So the Christmas goodies have taken their rightful place on the stomach, hips and thighs and with Carnival around the corner your panic button has been pushed. Well, have no fear because Nestle is inviting you to take up its fitness challenge to shed those unwanted pounds and see positive results in as little as 14 days. Sounds like a pie-in-the-sky dream? According to Teri-Leigh Bovell, the programme's ambassador, it's as good as it sounds. Dubbed Get Ready For Carnival Programme, Bovell said the challenge, launched earlier this month, was a complete plan to help people lose weight and feel better about themselves.
The plan involves three simple steps:
-One serving (approximately 30 grams) of Nestle Fitness Cereal with one cup of Nestle Svelty Fibre Milk for breakfast and afternoon snack.
-Exercise for 30 minutes daily.
-Eat healthy.
To achieve the third step, Nestle recommends three easy and inexpensive localised menus which can be found on the back of all Nestle Fitness cereal boxes. Bovell, who said she was "humbled" to be chosen as the face of the challenge because "I wouldn't say I have the best body in Trinidad," admits that for the programme to work effectively, one has to have discipline and stay committed to the plan. It's something she knows firsthand, having taken up the challenge herself three months ago. "You have to go all out with it," she advised. "I admit that I had days when I would see a doubles man selling and I said, 'hear what eh, I have to have a doubles today.'"
Do you feel sexy? Eating healthy, she said, doesn't mean you have to eat grass but the 29-year-old model was quick to point out that staying healthy required a lifestyle change. Bovell also underscored the importance of consuming breakfast which she stated was key to weight control and a faster metabolism. And when it comes to women and weight loss, Bovell maintained that it's essential to look at the bigger picture. "Stop looking at your figure and always jumping on the scale. Look at how your clothes fit you. Do you feel good, do you feel sexy?" The former bandleader of Yuma Carnival band told the T&T Guardian that the programme came "at a right time" for her as she had started to "get a belly."
"Yes, I admit it. I'm getting older you know," she stated, laughing. "During the programme, though, I noticed a different fit with my clothes and I started putting on muscle weight. I didn't really lose weight but I lost inches and with the exercise, that just sealed the deal," asserted Bovell, who also admitted to watching what she ate, especially at night. "What you put in is really what you get out. I am a late eater and instead of going for the starches and foods I would usually eat at night, I would now do something healthier...You can come up with all sorts of different meals that're tasty."
The producer and actress who revealed that she was working on a movie currently being shot in Trinidad, said while more women might take on the Nestle fitness challenge for the Carnival season because they are "more self-conscious about their bodies," she was also encouraging men to see what all the fuss was about and commit to giving the programme a try. "I hope that people can identify with me. I'm really just like everyone else. I love eating the butter and the cheese and the starches. But it's important to stay healthy. For me, it started off as a programme, it became a habit and now it's my lifestyle," she said.