Drop a dress size by Xmas

6-week diet plan inside

DESPERATE to fit into that party frock? Our six-week plan will help you to drop a dress size by mid-December – without spoiling all your festive feasting.

With Santa’s arrival just round the corner, research shows one in three of us is already following a pre-Christmas diet, which normally means saying “no” to many of the things that make the season so special.

But this year we have created a fabulous diet plan that will help you to lose up to a stone in time for the festivities – without banning winter comfort foods and Christmas treats.

Instead of trying to stick to a starvation plan in the season when you most want to enjoy yourself, this diet allows you to have some of your Christmas cake and eat it... and still fit into that party frock.

A weight-loss plan at this time of year needs to be simple and easy to keep to, which rules out juicing and calorie-counting.

It also needs to be reasonably flexible and enjoyable, which makes strict fasting days and outright food bans a real no-no.

With this approach, you can enjoy a range of healthy but filling home-cooked foods.

They will help you to shed pounds and still leave you full of energy for shopping and wrapping, as well as the office party.

“The healthiest and most effective way to lose weight quickly at this time of year is by eating plenty of lean protein and wholegrain carbs,” says nutritionist Linda Foster. This diet is rich in protein because research shows eating some of this food group with each meal helps to stabilise your blood sugar levels.

It also helps to reduce fat storage and to keep food cravings at bay.

While we all need carbs in our daily diet, by avoiding them after 6pm in this plan you will have fewer calories to burn off at night when your metabolism is at its least active.

Sticking to this plan for six weeks can help you drop a dress size and lose up to a stone.