5 Tips for Looking Slim Instantly

At this time of the year it seems everyone is dealing with those extra pounds. While dieting or thinking about dieting here are some tips to help you feel and look slimmer.

1. Watch your posture. It can be as simple as lifting your rib cage.

2. Avoid wearing tight clothes. They will only emphasis your weight gain and depress you. If necessary buy a basic neutral dark top and bottom in a larger size. Usually your jackets and cardigans will still fit if you are only up 5-10 pounds.

3. Wear a column of colors. That is a matching top and bottom. It creates an unbroken vertical line.

4. Be sure your bra is doing it's job. A low bustline makes you look heavier than you are.

5. Add a small shoulder pad. This will make your shoulders broader than your hips.

The outfit above is from the Carlisle Spring Collection. The column of brown is slimming and the white Topper jacket is a loose construction which hides those extra pounds.

Some of the ideas for these tips are from Brenda Kinsel's book, "Forty over Forty". She is a fellow Association of Image Consultants member. Another great book is Leah Feldon's "Does This Make Me Look Fat."

Are Your Clothes Tight?

Well, like most of you it's post Holiday diet and exercise time. Those who know me personally are always surprised that I diet. Of course I diet! How else do I stay slim and continue to fit into my wardrobe of beautiful Carlisle and Per Se investment pieces. My rule is once I reach or exceed my personal maximum weight, it's diet time. Actually I hate the word diet. It's really back to eating like I should all the time---Healthy.

So here is my favorite diet which has been around for sometime. The Fat Flush Diet by nutritionist Ann Louise Gittleman. The first two weeks is a detox diet with no caffeine or alcohol (the hard part for me), no dairy, no carbohydrates except those in vegetables and fruit. You have warm lemon juice in the morning followed by pure cranberry juice with water an phylum (ground corn husk) in the morning and evening to cleanse your system. I get these at Trader Joes. The meals and snacks always keep hunger at bay. It simply means planning ahead to have the right ingredients in the house and even on the road if need be. You can buy the book, "The Fat Flush Plan" and extra supplements on the web at http://www.unikeyhealth.com/ . I also saw lots of used books on Amazon.

I always drop about 5 pounds in 2 weeks, and I feel great. Then I ease into phase two which lets you reintroduce food categories one at a time and watch if it affects your weight. I discovered dairy slows down my weight loss. For others it could be wheat or corn, etc.

Of course I am pretty regimented about exercise. I alternate walking , biking, and following DVD's of exercises. It has to be part of your routine. Mine is breakfast, exercise, shower and dress for the day. Check our http://www.collagevideo.com/ for all types of DVD exercises. I find driving to an exercise class just adds more time to the process of getting in a half or whole hour of exercise daily. Others need group motivation.

What works for you?