It’s time to come out of winter hibernation and shape up for the summer ahead. Here are five steps to creating the body you want this summer.

• Love your liver – your liver is central to cleansing and coping with any toxins you put into your body. Use the herb milk thistle to boost liver function as well as regenerate it from any damage done.
• Probiotics –There are more bacteria in your digestive tract than there are cells in your body. Ensuring the right bacteria are present is essential to detoxification. It is difficult to eat enough yoghurt to boost beneficial bacteria so supplements with Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium strains will be the way to go.

Psyllium fibre is necessary for the eliminative functions of the bowel to happen as they should. Water-soluble fibre such as from psyllium husks is the best form of fibre as it draws water into the bowel and is less irritating than fibres such as wheat brant.

Take milk thistle, probiotics and psyllium husks for one month to give your digestive tract a good spring clean.

Make a commitment that this spring you will keep a “Food and Training” journal. Researchers (American Journal of Preventive Medicine, August 2008) from the United States asked almost 1700 people to follow a heart-healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low-fat or non-fat dairy, as well as exercising at moderate intensity levels for at least 30 minutes a day. Some of the participants kept a food diary while others did not. After six months those who had kept the food diaries had lost twice as much weight as those who had not (an average of 8kg compared to 4kg). The act of writing things down makes it easier to see where extra kilojoules are coming from and where extra exercise could fit in. The key is not to make the journal a big deal or you won’t do it. Just keep a small notepad with you and scribble things down as you go along. Or you could send yourself emails or SMS messages to keep track of what you have eaten.

TRIPLE KICK START

Give your metabolism a kick start with three supplements shown to help burn off fat.

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) is a fatty acid found in beef and dairy fats. Supplementation with CLA has been shown to reduce body fat and increase lean body mass (Br J Nutr, March 2007). CLA has also been shown to improve the benefits in building muscle bulk gained by resistance training (Applied Physiol Nutr Metab, Feb 2008). CLA cannot be produced by the human body so we rely on dietary sources of this useful substance. Unfortunately dairy cattle that are pasture raised have up to 500 per cent more CLA in their milk than grain fed cattle, meaning that much of our dietary CLA is being lost if we eat grain-fed produce. That is why CLA supplements are a good idea as part of your spring strip down.

Guarana – this South American plant is a source of caffeine, which stimulates release of fat burning hormones such as adrenalin.

Green Tea – is another source of caffeine but it is also a source of flavonoids. There is ample evidence to show green tea does increase the burning of fat stores and also boosts endurance. One study (American Journal of Physiology, January 2005) for instance, found that green tea increased endurance by up to 24 percent and led to higher rates of fat burning. The researchers found that it is the flavonoids from green tea and not the caffeine that have this effect. To get the best effects from green tea you need to take it in the long term.

STEP 4

MAKE YOUR FRIDGE GREEN

Fill your fridge with green vegetables because they have an alkalising affect on your body. The common Western diet tends to make the body acidic. The theory is that excess acidity is buffered in your body by fat stores. So while you may be doing everything else right, if your body remains acidic then the weight stays on. It is also thought that an acid environment reduces the effectiveness of digestive enzymes so that your elimination processes are slowed down.