The 21 Day Blast plan is a fat-loss and fitness plan. It’s a programme of short workouts, which can easily be squeezed into anyone’s week (at a time best for you), and a way of eating that means the body isn’t wasting its effort dealing with digestive problems or storing fat. It is going to use the fat as fuel! And you are going to get fitter and stronger in the process.
‘What? In 21 days? . . . Oh come on’
Yes, not long, is it? But during that time you will experience a way of eating and a way of exercising that you can (and will want to) continue on your own. You will learn which systems in the body work with you and which work against you and just how brimming with energy you can be.
In short, this is a self-help manual of empowerment, full of deadly serious facts with more than a sprinkling of humour.
‘I’ve only just about enough energy to sort my family out, let alone dabble with empowerment . . .’
Hear me out.
You might be coming towards the end of your thirties and are juggling work, commutes, sleepless children and parents’ evenings. You feel ongoing pressure to prepare nutritious, tasty home-cooked fodder (big on kale, low on pizza). You strive to be outstanding at work, the pinnacle of parenthood and manage a sparkling social life, despite a nagging desire to run amok with a bottle of Pinot Grigio and let it all descend into chaos.
Or you’re trying desperately to withstand the test of time as your body heads for middle age or even the menopause, while being the best possible mother, friend, wife and lover, all with one eye on a waistline that has slid into your hips and another on the clock wondering if your teenage children are home yet.
As our years advance (fingers in ears . . . la-la-la-la), we can tuck all kinds of experience (and back fat) under our arms. Marriage, children, divorce, debilitating illnesses, the loss of parents . . . stuff that life throws at us. Big stuff that we have to deal with and emerge from looking sensible and grown-up. Consequently our health and our own efforts at staying in shape fall to the bottom of the list.
I’ve been through it all and more and I know the 21 Day Blast plan will help you get a tighter hold on everything.
‘Annie Deadman, I am so done with diets; nothing works’
The 21 Day Blast plan is not a diet. It’s a programme of better eating and exercise, during which you will deal with sugar and carbohydrate cravings. You will be eating in a way that’s going to soothe your gut, boost your energy levels and subsequently your mood. You will be using food to help you burn fat and create a body that is harmonious, inside as well as out. Twenty-one days is enough time to break well-entrenched habits. We’re talking that wind-down wine at the end of every day and the TV chocolate.
Yes, we all love those things. And no, it doesn’t mean you won’t ever have them again. It just means that over these 21 days you will find out what highs and lows certain foods bring to your mood, your sleep and most of all the bits on your body that are surplus to requirements.
‘So you’re going to help me take control? Lose fat and get into shape?’
Dead right I am. And that’s just in 21 days.
This book is a super-easy read. There are some food guidelines and principles to follow and some workouts to do during each of the three weeks. If you eat like this and do the workouts you will lose fat.
‘Tell me I don’t have to spend hours in the gym when I should be waving the homework stick and force-feeding my children broccoli’
No, you don’t. The workouts are between twenty and thirty minutes long and you need no equipment. And as for the food, it’s all normal – it’s just a matter of swapping a few things around.
This book is going to show you how to get serious with yourself and take charge. You’ll become slimmer and fitter. You’ll discover new routines and you’ll be motivated enough to sustain them. This is a bold statement, but I’d really like this to be the last book about losing fat that you ever, ever pick up.
So, if you fancy a good shot at losing a few inches, taking control, kicking your sweet tooth into touch, feeling downright gorgeous and having a bit of a giggle along the way, then let’s get on with it.
Remember one thing: I’m on your side.
‘Six months ago I was bursting out of my clothes and needed to buy a size 16. This was the turning point for me. I had never been “big” and here I was, FAT! Three Blast programmes later and I am a size 12. I focus on size and the tape measure and overall I have lost a total of 17 inches. SEVENTEEN!!! Needless to say I am delighted. Thank you so much.’
J.P., London
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS BOOK
Here, I’ve laid out a plan of all the chapters in this book so you can see at a glance what’s in store.
But before we go any further, I just want to say something. No one ever lost fat (and sustained it), increased their energy levels and had a happy body and mind by chewing lettuce and sitting still. Very low-calorie diet plans make us miserable because they leave us thinking incessantly about food. There is NOTHING more destructive to one’s weight-loss plans than being constantly hungry.
So we’re going to be doing plenty of eating . . . and some exercising. Both of those things. Any successful fat-loss plan involves focus on both the nutrition side of things as well as exercise. It’s actually getting going and making that first move that is the hard part, but we’re in this together, so let’s crack on and let me tell you how this Blast manual is going to help you not only lose fat and inches but also get fitter and stronger – inside as well as out.
Firstly, this is how the book is structured.
PART 1: FOOD & OUR BODIES
The background to Blast fat loss
‘How come that woman on Instagram can stuff her face with tacos and soured cream but her thighs are the same size as my arms and I’m sitting here with a crispbread and cottage cheese?’
Galling, isn’t it?
In these chapters we grasp the concepts of why and how we put on fat and we look at the part our hormones play and how their groove can upset our groove. We’ll also take a good, close look at the food groups and see how they can both help and hinder our fat-loss efforts.
It’s four glorious chapters of entertainment but deadly serious facts. Let’s call it preparation.
PART 2: THE BLAST EATING PLAN & RECIPES
The food, the rules, the tools
‘They devoured the meals with relish and never even noticed I was following a fitness programmme. And my husband lost weight too . . . he wasn’t hungry once! Thank you so much, Annie, this has really changed our lives.’
V.W., Derby
This is the nub of the book and the section that equips you for success. It tells you exactly how you’re going to be eating for 21 days, how you will focus less on sugary foods that soothe your emotions and more on the right food to fuel your body, soothe your gut and bring power to your muscles.
It’s packed with really delicious, inspirational cooking ideas, not just to fuel you through the day but to satisfy your heart and your head too. You don’t have to be a gourmet chef (if only . . .) and you’ll have most ingredients already in your store cupboard. There are full-blown recipes as well as simple meal suggestions, which involve more assembling than creating, for busier days.
The Blast guidelines adapt perfectly to everyday family eating, so you won’t find yourself confronted by a plate of diet-y