- Play up to your best bits: Keep clothing in proportion and draw attention to what you like. Show off legs in a knee-length pencil skirt or fitted crop trousers. Emphasise a trim waist with fitted jackets or belts. Wearing baggy clothes top-to-toe makes you look bigger than you are.
- Stand tall: Heels do make your legs look slimmer. But you don't have to teeter around in stilettos - wedges, platforms and chunky heels all have the same slimming effect.
- The print rule: Bright, large-scale patterns and wide stripes will add pounds. To look smaller go small with pinstripes, polka dots and petite florals.
- Clever disguises: Clothes that are ruched, wrapped or draped divert attention from problem areas and are flattering for all sizes. A heavy jersey fabric will add support and smooth over lumps and bumps. Three quarter length sleeves are slimming and a good choice if you prefer to cover your arms.
- Tummy tamers: Narrow, tunic-style tops worn over slim trousers will draw the eye away from your tummy. Wear flat front trousers to smooth and reduce a muffin top.
- Buy the right underwear: Wearing a bra that fits properly can make the bust look smaller. Shapewear may not look sexy, but it works wonders. Buy a vest with a control panel or high waisted pants for a svelte sihouette.
- Use black strategically: a classic slimming tip, wear black on the parts you'd most like to visually slim. (My variation on this: Actually, not everyone likes or suits black and this works just as well with other dark colours such as navy, bottle green, deep burgundy and dark brown.)
Friday, 25 July 2014
Figure Flattery
The right styles, colours and patterns can make all the difference.
Wednesday, 23 July 2014
Sugar Facts (2)
Sugar and your skin
A recent study comparing high levels of glucose in the blood and how old the subjects appeared. The older people appeared to be - on average it was five months older than they actually were - seemed to correlate with a high rate of blood sugar. The reason is that glucose attacks collagen and makes skin more brittle.
Michael Mosley in Radio Times, October 2013
High Fructose Corn Syrup
This is sweeter than sugar and interferes with leptin, a hormone that has a key role in controlling appetite.
Sugar and heart attacks
Sugar is a higher risk factor than fat for cardiac disease. So avoid low fat products as these typically contain higher levels of sugar to compensate for the lower fat content.
Fructose
Fructose is easily converted to fat in the body. When the liver is overloaded with sugars, leptin (the hunger controlling hormone) simply stops working, so the body doesn't recognise that it is full.
A recent study comparing high levels of glucose in the blood and how old the subjects appeared. The older people appeared to be - on average it was five months older than they actually were - seemed to correlate with a high rate of blood sugar. The reason is that glucose attacks collagen and makes skin more brittle.
Michael Mosley in Radio Times, October 2013
High Fructose Corn Syrup
This is sweeter than sugar and interferes with leptin, a hormone that has a key role in controlling appetite.
Sugar and heart attacks
Sugar is a higher risk factor than fat for cardiac disease. So avoid low fat products as these typically contain higher levels of sugar to compensate for the lower fat content.
Fructose
Fructose is easily converted to fat in the body. When the liver is overloaded with sugars, leptin (the hunger controlling hormone) simply stops working, so the body doesn't recognise that it is full.
Monday, 21 July 2014
Phone Calls Abroad
Save money on phone calls made while abroad.
Good Housekeeping August 2013
- When you arrive at your destination, buy a local SIM to phone home for less.
- Switch your mobile phone's 3G and roaming services off to avoid a hefty bill whenyou get back. For iPhones, go to: settings/general/mobile data. For Android, it's settings/data usage.
- If you have free WiFi access, download Whatsappto send free texts to other Whatsapp users. Otherwise texts cost 11p a time within the EU, and more elsewhere. Receiving texts is free.
Good Housekeeping August 2013
Friday, 18 July 2014
Frozen Food
If the freezer is cold enough (-18C) and there are no power cuts, it doesn't matter how long food is frowzen from a safety point of view. But the texture and flavour may suffer, so label and date goods and use within these time periods.
Fresh vegetables don't need to be blanched if storing for less than 3 months. [Unknown source.]
- Cakes: 6 months (iced ones loose quality after 2 months)
- Bread: 4 weeks
- Uncooked pastry: 3 months
- Cooked fruit pies: 6 months
- Meat pies: 3 months
- Sauces, soups & stocks: 3 months
- Beef: joints (8 months); steaks, mince & cubed meat (3 months)
- Poultry: whole (1 year); pieces (3 to 6 months)
- Pork: 6 months
- Lamb: joints (6 months); cutlets (3 months)
- Sausages: 1 to 3 months
- Fish: 6 months
- Fresh vegetables: whole or sliced, blanched first (1 year - except for cauliflower - 6 months)
- Fresh fruit: whole or sliced (1 year); purees (6 to 8 months); juice (4 to 6 months)
Fresh vegetables don't need to be blanched if storing for less than 3 months. [Unknown source.]
Wednesday, 16 July 2014
Walk It Off
Research suggests that we make better food choices if we know how many miles it takes to burn off the calories. (You can walk a mile at a steady pace in 15 to 20 minutes; so in 1 hour you'll cover 3 to 4 miles.) So here's how far you'd need to go for .....
Biscuits: 2 Fox's Ginger Crinkle Crunch biscuits (96 cal): 1.2 miles ## 2 shortbread fingers (190 cal) 2.4 miles ##
Cakes: 1 M&S jam doughnut (190 cal) 2.4 miles ##
Chips: McDonald's regular fries (291 cal) 3.6 miles ##
Sweets: 3 Quality Street sweets (133 cal) 1.7 miles ##
Biscuits: 2 Fox's Ginger Crinkle Crunch biscuits (96 cal): 1.2 miles ## 2 shortbread fingers (190 cal) 2.4 miles ##
Cakes: 1 M&S jam doughnut (190 cal) 2.4 miles ##
Chips: McDonald's regular fries (291 cal) 3.6 miles ##
Sweets: 3 Quality Street sweets (133 cal) 1.7 miles ##
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)