.'
SUNDAY day of rest
Nutrition tip: Is your body clock out of sync after a weekend of erratic bedtimes? Drinking warm milk before bed will help put you to sleep - and being well rested will make you more lively tomorrow, according to Jessica Alexander at the UK's Sleep Council. 'A good night's sleep gives you more energy,' she says. Which means that you'll put more welly into your workout - and are less likely to overeat to carry you through any energy slumps you may experience during the day.
Fitness tip: I If you're having a cosy night in with a Sunday film, use the two-minute breaks to move around, suggests Ford. 'Stretch, dance, shadow box, skip - do anything that burns calories,' he says. It's worth it - ten minutes' exercise will help you burn upwards of 50 calories.
MONDAY cut out sugars
Nutrition tip: Diet plans such as Dr Atkins and the Zone (loved by svelte celebs Jennifer Aniston, Sandra Bullock and Madonna), work on the principle that sugar messes up your fat-burning mechanism. 'Cutting out sugar is the fastest way I know of boosting fat burning,' says Marshall. Remove cakes, biscuits and processed foods from your diet, and reduce simple carbs such as white bread and flour. Sugars are also hidden in sauces, cereals and ready meals — always read the label! For further up-to-date nutrition advice, including quizzes that assess your personal diet.
Fitness tip: Meditate. High stress levels can hamper digestion. Stress also leads to the production of cortisol, a hormone that can turn muscle fibres into fuel (the opposite of what you want to happen right now).
TUESDAY fruit burst
Nutrition tip: The more smoothly and efficiently your motor is running, the better your body will be at burning fat. Blueberries are the Castrol GTX of fruits, delivering flavonoids that help your muscles, internal organs and nervous system work more efficiently. Fruit, vegetables, pulses, wholegrains and nuts are all equally good sources of flavonoids, says Savona.
Fitness tip: Give PHA (Peripheral Heart-rate Action) training a try. PHA involves alternating between working your upper and lower body, so do squats, then push-ups, then lunges, then upright rowing and so on. 'This will make your heart work harder than if you did all upper or all lower body, so you use more energy and burn more fat,' says Roberts.
WEDNESDNAY drink up
Nutrition tip: Drink at least 1.5 litres of water. 'Water is one of the most incredible aids to utilising body fat,' says Roberts. 'One of the biggest reasons that people retain body fat is a high level of toxicity in the system,' he says. Savona agrees, 'Every single reaction in your body takes place within a watery medium,' she says, 'and the better hydrated your body is, the more efficiently all processes take place, including metabolism - it gets easier to produce energy and burn fat.' Also, being thirsty is often mistaken for hunger and fatigue, so keeping up your water intake could help you avoid this.
Fitness tip: Build muscle mass so your body burns more calories even when you're at rest. 'One pound of lean muscle uses up to six times more calories than a pound of fat,' says London-based personal trainer Laura Williams from Future Perfect. 'Weight training is one of the fastest ways to build muscle,' says Marshall. 'Using free weights or machines, work your muscles until they fatigue over 20 to 25 reps, making sure to work out your whole body.'
THURSDAY get steamy
Nutrition tip: Buy a bamboo steamer and steam vegetables for maximum flavour and minimum calories. Michelin-starred chef Shaun Hill, from The Merchant House in Ludlow (a foodies' favourite), says steaming is a great way to cook and keep off weight. 'Steaming helps retain flavour and nutritional value,' he says, 'and makes some foods lighter and easier to digest.'
Fitness tips: Eating low-fat food will help shift fat from your tummy - but make sure you define your new flat stomach. Williams advises do-anywhere vertical crunches. 'When you're in a lift, waiting for a bus or standing in a queue,' she says, 'breathe in and as you exhale, pull your belly button as far in towards your spine as possible. Hold for five seconds, then relax and repeat ten times. Try to do three sets a day.'
FRIDAY go nuts
Nutrition tip: Forget chocolate and crisps, says Savona, and snack on nuts - they're even better than snacking on fruit if you're fat-burning. 'When you're trying to lose weight,' she says, 'you don't want surges of sugar into your bloodstream as you digest food, because they unbalance your system. Nuts make a good snack because they're very low on the glycaemic index, which means they provide slow-releasing energy. If you like, eat them with fruit, but don't eat fruit alone as it has a high natural sugar content.' Choose nuts that aren't roasted or salted, and don't eat more than ten per snack - almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, cashews, pecans and brazil nuts are good choices.
Fitness tip: If you go out tonight, dance - an intensive ten-minute burst will burn about 80 calories.
SATURDAY skinny shimmy
Nutrition tip: Eat lots of fruit and vegetables today, and don't remove the skin. 'It is an important source of soluble fibre,' says Louise Calland, a state-registered dietician at www.eating4health.co.uk, 'and essential to the slow release of energy. Have jacket potatoes instead of mashed and eat the skin of your apple. If you've got a full tank of energy, you'll stay full for longer, and keep out of the sweet jar.'
Fitness tip: Take the plunge. Swimming uses all the major muscle groups of your body at once, making it an intense cardiovascular workout, at the same time as giving all-over toning benefits akin to a full circuit of the weights room. 'Programmes that work your whole body,' says Marshall, 'give much quicker results than programmes that do things in bits and pieces.'
SUNDAY do brunch
Nutrition tip: Have a big breakfast. 'Eating in the morning kick-starts your metabolism and sets you up for the day, says Savona. Forget black pudding, fried eggs and bread, and go for a spread of healthier options - fruit salad, banana smoothies, grilled tomatoes and mushrooms with wholegrain toast and poached eggs. Dilute juices so they are a third to a half water. Fitness tip: Give yourself a massage. Sports massage therapist Simon Morris, from the Physiotherapy And Sports Injuries Clinic at Bath University, says it can help you in your quest to lose weight Exercise can bring on aches and pains and increases the level of lactic acid in your blood, which makes working out the next day feel more difficult. A massage will relieve muscular aches and pains brought on by exercise and will enable a speedier return to the gym.
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