I cant do crunches as I had a spine operation and now my back doesnt bend that way but Pilates worked really well for me and I had a tight tummy fast with one to one lessons.. however I cant afford them now so its all gone to pot. Squeezing your tummy muscles in whenever u think of it is meant to work though...

I read in the paper (Body & Soul?) this morning that if you switch to wholemeal bread, pasta and rice, then the fat should shift from your stomach. Off I go shopping again.... It's definitely worth a try.

Jaki

Never had much success with wholemeal rice... anyone got any tips for making it more palatable?

I'll get some wholemeal basmati (if possible) and will let you know. My favourite meal is risotto and I usually make it with a mix of rice and quinoa (9 oz to a litre of liquid - water/cider or wine).

Whole meal foods have lower GI/GL than "white" bread, pasta and rice. They keep your blood glucose more even because they are absorbed more slowly, and thus you do not feel hungry as soon after eating as you would if you had not had whole meal.

Ultimately though weight loss is about the total amount of calories that you eat. If you eat the same amount of whole meal calories, you will stay the same weight.

It's too much of a hassle counting calories so I just try and not overeat. I'll bear that in mind when I have the wholemeal rice/pasta and not have such a big portion. I tend to put tons of veg into risotto - parsnip, swede, carrots, peas, sweetcorn, mushrooms, onions, leeks, whatever I have, along with a spoonful of Thai curry paste, so it's pretty filling. In my unhealthy days I used to pile loads of Parmesan cheese on the top as well!

The one thing that worries me is whether too much wholemeal pasta and rice is not good for my children - aged 11 and 7? Does anyone know? We all have a granary roll in our lunchbox and I make them little cupcakes from wholemeal flour (freeze loads and put 2 frozen in their box each day). I don't want to overdo it on the wholegrain/wholemeal stuff for them.

It's quite ironic - when I was my daughter's age I used to have so many tantrums about my mum's 'healthy' meals and now I'm just as bad!