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Having just read the famous 'French Women Don't Get Fat', I'm inspired. French women don't go to gyms. They don't work out with a trainer. They don't even do aerobics in the cover of their own homes.

French paradox?

After reading the book, I don't think so.

Among other things, French women find simple ways to incorporate more exercise and movement into their day. This helps to burn more calories and keep their waists trim. So in the spirit of this, here are 5 tips to build more exercise into your life (and forget the gym :o)


#1) Take the stairs.

We here it all the time but it's true. Stair walking not only burns mega calories but it gives you an amazing back end. You don't have to do 10 flights at once. But whenever you have the option to take the elevator up 2 or 3 floors or to take the stairs - choose the stairs.


#2) Walk your dog.

No, don't take him to the park and just stand there with the other dog owners - walk him! He'll appreciate it and you'll appreciate the looser feel of your pants after a few months - just from making this small change.


#3) Forget the gym - clean your house.

I used to hate cleaning my house. So boring - and it actually made me sweat so that was uncomfortable. Then one day I finally got a clue and realized that cleaning my house was a great way to get my exercise. Instead of going to the gym (and then stressing when I came home since my house was messy), I decided to bring out the vacuum and sweat with that instead. Now I not only have a 'workout' but I also have a clean house. 2 birds with one stone.


#4) Take a commercial break.

Instead of sitting on your couch watching the latest commercial on how they get that soft flowing caramel inside the chocolate bar, get up and do something during the commercials. Do some sit-ups or push ups. Walk around your house. Start a load of laundry. Do some squats or lunges. Every little bit helps in the calorie burning game - and you won't even miss the commercials!


#5) Be 'Movement Aware'

Just by being aware of how much movement you're doing, you'll find ways throughout your day to incorporate exercise into your routine. Instead of bending at the waist to unload the dishwasher, why not squat and bring your legs into it. Instead of looking for the nearest parking spot to the grocery store, why not park far away and walk?

If you pay attention, you'll see tons of little ways to bring more movement into your daily life that won't cost you anything but extra calories.

Try these tips and chances are you'll notice looser pants in a few months - all without sweating it out hours in a gym.

For more weight loss tips, check out the 10 Idiot-proof rules of Dieting.
For more easy weight loss tips check out

It has been proven! Diet food makes you fat.

Researchers at Cornell University found last year that if they gave people boxes of chocolates labelled "low fat" they ate more than the same chocolates without the label.

You might think that this would be fine because at least those chocolates were lower in calories but if the choclates HAD been low fat they would have still eaten 28% more calories due to the amount they ate!

This fits in with the theory that you eat more of a diet-type food because you think it is not doing you much harm.

Remember manufacturers have to replace the fat with something - and it's usually sugar or other carbs.

The question: Do diet foods make you fatter? | Health | SocietyGuardian.co.uk

We are all different. I weigh myself daily before my shower. My weight goes up and down by a couple of pounds all month depending on the time of the month and what I ate the day before - I don't worry about it - I'm just looking to make sure my average weight stays about the same.

If you are trying to lose weight and weighing yourself affects your motivation to stick to your plan - don't do it more than once a month (if at all). Focus on sticking to your plan not on the scale.

The scales will move all by themselves if you keep doing what you know you need to do. You will see your body changing before your eyes - a much better result than a figure on a scale which might just be telling you that you had an extra glass of water before you jumped on the scale.

Now you know I don't hold with diets much as a permanent way of losing weight (I like my weight loss coaching clients to gradually change their lifestyle habits rather than using a temporary prop).

On the other hand, I know many of you are still looking for the perfect diet solution anyway so I don't mind talking about the better diets out there if I think they will help.

I came across a guy this week who is  doing well with a novel approach which might work for you if you're looking for a solution. No idea what the site is (should have taken a note of it, sorry!) but here is the strategy...

Changing to a new diet at the start of each week.

Now that might seem a bit strange but there is actually a lot of merit in it. There are all these advantages compared to a traditional diet

a) you never have time to get bored
b) if you dislike a diet, it doesn't matter you only have to suffer it for a week
c) your body doesn't get time to acclimatise to a diet so it doesn't lose its effectiveness
d) you are less likely to be eating an unbalanced diet - what one diet lacks another might make up for
e) you can make sure that you get to eat the foods you love now and again by picking the right diets
f) you can  have fun choosing your diets
g) you can have that early enthusiasm about a diet EVERY week and be more likely to stick to your plan
h) you can confuse your friends whenever they invite you to dinner!

So how would this work?  Just pick a list of diets to work through and work through each one for one week only.

For example you could try

Week One - The Kimkins diet (the best of the low carb diets)
Week Two - Dr Phil
Week Three - The Perricone Diet (for great skin)
Week Four - A Juice fast
Week Five - South Beach Diet
Week Six - The Step Diet
Week Seven - The Chocolate Diet
Week Eight - Volumetrics

as many diets as you can lay your hands on just for a week at a time. After a while you can select only those which suit you for the longer haul still leaving quite a bit of variety in there.

And whenever a new diet comes out you can try it ...for a week!

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