OMG, it’s six weeks till party season! Panic ye not, for we have all you need to get so diet, fitness and beauty-ready, you’ll give the fairy at the top of the tree a run for her money… « Fabulous Magazine – The Sun – news, horoscopes, recipes beauty, fashion, competitions, homes, videos, photos

The diet

Mince pies, fizz and fourth helpings, no wonder we pile on an average of 6lb
over Chrimbo. You could wait till January to lose that excess baggage, but
post-Christmas is depressing enough without depriving yourself of the
comfort of cakes. So here’s the plan. Lose the bulge now and you get to look
super-seasonally hawt in that party frock and avoid the grim New Year detox!
Just pick one brekkie, lunch and dinner a day from our list and you could
lose 2lb per week – that’s a whole dress size before Santa comes….

The rules

Meals should be the size of two cupped hands.
Don’t go back for second helpings! Train your body to be satisfied with
healthy portions.
Drink a large glass of water half an hour before eating your meal to help you
feel fuller.

Breakfast

½ cup of oats with soya milk and, sprinkled with cinnamon and goji berries;
plus ½ grapefruit.
2 poached eggs on 1 slice wholemeal toast with grilled portobello mushrooms.
A mug-full of muesli, made with whole oats, rye and millet flakes. Add nuts,
seeds and dried fruit. Serve with soya milk and blueberries.
Porridge made with ½ cup of rolled oats, a handful of sliced strawberries and
soya milk. Add 1tbsp mixed seeds.
1 poached kipper with spinach and grilled tomatoes.
2 pieces of fresh low-GI fruit (eg apple, pear, plum) with natural soya
yoghurt and 1tbsp mixed seeds.
2 scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and grilled tomatoes.
Smoothie made by blending a handful of oats, 2 handfuls of raspberries, 2tbsp
mixed seeds, natural yoghurt, scoop of protein powder and water.

Lunch

Greek salad Mix cucumber, tomatoes, feta cheese, sliced red onion,
olives, mint and drizzle with olive oil.
Minestrone soup Whizz up your own at home using vegetables and beans.
Mackerel Niçoise salad Make a traditional Niçoise salad and serve
with a smoked mackerel fillet and lemon.
Sardines on toast Griddle the fish and serve on 1 slice wholemeal toast.
Sun-dried tomato, feta and lentil salad Combine tinned puy lentils,
chopped sun-dried tomatoes, chopped red onion and feta cheese. Drizzle
with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Coleslaw and cashew salad Mix grated carrot and lemon juice, add
shredded red cabbage shredded onion, a handful of cashew nuts, chopped
fresh parsley and a little mayo.
Tuscan bean stew Cook garlic and onions in a pan with chopped leeks.
Add a tin each of mixed beans and chopped tomatoes.
Vegetables crudités and houmous Use carrot, pepper, celery and
cucumber, and opt for reduced-fat houmous.
Superfood salad Toss chopped beetroot, spinach leaves and halved cherry
tomatoes with a balsamic, rapeseed oil and wholegrain mustard dressing.
Top with chicken strips and mixed seeds.
Frittata Make using leftover roasted veg. Place the veg in a frying pan
and warm through, add in whisked eggs and cook on a gentle heat. Once
it’s set and cooked on one side, transfer to the grill to finish
cooking on top. Cut into pizza-style slices and serve with rocket.

Dinner

Piri-piri prawns with spiced potato wedges and tomato and rocket salad Roast
1 sweet potato, cut into wedges and sprinkled with paprika and olive
oil. In a blender, purée red chillies, lemon juice, garlic cloves,
sweet smoked paprika, olive oil, salt and pepper. Rub over 10 king
prawns. Cook in a griddle pan until the prawns have turned pink. Serve
with the potato wedges and a tomato and rocket salad.
Lamb rogan josh Cube a piece of lean lamb, and pan-fry with chopped red
onion, mixed peppers and rogan josh curry paste. Once the meat has
browned, add tinned tomatoes and cook until the veg is tender.
Fishcakes Boil a cubed sweet potato and steam a white fish fillet.
Blend with 1 chopped chilli and coriander. Shape into a fish cake and
coat in polenta. Fry in olive oil until golden. Serve with wilted
spinach.
Black pepper tuna fillet with mango and avocado salsa Fry a tuna fillet
coated in black pepper. Serve with a salsa made from chopped mango,
avocado, cherry tomatoes, coriander and green beans.
Roast pollock fillet with pesto Cover a pollock or other white fish
fillet with pesto, wrap in tin foil and bake in the oven. Serve with
veg.
Vegetable and lentil bake Bake chopped veg, dried red lentils and a tin
of tomatoes until the lentils are cooked and the tomatoes and veg have
formed a rich sauce.
Quorn and vegetable ratatouille Cook a basic ratatouille with a mix of
veg such as aubergine, red onion, mixed peppers and courgettes with
tinned tomatoes and herbs. Add Quorn pieces and warm through.
Fajitas Cook an organic chicken fillet with chilli and garlic and add
veg, such as mushrooms, pepper and onion. Serve in a wholemeal wrap.

The fitness plan

Don’t let all your hard dinner-time work go to waste. Work out to maximise
your party-fit results…

Festiv-cise

Tone up by doing each of these exercises every morning before brekkie. You can
even do ’em in your PJs in front of Daybreak. Do each one 10 times.

Butterfly stretch (works tummies and chests):

1 Stand with your legs together and suck your tummy towards your spine.
Hold, with your hands behind your head. Breathe in while bowing your head,
bending your knees and squeezing your elbows together.

2 Hold, then exhale, straightening your legs and fanning out your
elbows. Repeat, relax, shake out and start over.

Flat-back squat (blasts thighs and arms):

1 Crouch down, balance on your tip toes and place your hands flat just
in front of them. Keep your back flat and breathe in.

2 Breathe out and stand up slowly, with your hands on the floor.
Straighten your legs as much as possible. Hold for five seconds, relax, then
repeat.

Thigh lunge (tones bottoms and legs):

1 Get on your hands and knees, then bring one leg between your hands.

2 Extend your leg back while moving your hands up on to your front
thigh. Hold for 10 breaths, then swap legs.

Chrimbo cardio

Pure Gym personal trainer Ashleigh Eaton has come up with four full-on-but-fun
heart racers. Pick your fave and do it for 30 minutes every other day.

1 Hula whoop You might feel like a kid, but by taking a mate on in a
hula contest you can blast 250-300 calories per session. The first one to
let their hoop drop does five ab crunches. Oof. Repeat until exhausted.

2 Skip to the beat Make a 30-minute playlist, alternating fast-paced
tracks with slightly slower ones. Get a skipping rope and for every fast
song, jump to it. For the more chilled songs do slow-mo hops. Keep it up and
shave off 200-350 cals.

3 Step up To whizz off 270-300 cals head for the stairs. Do 10 quick
steps on and off the bottom stair, followed by 10 grapevine steps
(line-dance style), then 10 jumps on and off the stair, finally finishing up
with 10 lunges. Rotate these four exercises for 30 minutes.

The beauty kit

There’s no point in getting fit if your buff bod is a bit blah. Follow our
guide to be belle of the Christmas ball…

Party clock countdown

Starting today, your in-depth weekly guide of all the beauty must-dos to tick
off as Chrimbo speeds around…

Every Day For The Next 6 Weeks…

Exfoliate with Pukka Ayurveda Nourishing Brightener, £13. Just add water or
your usual cleanser to this natural mix of bilberry and almond ground
powder, smooth over your face, rinse and wipe. Glowing skin guaranteed.
Moisturise with Anatomicals Smother Superior (Nun Better) Bergamot And Green
Ginger Body Butter (1), £5. This combo will leave you with skin so
smooth you won’t want to put your clothes on. But do try.

6 weeks till party time…

Buff away wintry skin on your bod with Skin Wisdom Day Spa Gentle Revive
Brightening Wash ’n’ Scrub Gingerlilly & Orange (2),
£4 – the fruit exfoliators are natural buffers. And leave the turkey neck to
the, er, turkey. Dr Nick Lowe The Secret Is Out Neck & Décolleté Firming
Cream, £29.99, will tighten up those tell-tale areas that are always on
show.

5 Weeks till party time…

Get pedi ready plus blitz cracked, dry skin on your hands and feet with
Eucerin Aquaphor Soothing Skin Balm, £8.50. Also try DIY spa with Sanctuary
30 Day Youth Revolution (3), £22.50. It contains glycolic acid to
encourage facial skin cell renewal, giving you that Christmas glow.

4 Weeks till party time…

Get your hair party primed with Denise McAdam Full Volume Boosting Shampoo (4)
and Conditioner, £3.50 each. Become a shine superstar, using the four
treatments in the Charles Worthington Salon At Home Shine Booster Hair Shine
Kit, £19.99, every week until Santa comes. The Luminoil Complex sinks deep
into the hair’s cuticles to boost your locks from the inside out.

3 Weeks till party time…

Pat Nip + Fab Dark Circle Fix, £15.95, along the brow bone and under the eye
area to banish tired and puffy post-workout eyes. Indulge with Givenchy
Hyrdra Sparkling Recharging Luminescence Moisturizing Mask (5), £30,
a few times a week. Pop it on, and let it take care of your face’s fatigue.

2 Weeks till party time…

Get a daily wake-up call with Tisserand Face And Body Pure Blending Oil (6),
£6. Massage in to give skin a moisture surge. Plus, prep your fingertips for
this season’s nails with Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream, £5.10. Dab
on and gently push back your cuticles so they’re ready for action.

1 Week till party time…

The tint in Fresh Sugar Passion Lip Treatment (7), £14.50, gives you
mistletoe-ready smackers thanks to the super-fine sugar that buffs, and the
lip butter that polishes. And no party look would be complete without a tan.
Garnier Ambre Solaire Light Glow No Streaks Bronzer, £11.22, gives you the
perfect winter colour – golden, but not tinsel gold.

Look out for more party-fit tips, coming every week. Got a get-gorge
shout-out? Let us know by emailing features@fabulousmag.co.uk
or tweeting @Fabmagbeauty. You could see it in print and win a beauty bag!