"Don't start an eating plan that you cannot stay on for life."

 

In 1992, Paul and I stepped off the diet treadmill forever. After trying almost every fad diet under the sun, we realised that all the fad diets we had attempted did work - BUT they were not eating plans we could (or would) stay on for life. The 'secret' to staying trim forever is to make changes to your lifestyle that you can live with - forever.

 

By developing an eating plan we could stick with, we have managed to make this lifestyle permanent!

 

These are some of the changes we've made to OUR lifestyle, and because we made them, our lost kilos have never returned:

 

WE EAT LESS FAT - SENSIBLY

 

By cutting down on our fat intake able to (especially the "bad" fats) we were very easily lose our excess weight - and it's been easy to keep it off.

 

We limit our fat intake to around 20% - and make sure that the fat we eat is good fat. We don't add fats in cooking, we only use low-fat dairy products, and we select the lean varieties of meats and poultry.

We all need some fat, but the fat our body requires is not the fat found in foods like greasy deep-fried takeaways, chips, commercial pastries, cakes and biscuits. The fat we need is found in foods like nuts, eggs, olives, avocado and oily fish (eg salmon).

 

WE MOVE MORE

 

This is one of the most important changes we have made. We stopped making excuses like "I'm too tired" or "I've got no time" and MADE the time to exercise.

 

We have been doing some form of exercise for 10 years now. We both do (an absolute minimum) of 30 minutes, 6 days a week. Our secret to "sticking with it" is that we both enjoy what we do. I love walking and Paul loves bike-riding. We also both attend a gym to do some resistance training at least 3 times a week.

 

We also make the effort to move more during the day. We move more incidentally. We walk to the shop, or park the car outside the city and walk into the shopping mall, and we get up from our desks every hour to walk around the house - it all adds up. And we are no longer couch potatoes! Instead of watching TV on weekends we do something active, like go for a walk, a family bike ride or simply throw a ball around in the park.

 

WE HAVE GIVEN UP JUNK FOOD

 

We used to eat takeaway meals and junk foods every day of the week. Now we consider those types of food an insult to our bodies. Junk foods offers very little or no nutritional value at all, and they contain loads of calories, sugar and fat - usually the unhealthy fats.

 

By eating a wide variety of whole foods, we find we're satisfied without all that excess fat and sugar - and therefore excess calories.

 

We have lost any craving for junk food and find we now hate the taste and texture of it. Instead, we crave "real" food. We found the secret lay in not resorting to fast foods, but getting fast in our own kitchen!

 

WE WATCH OUR PORTION SIZES

 

Realising what a true portion size looked like was an eye-opener! Looking back at what we used to eat, we now realise we both often ate enough for 3 people! Restaurants often serve more than a portion size, and many products try to tempt you with "value for money" gimmicks like "50% more for the same price" - making it very easy to eat more than a true portion size!

 

WE'VE SLOWED DOWN

 

Instead of gulping down our food we take the time to enjoy every mouthful. It takes the brain 20 - 30 minutes to recognise a feeling of fullness. Eating too quickly usually means you're eating too much! We eat when we are hungry and stop eating when we feel satisfied - not stuffed!

 

WE EAT MORE OFTEN

 

Instead of having three large meals a day, we break them into 5 or 6 smaller meals a day. By doing this we 'top up' our fuel supply regularly, keep our blood sugar levels on an even keel so we have more energy for a longer period of time. By doing this, we never reach the stage of "feeling famished" which could easily lead to a binge. It also means the food we eat is more likely to be burnt up for energy than stored for later - as body-fat!

 

WE FOCUSED ON GETTING HEALTHY - NOT LOSING WEIGHT

 

We were fed up with being overweight, but we were also fed up with feeling tired, bloated, sick and lifeless! Instead of being obsessed with losing weight, we concentrated on eating the healthy stuff and getting fit!

 

WE LOST IT THE WAY IT WENT ON - SLOWLY!

 

"Lose 3 kilograms in a week!"

 

Sounds great doesn't it? But not all of the 3 kilograms would be fat. Remember it's fat, not just weight, you want to lose! If you lose 2-3 kgs in a week, the majority of the weight would be water and lean muscle tissue - and you need that muscle tissue to burn the fat! It takes a longer than one week to gain three kilograms, so it will take longer than a week to lose it!

 

A safe and realistic loss is ½ to 1 kilogram a week. One kilogram of body fat equates to around 7500 calories so by simply eating 250 calories less a day, and burning up an extra 250 calories with exercise a day, it is quite possible to lose ½ kilo a week.

 

WE MAINTAIN IT!

 

The biggest challenge following weight-loss is keeping it off - for good. So any eating plan you start should be one you can carry on with for the rest of your life.

 

By "living lite" we can eat a lot more food than we did before. Because we eat nutritional "real" food and avoid the highly processed, calorie-dense, high fat foods, our hunger is satisfied long before we eat more than our bodies need.

 

The result? We don't regain the weight!

 

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RECIPE OF THE MONTH

 

Quick and easy to make.

Great for the whole family.

Served with a salad it's filling and nutritious.

DIJON DILL CHICKEN

 

4 x 125g chicken breast fillets, skinned and all visible fat removed

3 tbspns (60 mls) Dijon mustard

1/4 tspn cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce

3 tbspns (60 mls) lemon juice

1 tspn dried dill weed

1 tspn vegetable stock powder

1 tspn dried parsley

 

Wash and dry the chicken and place in a large flat dish. Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour over the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Grill or barbecue until chicken is cooked through about 8 minutes each side. Serves 4.

 

Per serve: Fat: 4g, Kjs: 711, Cal: 170