I’M hoping you didn’t start reading this article for another crazy
diet that promises to help you lose a bunch of weight fast.
If so, I’m sorry, but I’m probably not the right person to help you
with that. And that’s for good reason — a kindly reminder that on most
occasions ‘diets’ don’t work.
Depending on which bit of research
you look at, it is said that women will diet anywhere between 2—7 times a
year and on average spend an incredible 17 YEARS of their life dieting —
I dare say a pretty stressful 17 years at that — as the saying goes,
the proof is in the pudding (mmmm, pudding).
So with a large
percentage of us overweight, sick and super unhealthy, what do we do?
Where do we go from here? How do we change? Well I’m glad you asked …
Here are 11 things I want you to think about before you decide to take on a new ‘diet plan’:
1) If you don’t plan on following this ‘new way of eating’ in 6 months’ time, it’s probably not right/don’t do it.
I won’t individually name specific diets, but let’s just say there are a
number that aren’t realistic LONG TERM. Personally I feel good (as do
most of my clients) with an approach to eating that is loosely based
around ‘paleo’, because we can see how it is maintainable LONG TERM.
2) Slow and steady wins the race.
Yes, I have a 6 Weeks to Sexy food plan and, yes, it’s super-effective
in getting results, but it’s also suited to a certain demographic — in
particular, those women who are pretty healthy and have almost nailed
their food but need to tidy it up a little and would like to lose the
last 5—10kgs. I would NOT recommend this food plan for someone looking
to lose 20—40kgs. It’s not to say a paleo-style approach is wrong for
with significantly more weight to lose, but first I would make more
subtle changes to their way of eating, like picking ONE area (maybe
breakfast) and nailing that first.
3) Successful habit change. Speaking of slow and
steady, most diets don’t work because there is too much going on at
once. Consider these success rates: 1 new habit = 85% chance of success;
2 new habits = 35% chance; 3 new habits = 10% chance. So what one habit
are you going to start with?
4) Think nutrients, not calories.
When we have a bad relationship with food we forget what food is really
about. We think it’s all about weight loss and dieting — but it’s
important to remember we need to start by nourishing our body and fixing
the deficiencies we’ve created through poor processed foods.
5) It gets tough, then it gets easy and then it gets tougher. Change
is hard. I’m sorry if you thought it would be easy, but it’s not. We
are conditioned to be comfortable, so it’s important to set yourself up
KNOWING that it’ll take some hard work to break those habits (or habit,
if you’re tackling one at a time). But as you break through your bad
habits and cultivate new ones, it will soon become second nature instead
of a constant struggle. The thing is, though, every time your weight
loss ‘plateaus’ you’ll need to break some other patterns/habits to go to
the next level and drop more body fat.
6) It’s purely a case of priorities.
“I don’t have time to make breakfast,” you say … but yes, you do — you
just choose to sleep in an extra 15 minutes and not make breakfast. You
have the same 24hrs as everyone else; it’s just the order or your
priorities.
7) Test and measure and then test and measure again.
How do you know if something is right for you if there is no test and
measure? Are you weighing in weekly? Are you taking measurements? Do you
know if your clothes fit differently?
8) The best diet is your diet. I
would love to say there’s one diet for everyone, because that would
make it easier, but I would be lying. My clients and I loosely follow
the paleo approach to eating, but within the group of 90-odd people I am
working with at any one time each person’s approach has subtle
differences.
Source: Getty Images
9) There is one consistent thing about those who are successful.
Consistency. If you’re chopping and changing your mind every week or
two, NO style or approach to eating is going to work. I work in 6-week
blocks. It’s not a long period of time but it’s enough time to start
developing some kind of habit. That’s NOT to say all of the people I
train with will have their lives completely transformed in the space of 6
weeks — but if they have made changes to a couple of bad habits then
that’s a successful 6-week block!
10) Food factors:
—
Food preferences: If you HATE the smell and taste of salmon, you
probably won’t follow a plan that strictly includes it, right?
—
Food tolerances: An apple is a healthy fruit, but you may have an
intolerance to it (and can have an intolerance to ANY food). If that’s
the case, it shouldn’t be in your plan
— Cultural or religious
traditions: Telling you to change your cultural traditions probably
isn’t the smartest idea for many reasons, so I would be sure to work
within your ‘guidelines’ to create a plan suitable for you
— Food
availability: If I’m asking you to get coconut flakes and gogi berries
but you live in a remote area and have access to just one supermarket
you might find it hard to get access to that stuff
— Food budget:
Its easy for me to say only buy organic grass fed meat but that’s
because I only need to ‘buy for 1’ when it comes to food. If you have a
family or are on a budget it might not be realistic. Do the best with
what you’ve got.
11) Starting point. I mentioned it
earlier, but where you’re starting will have a big bearing on what the
right plan for you is. For example, a female looking to lose the last
5—10 kilos will have A LOT more success on the 6 Weeks to Sexy food plan
that a female looking to lose the last 30—40 kilos. The reason? It’s
LIKELY (not always the case, but likely) that someone who is closer to
her goal is likely to have better eating patterns than someone who has a
lot more weight to lose.
This week we are cooking up a healthy storm with these recipes:
Pesto scrambled eggs with spinach and avocado is a great start to the day.
Source: Supplied
Pesto Scrambled Eggs
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp coconut oil
2 eggs
½ an avocado
handful of baby spinach
2 tablespoons pesto (ingredients below)
¼ cup macadamia nuts
¼ cup pine nuts
½ cup cilantro
½ cup basil
2 clove garlic
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Place all pesto ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth
2. Melt the coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat
3. Crack eggs into the pan and gently stir the egg white and yolk
4. After about a minute into cooking, add the pesto
5. Mix the egg and pesto
6. Once the eggs are no longer running, they are ready
7. Serve with baby spinach and sliced avocado
Summer salads are a great lunch option.
Source: Supplied
Summer Salad
Ingredients
½ small red capsicum cut into strips
½ small cucumber thinly sliced
¼ red onion finely diced
8 black olives, pitted and chopped
Handful of rocker or baby spinach
Chopped herbs to serve, parsley, coriander or basil
Method:
1. Combine all ingredients into a bowl, season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste
2. Serve with herbs if desired
Lamb shanks that are good for you? You better believe it.
Source: Supplied
Lamb Shanks
Ingredients:
2 Lamb shanks
2 carrots
2 onions
3 celery stalks
4 Garlic cloves, whole, peeled
Tins chopped tomatoes
¼ Pumpkin
1 measuring of beef/ vegetables stock
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Served with your chosen steamed greens
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees
2. Heat oil in pan and sear both lamb shanks until lightly browned on each side
3.
Cut carrots, onions, pumpkin, celery in half and place along the bottom
of the baking dish for the lamb to sit on (this creates a gravy), and
add whole garlic cloves
4. Place seared lamb on top of the veggies and pour over your tomatoes and stock, ensuring to cover the dish and soak the shanks
5. Sprinkle with chopped rosemary, salt and pepper and place in the oven for 3-4 hours
6.
Once cooked, take the shanks of out the baking dish and mash all of the
veggies / juice up before sifting it and disposing of the chunky pieces
7. Serve with steamed veggies and pour over the gravy
Can also be cooked in a slow cooker for 6-8 hours
Source: News.com.au
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