The Eight Hour Diet.

I've recently been hitting the gym and I decided that outing this effort in I should also change my diet slightly, but I wasn't sure how. Whilst waiting for my boyfriend to have his hair cut –incredibly bored may I add- I picked up the Sun Newspaper. Flicking through the pages I came across ‘The Eight Hour Diet’ and it looked really interesting. I've only been doing it for a week so I don’t have any results to share but I just thought you might like to hear about it! Unfortunately I couldn't take the paper so I found the same diet on the Marie Claire website.

The theory behind this diet is that only eating food during a set eight-hour time period gives our bodies a chance to reset and in turn a chance to process nutrients and properly get rid of toxins like it’s supposed to. It’s a way of extending the period between your last snack and your breakfast giving the body the chance to burn away your fat stores for the energy it needs.

It does make some ambitious claims that it can burn about 10lbs in one week, but after this one week it depletes and you can burn up to 20lbs in six weeks. Another great thing about this is you can choose any eight hour period that you want, so you can fit it around the eating habits that you already have. As I am slightly naughty and always skip breakfast I chose to start eating at 11 o'clock and to stop at 7, this really suits be as I am quite a late eater as I usually eat with my parents.

Drinks are not completely banned during the eight hours either, water, tea and coffee are allowed but you should try to limit the amount of sugars you have! This is probably what I find the hardest as I love Pear drop flavoured squash but this is not allowed as there is way too much sugar!

You can eat what you want during these eight hours –try to do this in moderation though!- which is the great freedom of the diet, but you should try to have at least two of the eight power foods that were listed in the newspaper. First up we have ‘The fat busters’, Turkey, eggs, other lean meats, nuts, dairy –especially yoghurts- and beans. The second group is ‘The health boosters’ this consists of berries, fruits, green vegetables, wholegrain breads, cereals and oatmeal.

Something else that shown to be very beneficial is eight minutes of exercise when you first wake up should be enough to start of your metabolism off for the rest of the day. I am not currently doing this as I am using the gym a few times a week, but I will be starting as I am using the school’s gym for free but I am finishing sixth form completely this week so I will no longer have access to this!

The cherry on the cake is that you do not have to do this every day, as long as you follow these rules at least three times a week you will see results! Which is fantastic in my opinion, but I am trying to do this every week day and having a break on the weekend.

If you have any other questions leave them below and I can answer them, also if you know of any other good diets, let me know! Thanks for reading, becciixx.

Slim down for Summer.

The whole panic with getting skinny for summer may seem so daunting and I though it was too, until I thought about it more and got inspiration from twitter and instagram accounts! It doesn't have to be a drastic change to your life and doesn't have to be something that takes over your life either!

All it takes to get going is a little bit of determination, if you want this enough then it shouldn't be too hard to find yourself some motivation, whether it's torturing yourself by looking at hot bodies -this is my method- or just wanting to start a healthier life style. Also setting your goal is a very good way to make yourself get going -just make sure it is realistic for you!- One piece of advice for you is that do not listen to BMI's, for women I think they are very inaccurate as if you have larger breasts this weight is not taken into account!

When it comes to exercising you don't want to start up on too much, the last thing you want to do is strain  your body so much that you can't keep to your routine for the next few days! Increasing the amount of reps or time that you do an exercise for it a great way to ensure you are progressing further without putting too much strain or your muscles. Knowing what exercises will be beneficial to you and the part of your body you want to work on can be difficult if you are just starting up as you don't know what parts certain exercises effect. Looking at magazines or websites can really help with learning what's best for you, Women's Health magazine is very good for both exercising and healthy eating tips. My favourite Twitter account for exercises is Fitness & Nutrition, -this is where I got my fitness routine from.-

Finding time to exercise can also be difficult, but if you spend your evenings in front of the TV, there's nothing stopping you from getting up and doing some squats in front of the TV! And this is perfectly fine to do, its not cheating at all, if anything it'll make it easier as you'll be distracted and the time will go quicker. -You won't even feel the burn as much!-

You can't just exercise, still eat rubbish and expect to get good results! You don't have to spend tons of money on fine dining healthy food, it only takes a few changes that won't cost any more than you already spend. Take a look at your portion sizes, are you eating a lot for just one meal? If you think you are then start it give yourself one less roast potato or only one sandwich rather than two. I've heard that eating 4 smaller meals throughout the day with healthy snacks when you get hungry is much better for you than 3 larger meals. Also replacing sugary snacks with something more healthy will be very beneficial and you will start seeing changes fairly quickly, -so chuck out that Terry's Chocolate Orange for a real orange, and you'll be off to a good start'.-

What you drink will also effect your toning or weight loss, as you all know water is essential when exercising but you should also make sure you are drinking it constantly throughout the day to increase your weight loss, improve your health -and it is also great for your skin, which is obviously a god thing!- Milk is also great for your muscles and to help stop cramp if you have over exercised, so get drinking.

I just have two last things to say, if you are trying to lose weight or tone up, make sure you are doing it for you, no one else, for you! The decisions that you make about losing weight should not be influenced by the media, or from the stereotypical 'skinny for summer'! Everybody shape is beautiful and you should be proud of your body!

The last thing is that starving yourself is never the way to go, it's so unhealthy and  as soon as you start eating again your weight will start increasing again. Eating healthy will make you lose weight -maybe not as quickly- but you won't be putting your health at risk!

I hope this has given some of you some inspiration, until next time, becciixx.

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