1. Source: Daily Express {Main}
Edition:
Country: UK
Date: Tuesday 22, March 2011
Page: 3
Area: 273 sq. cm
Circulation: ABC 623603 Daily
BRAD info: page rate £27,329.00, scc rate £97.00
Phone: 020 7928 8000
Keyword: Atkins Diet
3.23pm – the danger time
when we give up the diet
DIETERS, beware the moment the “We were then able to work out, via
clock strikes 3.23pm. Because, accord- our responses, the mean time of failure
ing to experts, that is when you are and it came up as precisely 3.23pm.
most likely to give in to temptation “This is the time when most dieters
and reach for a sweet treat. are susceptible to failure because of a
It had been thought that elevenses number of different factors, namely a
or a crafty midnight snack spelled dip in energy mid-afternoon and the
doom for the weight watcher. use of food as an emotional crutch.
But experts now believe that mid- “This could be down to either stress,
afternoon is the most dangerous time boredom or the many other ranges of
of the day. And they worked out the emotion that we go through on any
exact time we are most vulnerable. given day. So as well as advising people
Researchers for the Atkins Diet put to watch their sugar and carbs intake,
it down to stress at work or boredom we also advise them to watch their
while some may suffer a dip in energy. clock. Being aware of the time of day
They quizzed 1,250 slimmers to work
out why they failed to stick to their when you are most susceptible to diet
diets. They found that most – 62 per failure can go a long way to helping
cent – broke their diets mid-afternoon, you stay on track.”
compared with 16 per cent in the The Atkins Diet experts say their
morning and 22 per cent late at night. five-point plan can help.
More than half – 56 per cent – blamed They advise to start with a healthy
stress, 26 per cent boredom at work breakfast, followed by a high protein
and eight per cent said colleagues lunch such as chicken with complex
taking treats into the office made carbohydrates like vegetables and
them give up their good intentions. healthy fats from avocado or nuts.
Atkins nutritionist Linda O’Byrne Spreading calorie intake across the
said: “One of the things we were keen day is important as is avoiding
to establish was a pattern of failure sugary snacks as an energy boost.
and so we asked people if they could
recall the time of day when they had
previously ditched their diet. We soon
discovered that mid-afternoon, more
specifically between 3pm and 3.30pm,
was the most precarious time for the
majority of slimmers.
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