5 Top Zero Points Tips for my Weighwatching friends.

1: No Point Jelly : My favorite is the Hartleys sachets of sugar free in raspberry flavour. I would advise any weight watcher to have a batch made at all times in the fridge to snack on alone or with fruit.

2: Butternut squash : This is a points free veg. My favorite thing to do is par boil these and cook at 200 degrees for approx 25 mins until nearly burnt. Usually I put them into a lunch box with some sprays of the 1 calorie oil and salt and black pepper first, shake them about until evenly coated. These are very sweet alone but if you can allow yourself a certain amount of points for your dinner this is a way to bulk it up for free. (If you have a Tefal Actifryer you can cook them in this alternatively.

3: Bananas : Are now zero points and are great for filling up. Use one spoon of nutella, 2 slices of Nimble Hovis bread for a delicious sweet snack at only 3 pp.

4: No added sugar Drinks : As a fizzy drinks junkie, I find a good way to get the H20 in is to add some Mi-Wadi no added sugar.

5: 1 Calorie Oil Spray : A bottle of this lasts me forever, they say up to 19 sprays does not have to be counted but it is rare you will need this amount, use it anywhere you would usually use cooking oil. I even make fried bread with this if i'm having a cooked breakfast.

Who the Hell is Clare Nasir? God knows but her fitness dvd is ok.

When I seen the amazing transformation of this lady from a size 16 to a size 6 on the front of her dvd at HMV, well I couldn't help but splash out with the euros.

Clare's Bootcamp video promises "lose up to 4lbs per week", and I imagine that is possible alright if you do the whole thing everyday which apparently burns 1000 calories. But hey I don't think any of us are training for the olympics. I reckon one or two of the four workouts 3-4 times a week will give noticeable effects for everyone.

There are 4 twenty minute workouts; punch, kick, tone, and crunch and cool. You will need to invest in a set of dumbells, I would advise up to about 1.5kg each for ladies unless you are going for the Arnie look around the biceps.

So the punch section is fun, with little sprint intervals. I enjoy raising my heart level this way, it gives you that exercise buzz. You can really feel the kick section in your arse and legs, my own particular problem area, so I imagine I will be using this one most. The tone section seems the toughest, but when you know something is only twenty minutes long then you can just get on with it. The crunch section obviously is great for the abs, but I would advise an ab-roller if you have a dodgy back like myself.

This is not my favorite fitness dvd by a long shot, it will take some woman to steal Davina McCalls place in my heart but it is nice for an occasional change. The three in it aren't half bad looking so that's a bonus, and also an incentive.

This dvd could be improved, because although it advises you to warm up there is no section for this like most of the ones I am used to. Also the cool down section is halfway through the crunch section so you cannot flick to it without manually forwarding your dvd, this is a major design flaw. Some people are blessed with flat stomachs so therefore won't be doing this section everytime.

I definitely felt a buzz after doing this dvd, but stick your ipod on soon as you know the moves, the music and accents can be cringeworthy at times. Pick a couple sections, and be happy in the knowledge that you are burning 250 calories every twenty mins. That's three galaxies an hour.

A BIRD WITH A WAX IS WORTH TWO WITH A BUSH

Summer is coming ladies, it will be goodbye to leggings and tights, and hello to bare legs again. So what are the options.

The quickest and cheapest option is shaving. It is a good investment for any lady to invest in a men's Mach3 razor. You will get a smoother finish with this than any woman's razor on the market, in my opinion. This is my personal choice for both legs and underarms, these are not areas I am willing to grow to waxing length. Shaving is instant, easy, cheap and painless. But it doesn't last.

Depilatory Creams are still big sellers. Veet being the most popular one on the market. If you can grow the hair a little you will get a longer lasting result than shaving. However, though they've improved these products, I still don't like the smell. I find the regrowth itchy and can come back as stubbly as shaving.

Waxing is one of the oldest and most successful forms of hair removal. Ancient Egyptians were doing this on their lunch breaks from building the pyramids. (Now they have bigger fish to fry than unwanted hair)

Waxing at a salon will always be more thorough than what you can do yourself. Though it may not be in your budget. Having tried many salons, I have found Lily Lee beauty salon in Dun Laoghaire the best, particularly for bikini line waxing. Her prices are competitive, and I have never left her salon with irritation. She has a technique I find quick and relatively painless.

What if you can't handle the pain?

It is not a bad idea to take two paracetamol before a waxing to take the edge off. People have been known also to apply bonjela to sensitive areas to numb the skin slightly. (This is not the purpose of such a cream and instructions should be followed) There is a product called Emla cream, which is a local anaesthetic cream. I have used this product for both waxing and piercings, however it is becoming increasingly difficult to get from pharmacies without prescription. You can chance your arm.

So what do you ask for? A regular bikini wax does what it says on the tin, everything that can be seen around the perimeter of a bikini. A Brazilian leaves a small strip, and for those willing to got the extra mile a Hollywood will leave you bald. Most salons will do combinations of waxing packages for legs and bikini which will work out cheaper. I find these great value before holidays. Plan to hold off with the razor for a few weeks before a trip to the sun.

Getting your eyebrows waxed, plucked or threaded at a salon is one of the cheapest ways to dramatically improve your profile. To get this done a few times a year is an investment that you can maintain between treatments yourself at home. I recently got a new tweezers with a light like these, and it has made my job much easier.

I'm not a fan of moustaches on men. Ladies a ronnie is just not acceptable. Some women like to use a bleach, but I've seen girls with illuminious white hairs around their mouth and it will only clash with the trowelled on tan and foundation. Using these once a month will keep the whiskers at bay.

If you are going to wax at home:



-Use Veet microwavable wax, it is fool proof
-The more you wax the better you will become start with small areas
-Do a patch test first
-Apply the wax the direction the hair is growing
-Apply the strip the direction the hair is growing
-Rub until you think it is stuck (don't wait more than a few seconds)
-Pull quickly and firmly back the opposite direction
-Quickly apply your other hand to the area, this is a way of avoiding the sting
-Use a tweezers to pluck any hairs that are too short to wax
-In the box you will only get a small amount of strips, however there is wax to last a long time, buy yourself a pack of 100 paper wax strips from a salon supply shop for when you run out. It should cost around €6.


Laser hair removal is the most expensive option, and still a relatively new treatment on the market. I have a feeling that like teeth whitening this price is going to drop dramatically in the next few years. My advice is to wait if you are thinking of this as an option.