How to Eat For Weight Loss

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.

Slow and steady wins the race. 

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.

Summer is a great time to eat healthy because of all the wonderful produce around. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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.co.