James Duigan Clean & Lean, ELLEuk.com

Rules

The personal training centre boosts an A-List clientele including actors, international royalty and supermodels. In fact, James has been Elle Macpherson’s personal trainer for over a decade. His ‘clean and lean’ philosophy is a holistic approach to health with the ultimate goal of achieving your ‘maximum individual genetic potential’.

The aim is to cut out anything that is toxic to the body. The main culprits according to James are what he defines as C.R.A.P (I know): Caffeine, Refined sugar, Alcohol and Processed foods. In addition to the above, wheat is off the menu because it converts in to sugar faster than any other grain.

The programme takes the form of a 14-day Kickstart plan in which your diet primarily consists of vegetables and protein such as poultry, fish and eggs. Fruit is out due to its high sugar content but avocados are in, for their stress reducing properties.

Throughout the kick-start plan you also have to complete an 8 minute work out every day, and if you have time follow that with a 20 minute walk. With practise the exercises are easy to follow and there are helpful colour pictures.

Following on from the 14 day kickstart the aim is to adopt a sensible eating regime. Chose lean meats, avoid sugar at all costs, eat good fats like those found in oily fish, cut back on alcohol and exercise at least three times a week. Coffee is allowed but limited to only two cups a day and once a week you can allow yourself a ‘cheat meal’ where you can eat what you like. In theory one cheat meal a week will not affect your metabolism as you will be eating correctly for the rest of the week.

James suggests eating foods that contain chromium such as eggs, molasses, liver, kidney, whole-grains, nuts, mushrooms and asparagus, to control blood sugar levels and to lessen sugar cravings. Chromium supplements are also available from Bodyism. However wheat is still on the avoid list.

Buy James Duigan's Clean & Lean book here...

Pros

Unlike some other diet books, James’ is concise and manageable with clearly defined sections. The 8 minute exercises are easy to fit in to my daily routine and the images guide me in to the right positions. The repetitive moves give quick results, in particular ‘tube walking’ which really tightens your bum. The best bit is that the exercises can be done at home so there’s no costly gym membership required. There are simple bad/better/best tables to help you with your food shopping and there are testimonials scattered throughout for motivation.

Cons

The book advocates an organic-only diet that in theory is fantastic, but in reality, is expensive. I couldn’t afford to buy solely organic vegetables and meat all the time so had to do so on occasion instead. If you follow it rigidly then you will definitely see results.