THE tastiest way TO LOSE WEIGHT AND FEEL GREAT

Flex With Weight Watchers favourite you can eat all your pounds foods AND shed the

Summer is here and with it comes our chance to get fit, healthy and body confident. Whether you spring into action in the garden, park or on the sports field, the sun- drenched days also have the bonus of encouraging us to eat nutritious salads and fruit. Doesn’t that make it the perfect time to set some clear goals for a healthier you?

But with everyone obsessing over the latest eating trends, celebrity diets and miracle superfoods it can be a struggle to keep track of what really is healthy and what isn’t. Thankfully, a health-boosting programme that fits seamlessly into your lifestyle has now been developed. It enables you to shed pounds gently, in everyday life, so you can eat the foods you love and still keep control of your health goals.

Developed by Weight Watchers, the simple, flexible new programme – WW Flex – puts even the most chaotic eater in control. As its SmartPoints system considers weight loss and nutrition, it enables you to plan meals without worrying about complex calorie calculations.

If you join Weight Watchers, you will be allocated a daily budget of SmartPoints (see panel, right). Essentially, the programme allocates SmartPoints to the food you eat. They’re based on calories, but with the impact of protein, sugar and fat factored in, nudging you toward a healthy, nutritious diet as you lose weight. So fruit and vegetables have a SmartPoints value of zero but a nutritionally empty fizzy drink or doughnut come at a much higher SmartPoints cost.

You can still eat crisps and biscuits, but the SmartPoints system helps you apply portion control to ‘treat’ foods which might easily steer you off track.

Incredibly, nothing is off limits on the Weight Watchers programme. You really can eat pasta, tuck into desserts, indulge in a little chocolate if you want. You can even enjoy a glass of wine at the end of the day – knowing you are getting healthy and losing weight.

Using SmartPoints

When you join Weight Watchers (online or registering with a local group) you get access to an easy-touse 5* rated app. Containing every SmartPoints value, it comes with a barcode-scanning function so you can check the value of any food before you buy or eat it. Weight Watchers has also calculated SmartPoints values for popular meal choices at restaurants, takeaways and cafes so you don’t need to restrict your social life.

Because no two days are ever the same, WW Flex allows you to bank up to four of your SmartPoints allowance on any day when you’re not particularly hungry or you’re rushing around with barely time to eat. These can be used later in the week or at the weekend.

Since exercise boosts mood and makes weight-related goals more effec- tive, the Weight Watchers programme also encourages you to earn FitPoints through activity. These can be added to your daily or weekly allowance.

Mindfulness can help

Whether you follow a mindfulness app or join a yoga class, a subtle shift in attitude can help your healthy choices become part of an ongoing lifestyle.

Mindfulness, for instance, is a great way to curb the sort of unconscious ‘mindless’ grazing habits we so often find ourselves falling in to. Who hasn’t whipped a chip off someone else’s plate or nibbled through two or three biscuits without noticing what they’re doing? How often do you keep eating until your plate is empty (or the packet is finished) without considering whether or not you’re still hungry? Mindfulness helps you notice distracted eating and temptation using simple mental skills that encourage awareness ‘ in the moment.’ The technique can also help you lose weight. If you pay attention to your food choices from the moment you place them in the shopping basket right through to putting them on the table, you are less likely to overeat.

Try these mindfulness tips to boost your weight-loss motivation:

Ditch the screens – make your mealtimes technology-free (no TV, laptop, smartphone or radio) so you can fully concentrate on every single mouthful of food.

Sit at the table for EVERY meal and snack. Eating on the hop, on the sofa or standing up makes you more likely to eat too fast, and therefore too much.

Ask yourself whether you really are hungry, or if your urge to eat is due to boredom, sadness or feeling tired? Could a hot bath, a chat with a friend or a brisk walk do the trick instead?

Make mealtimes special with the best crockery and glasses.

Don’t judge yourself for comfort eating. Notice when you do it, but steer yourself back on track without beating yourself up emotionally. Self- judgement makes you less likely to succeed.

Set your goals

It’s vital to focus on what you want to achieve and how you’ll get there. Here are the important steps to consider:

Motivation Have a strong sense of

why you’re embarking on this healthy eating journey before you start. Are you keen to trim your mid-life middle? Have your blood pressure or cholesterol readings been creeping up? Is it about looking great in summer clothes? Reasons for wanting to change to a healthier lifestyle will differ, but studies show keeping your own personal ‘ why’ in mind will help you stay on track.

Be positive Avoid the temptation to compare yourself with others. Psychologist Honey Langcaster- James recom- mends setting new health goals when you feel upbeat and positive. ‘Your goals are much more likely to be achievable and not based on self-reproach then,’ she says.

Be realistic Good goals – the ones which really work – are personal, specific and achievable. Don’t aim impossibly high. You can still think big (running 10k or getting back into those favourite jeans) but set yourself mini-goals to get there, taking small, manageable steps along the way.

Go public Once you’ve set your goal, rally your support team and make your intentions public. Tell your family and friends what you are doing and why. Not only will you have your loved ones by your side, but studies show it really does make it more likely that you’ll stick to your guns because it’s going to be harder to bail out!

So why not start on your journey straight away by experimenting with the delicious recipes in today’s magazine, and continuing next week from Monday to Thursday in the Mail.