There is no need to worry too much if your weight loss programme is going along slowly. That is often the case. If you want to give yourself a boost, though, and at least look thinner, there are a few tips that may help you. There is no harm in a bit of illusion, especially if it can boost your confidence. Here are just a few of the tips:

1. This one is for women, as make-up can be a friend in this illusion of looking thin. It is a special tool that can make some changes in favour of a thinner looking you.

a. A good tan can make you look thinner! Stay in the sun or go to a beauty saloon, and use a tanning lotion, or whatever it takes to tan your skin. If you use a tanning lotion, use more under the cheeks, as the coloured areas will look deeper. That will make your face look thinner than it really is.

b. The use of a lot of eye make up can make your eyes bigger. The bigger your eyes look, the smaller your face will appear to others.

c. Pay attention to your eyebrows, for the same reasons as in b.

d. You can even make up your legs; yes, really, why not? Put a vertical line of oil on the middle part of your legs, so that it makes your bone shine. You will find that your legs, due to the extra shine, actually appear a bit longer!

2. This next trick works well both for men and women. It has to do with the manner in which you arrange your hair. The more volume you give to your hair, the better it will be for making your face look smaller. Once done, try to remember to play with it from time to time.

3. The clothes you wear can deceive the eye as to your true size, and thus make you look thinner:

a. Don’t use clothes that are too colourful, as that will only attract more eyes on the areas that you really would like to hide. Chose black or dark blue clothes, as they can make you look up to 5 kilos thinner.

b. When it comes to skirt length, for those who want to to look a bit thinner than they really are, you should choose knee length skirts. Shorter ones will show off just how fat those legs are, and longer ones accentuate thick ankles.

c. Another little trick for men and women is to use vertical stripes. That can apply to trousers, skirts, shirts, dresses, blouses etc. On blouses and shirts, use buttons, because they create a vertical line. The same effect can be reproduced with long zippers.

d. Loosen the pockets, and avoid filling them up. Full pockets add bulk, not the visual effect you are looking for when you are trying to look thinner.

4. Always be aware of the position of your body and your posture. A correct position can make you appear up to three centimetres taller than you are.

Keep in mind these tricks and work on your illusion of looking thinner. Also, you can use your imagination to discover more!