BONUS TIPS

CALM DOWN

Stress hormone cortisol causes belly-fat storage, but that’s not the end of it: every time your stress response ramps up, your body shifts resources away from fat metabolism and muscle repair into needless jumps in adrenaline and blood pressure. Pros swear by the Headspace app, but if guided meditation isn’t your bag, try a mantra: repeat a two-syllable word (like “nature” or “peaceful”) in your head for five minutes to stay calm.

RETHINK THE BOOZE

Just a one-pint-anight guy? That’s just over a thousand calories a week, or an extra half-kilo of body fat over three weeks. Red wine is slightly better – evidence from Washington State University suggests its resveratrol can convert white fat into the more easily burned brown – but it’s still calorific. Stick to one bottle a week, and invest in taller glasses: in a Cornell University study, subjects poured 12% less booze when using tall, thin glasses.