Express Newspaper features 100 Ways

Time to celebrate! How to party without putting on the pounds.

WANT to let off steam this summer without piling on weight? Diet expert Jane Wenham-Jones reveals her top 10 tips…

Nobody (except the teetotal) should be expected to go to a wedding or a big birthday and say no to champagne. Or refuse those yummy little canapés and stand there with a carrot stick. Even if we arrive at a barbecue or garden party with the best of intentions, determined only to drink water and eat the salad garnish, we’re soon going to start feeling deprived and hungry and miserable and as though we’re missing out.  No surprise then that, before the end of the evening, so many of us fall off the wagon and stuff our faces with abandon.

Jane Wenham-Jones, the author of How to Fight the Flab and Still Have Wine & Chocolate, offers her top party tips.

1. Plan ahead

If you know you are going to be out on Saturday, build in some wriggle room earlier in the week.It’s worth doing salad and protein on the nights you’re at home for the pleasure of going out with a flatter stomach by the weekend. If you get hungry, eat a bit more protein or a few squares of dark chocolate and picture yourself twirling in your slinky dress at your party and all those nibbles you’ll deserve by then. You can still have the champagne and canapes without piling on weight.

2. Eat eggs for breakfast

Studies have shown that if you eat eggs for breakfast you will consume, on average, 400 fewer calories during the rest of the day than if you have a carbohydrate-based start to the morning. Keep some back for the morning after too – eggs are an excellent hangover cure. As you will feel fuller for longer, you can skip lunch or be moderate.

3. Have a tiny lunch

If you’ve had your eggs and you’ll be out to dinner or on party food tonight, you can manage on a little salad, a piece of fruit or a lump of cheese and a tomato. Tell yourself any residual hunger pangs are the feeling of fat dissolving from your thighs. You’re going to make up for it later.

4. Wear the full hold-it-all-in regalia

No wonder Spanx as a company is now worth more than a billion dollars. Squash-it-in support tights work nothing short of a miracle on stomachs and waists and bottoms – even if you have to allow an extra 20 minutes to get them on.

5. Don’t drink too much on an empty stomach

Not only might you fall off your heels but if you really get the munchies you’ll also fall on those mini burgers and little fish and chips. A few is fine – although 17 of each plus a kebab on the way home is not.

6. Go for the protein 

Nothing’s forbidden on party night, but if you concentrate on dishes and canapés based on meat, fish, cheese, eggs etc you will feel replete earlier. Too many carb-only snacks and you’ll soon be starving again.

7. Drink water with it

Sipping at water as well as the wine will mean you’ll drink less alcohol and not feel so peckish. Keeping yourself hydrated will also save a headache in the morning and a face like a dried prune.

8. Dance (or at least keep moving)

Dancing can burn up to 400 calories per hour. Even walking around the room chatting will boost your metabolism and use up energy.  If those heels are now hurting, kick ‘em off  – you’ll cover more ground.

9. Walk home

There is nothing like a brisk walk before bed, and after you’ve finished eating for the evening, to get your body fat-burning. If it’s not safe or practical, run up and down the stairs when you get in. Or jog on the spot.

10. Have fun!

If you really want to be successful when flab-fighting then don’t let it suck the joy out of your life.Happy people look gorgeous, whatever their shape, and skip through life with an extra zing. This in turn releases endorphins, raises the metabolism and helps burn the calories. So eat, drink and be merry and if you do over-indulge a little, some extra exercise and plenty of protein and veg will put it right tomorrow.

100 Ways to Fight the Flab and Still Have Wine and Chocolate by Jane Wenham-Jones is published in paperback by Accent Press at £7.99.

See the original article at http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/diets/484952/How-to-party-without-putting-on-the-pounds.

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