What really works
For an effective eating plan you can
sustain until you reach your weight-loss goal, you need to eat foods from all
three groups on a daily basis. To ensure your body is getting all the nutrients
it needs, select from the following options:
For
an effective eating plan you can sustain until you reach your weight-loss goal
·
Choose a variety of proteins, including: fish,
shellfish, poultry and eggs, feta and sheep’s cheeses, yoghurt, nuts and nut
butters and seeds (sprouted and dried). Use pulses and legumes such as
chickpeas, lentils, butter beans and haricot beans in main dishes, soups,
salads, casseroles and stir-fries.
·
Include healthy carbohydrates such as quinoa,
oats, buckwheat, barley, couscous, spelt and millet in breads, salads and
soups.
·
Eat as many seasonal vegetables as you can and
have some fruit every day. Aim to eat more vegetables than fruit, as they’re
naturally rich in nutrients and fibre, releasing their energy over a longer
period, while lower in sugars than fruit. Include Buttermus squash, carrots,
swede, Pumpkin, parsnips, beans, peas, courgette, onion, garlic, sweet potato,
tomato, fennel, peppers, lettuce, spinach, watercress, avocado, asparagus,
artichoke, Aubergine, celery, endive, chicory, French and string beans.
·
Enjoy good-quality essential fats found in
sardines, mackerel, salmon and sea bass. Use olive, walnut and coconut oils for
dressings or drizzled on cooked vegetables. Add almonds, walnuts, cashews and
pumpkin and sunflower seeds to salads, and try flaxseed and hemp seeds added to
breakfast cereals and smoothies. Rather than steering clear of any of these
foods, remember that you need an abundance of variety in your daily meals to
satisfy you nutritional requirements.
·
Try to eat some foods from each food group with
every main meal to provide your body with maximum energy. Remember, if you
satisfy yourself nutritionally, you’re less likely to crave the foods you
shouldn’t be eating if you want to lose weight. Think of nourishing yourself
rather than limiting yourself.
·
Changing your attitude to how you eat will help
your body respond in the right way. Your metabolism works more efficiently when
you are optimally nourished, whereas limiting or starving yourself slows it
down. Enjoy your meals and take a little more time to prepare what you enjoy.
Eat slower and taste what you are eating – this leads to a feeling of
satisfaction rather than of restriction. Follow my seven-day meal planner to
discover the easy way to eat healthily and reach your weight-loss goals.
Your seven-day weight-loss plan
Who says diets have to be monotonous and
filled with lain? Not us! This delicious and varied set of meals maximizes your
nutritional intake and optimizes your weight-loss. There’s not a rice cake in
sight – and you can even treat yourself to the odd glass of wine
Who
says diets have to be monotonous and filled with lain?
Monday
Breakfast:
Two scrambled eggs with one slice of spelt toast. One apple, Green tea.
Lunch:
Poached salmon salad with mixed green leaves, baby new potatoes and two
teaspoons of olive oil and lemon juice dressing.
Supper:
Shop-bought roasted red pepper and tomato soup. Handful of slow-roasted cashew
nuts with agave syrup. Drizzle one scant teaspoon of agave syrup over 10 cashew
nuts and roast at 1500C for 10 minutes.
Tuesday
Breakfast:
One cup of nut-based muesli with one cup almond milk. ½ punnet of berries. Cup
of fennel tea.
Lunch:
Quinoa salad with buttermut squash, edamame beans and a balsamic and olive oil
dressing. Drizzle a little olive oil over half a butternut squash and sprinkle
with black pepper; add to a cup of cooked quinoa and quarter cup of edamame
beans. Serve with one dessertspoon of olive oil and balsamic dressing.
Supper:
Mixed vegetable and prawn stir-fry with green salad and one dessert spoon of
walnut oil and lemon juice to taste.
Wednesday
Breakfast: A
slice of pumpernickel toast with two teaspoons almond butter and some
watercress. One peach.
Lunch: Shop-bought
chicken Caesar salad with two teaspoons of pumpkin seeds (no croutons!)
Supper:
Baked sea bass with roasted asparagus in olive oil. Bake one whole sea bass in
foil for 25 minutes at 1750C. Drizzle one dessertspoon of olive oil
over six asparagus spears and place in the oven 10 minutes after the fish.
