Lie on your back with knees over hips and lower legs parallel to the floor. Establish your rib – hip connection. Slowly lower one leg down to the floor, dropping your heel to the floor. Keep your spine in neutral as you lift your leg back over your chest. Repeat on the other side. The trick with this exercise is to go slowly and focus on technique. To make the exercise easier, bend your leg more and lower to the floor closer to your butt.
How many: Build up to 16 on each leg
Joanna’s top tip: This is a challenging exercise. Start out trying to do a few reps with really good technique. Remember the rib – hip connection.
Exercise: Abdominal Curl Using a Towel
What it does: Tightens upper abdominals, especially around rib and upper waist area.
Lie on the floor, knees bent. Place a rolled towel between your butt and your feet, slightly in front of your extended fingers. Slide your feet away from your butt until you feel your toes start to come off the floor. Slowly curl up from your breastbone and lift your fingers over the top of the towel to touch the floor on the other side. The emphasis should be on tucking your ribs under rather than lifting up.
How many: 16–20 reps
Joanna’s top tip: This is especially good post-pregnancy, when the rib cage has often extended due to the growing baby. Imagine you are wearing a tight corset to help you draw down through your rib cage with each lift, but do remember to breathe.
Exercise: Abdominal Pillow Rolls
What it does: Develops trunk stability and tones waist muscles.
Lie on the floor, knees bent and feet flat. Place a pillow or small cushion between your knees. Lightly squeeze the pillow between your knees as you lower your knees to one side. As you draw your knees back to a central position, focus on contracting your abdominals down to the floor and tightening your waist. To make the exercise more challenging, start with your legs lifted off the floor with your knees over your chest. Slowly lower your knees to one side but do not drop them to the floor, keep the rib – hip connection as you draw your abdominals back in, and focus on tightening around your waist muscles as you come back to a flat position.
How many: 16 in total, alternating to each side
Joanna’s top tip: As you draw your legs back to a central position imagine you are wearing a belt and you need to flatten each section of the back of the belt to the floor as your knees move back over your body.
See the Bonus Info Panels throughout the 14-day plan for troubleshooting tips on walking and the abdominal exercises.
GO!
Measure and weigh yourself at the start of day 1, in the morning before you eat or drink anything. Make a note of your measurements on the table below. See the guidelines on the following page for how to take your measurements precisely.
| For Women | For Men |
| weight | weight |
| body fat (if known) | body fat (if known) |
| chest | chest |
| waist | waist: bellybutton contracted |
| navel | waist: bellybutton relaxed |
| hips | hips |
| thighs | thighs |
HOW TO MEASURE
Chest – measure with the tape flat across the nipple line
Waist – measure around the narrowest part of your midriff (for men, pull your tummy in for the first reading and let it go for the second)
Navel – measure around the midriff directly over the bellybutton
Hips – measure across the top of the buttock cheeks
Thighs – standing with feet together, measure 20cm up from the top of your kneecap and take a circumference measurement of your thighs.
DAY 1
Today’s mantra: This is about me taking the first steps to a healthier life.
Today’s step target: 7000
Tip/testimony from volunteer: For years I tried different dieters’ classes and quick-fix programs but what I really needed was education. By developing an understanding of the foods I should be avoiding and those I should be increasing, and learning to fit structured exercise around my family, I feel like I can achieve my goal at last. Vickie, 29
| On rising | 1 glass of water plus cup of coffee, green tea or tea, or hot water and lemon |
| Suggested activity zone | 15-minute walk (step target 1800) plus abdominal and core stability exercises |
| Breakfast | 2 glasses of water breakfast cereal: ½ cup bran cereal or ⅓ cup bran cereal and dried fruit with ⅔ cup semi-skimmed milk and ½ cup raspberries 1 glass apple juice |
| Mid-morning spruce juice | choose a juice from those listed on page 14 |
| Suggested activity zone | 15-minute walk (step target 1800) |
| Lunch | I glass of water a lunch from the options suggested on pages 71–9 |
| Mid-afternoon snack | 2 glasses of water a snack from the options listed |
| Suggested activity zone | 20-minute walk (step target 2400) |
| Satisfying soup | choose either the FOG or Immune-boosting Soup – make enough to last at least a few days |
| Dinner |
2 glasses of water a Starch Curfew meal from
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