Eat to slim

Most of us simply love our food, sometimes too much. Usually when you start on a weight loss diet, it means sacrificing the sheer pleasure of food. Giving up the delicious aromas and tastes, giving up the pleasures of flavoursome, shared meals with family and friends, and giving up our freedom to eat what we please.

Most weight loss plans simply ask too much -  they ask us to tip our lives completely over. We are often asked to make all our meals around highly processed foods that we didn’t select, cook, or even choose. Someone else make all of these decisions for us. No wonder most diets are not maintained, goals aren’t met and weight put straight back on.

So now what?

The better idea is to look at what you enjoy and work around that, at least to a degree. Eat more of the healthy stuff and less of the unhealthy, weight-increasing stuff.

• Alcohol – no doubt giving up drinking will help shed loads of weight. But some responsible adults enjoy a beer or glass of wine. You gotta enjoy life! So if you normally have a glass of wine a night, make it a glass every second night.
• Breakfast – bulk them up with fresh (or quality canned) fruit. Try low GI cereals which make you feel fuller for longer.
• Coffee and tea - have one less cup a day. Instead of sugar use a natural sweetener like Stevia.
• Snack on almonds and seed mix – sure it’s high in fat but it’s good fat, filling and natural.
• Dessert – instead of ice cream go for low fat yoghurt. Add some of that low GI cereal for texture and added satisfaction.
• Dinner – stir fry your favourite vegetables with lean chicken or beef. Use a herb and spice blend (with no sugar) for flavour boost.
• Carbs – reduce the amount, especially in your breakfast and dinner. Try your stirfry without rice or noodles -you’ll be surprised how easy it is.

These are just a few ideas. Remember the key is to maintain your diet until you reach your goal weight. To do this the diet has to fit into your life, not you into it.

Enjoy!