A
female
age
30-35,
anonymous
writes:[Moderator's Note: 2 questions from the same poster have been merged together]Question 1In about exactly one month I'm going to a family event with my boyfriend and I'm going to meet so many of his family members for the first time.. I've met a few before and believe me, all of his cousin's girlfriends are tall, tan, and blonde.. I don't want to be the worst looking one there, I want to get in better shape and have as dark a tan as possible.. I'm not too overweight, just like 20-30 pounds and I'm pretty pale.. Please give me diet and exercise tips on how to lose the fat/weight and get toned and maybe which foods to eat and which to stay away from.. and also tips on what outside tanning products I should use and how long I should lay out in the sun each day.. Thank you all!Question 2So I've heard after you lay in the tanning bed you should wait several hours before showering so you don't lose the tan, is this also true for when you lay out in the sun? Also, whenever I tan my skin tans pretty well, all except for my legs, below my kneecaps.. They always stay superrr pale.. Any ideas on how I can get my legs to tan evenly with the rest of my skin? Thanks!
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reader, anonymous, writes (2 June 2010): Hm, I wouldn't recomend dieting, maybe excersise, people get obsessed with diets, they seem to spend every waking moment feeling guilty about eating something. I'm not slagging of the other advice I just think that people can become obsessed with calories oncetheu start and it can consume alot of peoples time and effort.
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reader, anonymous, writes (2 June 2010): Go vegan, you will loose weight and the more carrots you eat the more melanin in your skin which makes you tan.
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reader, anonymous, writes (2 June 2010): Hi! First things first: don't feel competitive about the way you look. Remember: your boyfriend chose you because he really likes who you are, and thinks that your body is incredibly sexy as it is. Be confident about who you are and what you look like now. Any changes you make should be made for yourself, not others. However, I know how good it feels to lose weight, physically and mentally. I went from 140lbs to 100lbs following the advice I'm about to give you over 6 months. My diet and awareness of health also improved, and I think I'm not just skinnier but also much fitter and healthier now.
Diet-wise: there is a lot of nonsense talked in fad diet books! What you need to know is simple: your body is a machine. You put energy in via food, and you expend energy via exercise. Put in more energy than you are expending and you gain weight. Put in less energy than you are expending and you will lose weight. So count your calories and check how much energy every bit of food you eat contains - you may be shocked and horrified by how many calories some of your regular snacks contain (a Starbucks peppermint white chocolate mocha contains 500 calories - that's 2-3 candy bars!). Keep a record of every little thing you put in your mouth, maybe using an online counter to total it all. And don't cheat - if you do, you're only cheating yourself! Handily, some of these online counters are free, and also provide you with calorie goals, telling you how much you can eat if you want to lose a certain amount a week (I use the Daily Plate, but there are many good ones out there). I suggest setting it to a 2lb loss a week and following the calorie count religiously for the next month. Remember, if you exercise more, you can eat more!
Keeping a record will also help you to become conscious of what you're eating, which should help you eat more healthily too. A word of warning: do not try to lose more than 2-3 lbs a week. Any more than that is unhealthy, and you will be losing a muscle (including heart muscle) as well as fat, which will make you look skinner but more untoned. Crash diets can leave you looking drained, worn and flabby. The good news, though, is that you should still be able to lose 8 lbs or more in the month you have, and improve your muscle tone so you feel really confident.
Of course, you need to keep the nutrients (vitamins, minerals etc.) flowing. So try to eat a low-fat diet, with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables (at least 7 portions a day). Make sure you keep eating weighed and measured amounts of healthy unprocessed carbs (e.g. whole foods, brown bread) but avoid processed carbs like white rice, floury potatoes, bread. Keeping some carbs in your diet will keep your metabolism working well. Obviously, avoid high-fat foods like chocolate and cake, and high-sugar foods (replace soda with water).
Burn off those carbs with a good workout 4-5 times a week. If tone is what you're after, try longer exercise sessions at a low intensity (e.g. 45 mins of slow jogging). Walk whenever you can, take stairs not lifts etc. etc.
For your skin: please don't use tanning beds - they are terrible for you and will age your skin badly. The sun isn't much better - please make sure you use a good sunscreen if you're going to be out. It won't stop you tanning, but it will stop you damaging your skin badly by burning it. Instead, try a spray tan from a salon if you can splash out, or a gradual tan from a bottle if you can't. This should also ensure evenness of skintone.
Good luck!
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