Q & A - More Slimming Foods & Exercises

QUESTION:

I'm a girl currently living in Spain, I'm 21 and I would like to know if you can give me some advices for my weight loss.

First of all, I'm going to tell you my motivation: I'm in Spain since january, I came back to France only once since then and I really miss my boyfriend. We did not see each other for almost 2 months now and next time I am going to see him is a the end of July, when I will definitly go back to France.

I'm quite an healthy person, I do not really like junk food, I hate going to MacDonald and I pretty never eat pizzas or this kind of food. However, I really like chocolate but I try not to buy some, so I'm not tempted. I also do sport as much as I can (I used to do a lot more at the begining of the year while I was studying).

I'm 170cm tall and do not really know how much I weight because I do not have anything to weight me here. But because of the student life, parties, drinks, lack of sleep etc., I've gained some weight. Not that much, arround 3-5kg, but still...

I'm quite a slim person, but I have fat on, especially in the "critical areas" (waist, belly, top of the legs). I know I do not look fat but I would like to be in a better shape for myself and for my boyfriend when I will be back home.
Student life is over for me since I've started working for an internship. The problem is that I stay on my chair all day long and when I come back home in the evening, I'm too exhausted (mentally I guess) to do any king of sport. To compensate, I go to work by metro, take the stairs as much as I can and even at work, I never take the lift for example. And I do long walks and a bit of gym exercises during the weekend.

I really liked you article about the "slimming food" and I would like to know if you can give me more example of this kind of food. I have to confess that I cannot eat meat, but i do eat fishes and eggs without problems.
Also want to know if you can suggest me any type of exercices I can do at work or during the breaks, that are not too long but can help me to move a little (ok please take into consideration that I'm working in a big big company and I dress very formal with heels most of the time so do not make me runing in the stairs ;)
My goal is to reduce this fat around the critical area without especially loosing weight. I just want to look slim and stop constantly feeling bloated.

I think that's it!  Thank you very much if you can help me, however I just wanted to say you did a really great great job on you and you are really inspirational...
Ah and I also looove your blog, I understood a lot of things and you explain the things very well!

I have no idea of what time it is in the US, but let's say have a nice day! I'm going to bed, it's almost midnight here!

Thanks again -Bye


ANSWER: 


Hello, first off it's great that you do not eat a lot of junk food because that will cause you to gain a lot of weight.  


Second, try to stay away from alcohol as much as possible because all alcohol contains a ton of calories.  If you really want chocolate then get dark chocolate that does not have added sugar or is very minimal because it actually contains a lot of healthy antioxidants.  


Eat fruits throughout the day when you want to snack, they are sweet and many of them are high in fiber (raspberries, pears, and apples are among the top three).  Also eat a lot of green vegetables at lunch and dinner because these are very filling due to the fiber content and this will ultimately lead to you eating less.  

For your main meals eat complex carbs such as whole wheat bread, pasta, oatmeal, sweet potatoes,beans, eggs and fish.  Feel free to eat nuts and peanut butter but limit these to 1-2 servings a day because they are so high in calories. 


As far as exercise, turn your walks into runs.  

When you are at work if you are in an office where no one can see you; do squats until you are out of breath or have increased your heart rate significantly because these burn a lot of calories. If this is not an option where you work then walk as briskly as you can in heels during your break.  Anytime you find yourself with spare time do an exercise where you elevate your heart rate or go for a walk/run.  You should try to lose 1-2 lbs a week (.5-1kg.) If you feel you are losing too slowly or not at all then decrease the amount of carbs you eat until you are satisfied with how much you are losing.

Tony isn't a  licensed nutritionist yet, so he can't give anyone advice on what  to do.   Please consult your doctor for his professional opinion on a  diet/nutrition program that will work for you.

Tony's blog is a  journal of his experiences and what has worked for him.   He lists general guidelines and suggestions  only.  He is NOT a professional.