Weight Loss 101

OK, so how has my weight loss been going so far?

Well, its been 2 weeks and I have lost 3.7 kilos - I am 104.3 kg as of this morning. The first week I lost 3 kilos, the second 700 grams. Frustrating?

Hell yes!

For someone who used to do stupid things to lose weight, this feels incredibly slow! I used to lose a kilo a day - and then put it all back on. So what you have to remember is -

The scales lie!!

When you lose a kilo a day, you are not losing fat - you are losing water, a bit of fat, and also muscle. Not good. Muscle burns fat, therefore the more muscle you lose by stupid dieting or starving, the harder it becomes to lose weight.

What is the heart made of? Muscle.

Uh oh. That's right, when you do stupid things to lose weight you run the risk of damaging and weakening your heart. Ouch! The heart is kinda important.

What is a healthy amount of weight loss? 1/2 - 1 kilo a week. Yeah, it seems like not a lot of weight loss, but think about it this way - you are not killing your body, you are not damaging your heart and you will find it much easier to sustain your weight loss. When your body loses weight fast, it goes into freak-out mode and pulls out all the tricks to get that weight back. Remember, your body loves you and its full-time job is to keep you alive. So, in the name of self-preservation, it makes you crave food, it slows your metabolism, and it tries to keep that stored fat as fuel for emergencies.

So, the trick? Be nice to your body. Give it healthy food regularly so it doesn't freak out. When your body gets food regularly it relaxes and realises it doesn't need to keep all those emergency stores of food, and it begins to work with you instead of against you. It says, "Yeah, OK, I'm happy to use some of this fat as energy", and voila! You start burning those fat stores.

You also need to give your body quality food. Anything processed, in a box, or anything that doesn't resemble food - IS NOT FOOD!! It is manipulated crap designed for convenience. I don't know about you, but being overweight IS NOT CONVENIENT! Its bloody uncomfortable, its embarrassing, and it limits your life. "Wana come to the beach Gin?" Ummm, no. So forget the "convenience" foods.

OK. So my 3.7 kilos of weight loss you now will realise, is actually awesome! It's not slow at all.

So how am I doing it?

OK, before I tell you the plan, let me tell you something that my therapist told me - yep, I see a psychologist. I think everyone can benefit from seeing a psychologist. Show me somebody is 100% healthy mentally and emotionally!!

So, my shrink (she knows I call her that) said these words that have completely changed my life:

"Stop eating comfort food when you are not hungry. You can do that."

Its that simple. I can do that. I'm actually a very strong person.

She also said "Food's purpose is not to make you feel happy or to celebrate, or to keep you company when you're lonely. Food is fuel. That's it."

So yeah, use food in the way it was designed - to fuel your motor - your body. There should be no emotion with food. You can enjoy it, but if you find yourself losing yourself in food, and making dreamy faces, that's a sure sign you're not using it right.

Do you get up in the morning, look at your vitamins and think "Mmmmmm, yum yum, which vitamin am I going to have today?"??? Ahh, no. Vitamins are purely to give your body the important things it needs. Well, food is the same.

"But food tastes good!!" you say? Of course it does! How could nature ensure our species survives? It makes stuff you need to put in your mouth taste good! It makes stuff you shouldn't, taste bad. Pretty simple huh?

So, enough of the lecture, here is how I have been eating (apologies to the vegetarians^). Exercise stuff will come in the next post.

# Overall eating rule - protein in every meal, with "green stuff". 

If it isn't an animal, from an animal, or green, I don't eat it. Meat, fish, prawns, crab, lobster, eggs, hard cheeses (in small amounts), green veggies - oh, and eggplant and mushroom (OK, they're not green). The only fruit you're allowed is avocado and olives - both green, and a small tomato (its green when it's not ripe!). None (or maybe just a drop) of milk, but cream (pure) and coconut cream is OK in small amounts.

Breakfast:

OK, so when I'm working I don't have time to make an omelette or something fancy, so I have a hard-boiled egg, an Atkins bar and a cuppa - with a dash of milk. I found my morning cuppa non-negotiable, so this is the only milk I have, and I have decreased the amount I used to have in my cuppa.

You have to eat in a way that is sustainable, and losing my morning cuppa was UNACCEPTABLE! Haha. And who can have a cuppa without milk?!?!?


Lunch:

Salmon & a simple salad

Any kind of meat and green stuff - easy!


Dinner:

Eye fillet steak with coriander & ginger salad

Any kind of meat and green stuff!


Snacks:

One of my fav Atkins bars

I normally have 2 snacks a day so I am eating regularly. I generally eat at 6am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm and 6pm. Again, at work this is hard so I find Atkins bars easy. But you can have all sorts of things as long as its an animal, from an animal, and you have green stuff with it.

Small avocado with mayonnaise egg & pepper

Celery stuffed with cream cheese, Gouda cheese wrapped in ham then wrapped in a lettuce leaf, guacamole with broccoli dippy bits, half a dozen olives stuffed with cream cheese, or if you're strapped for time, or you didn't get organised this morning, grab a BBQ chook and chow down on a drumstick or breast. Its a great idea to have half a dozen hard-boiled eggs in the fridge for quick access to a protein and nutrient-packed snack. If you're not a massive egg lover, you can mush up the yolks and put it back into the egg white halves for a yummier version. To mush the egg yolks you have to use whole-egg mayonnaise, not the "light"stuff, its full of sugar. You can add in herbs, spices, curry powder, paprika or even just good ol' salt & pepper to make it even tastier. Or wrap a boiled egg in a slice of ham.

Its ridiculously easy.


Drinks:

Water, water, and soda water!  You must must MUST drink lots of water! Our bodies depend on it. I drink something like 2-3 litres a day. I also have herbal tea - just watch there are no hidden carbohydrates or sugars, ie fruit, honey and ummm, sugar! Haha. I like the Twinings berry one and love love loooove the Dilmah rose and French vanilla one. Green tea is awesome for you too. Try camomile, mint & ginger, earl grey - anything you enjoy without milk. Coffee and "normal" tea are OK if you like them without milk. Just make sure you're not overloading yourself with caffeine, caffeine can effect your insulin levels, so keep it to a minimum.

Dessert:

Well, I'm not a big dessert lover, but if I'm a bit hungry just before bed ie I don't want a meal, or if I feel like something a bit sweet, I have a sugar-free jelly. These ones are really good. You can also mix a little bit of natural, unsweetened cacao to a little bit of cream with half teaspoon of sweetener - I use Stevia as it's natural and pretty-much carbohydrate free, made from a plant in South America (my favourite place on Earth!). Or a cheesecake filling thingie with cream cheese mixed with a bit of cream, stevia, lemon juice & vanilla essence. Just don't eat the whole bowl!!

Choccie mousse

Alcohol:

Mmmmmmoet :-)

Say goodbye - for now (kinda).

My love affair with French Champagne has been put on hold, but now and then it's OK to indulge in one (cry), yes one glass of something. Again, it's all about sustainable weight loss. If you are hanging for a wine for weeks or months, when you finally have some you are going to binge!! Then the hangover will lead to crap food, and you've undone a bunch of great work. So, even if its as often as once a week, give yourself something you really enjoy - and savor it!!

Flavour:

Herbs and spices ROCK!!!! You can make your food soooooo tasty with lots of these. For instance, I put entire bunches of basil or coriander in a chicken stir-fry or a batch of rissoles - I love fresh herbs in my salad too. Try grating fresh ginger over your salad - yum!


Oils and condiments:

Well, I find I don't need much with all the tasty fresh herbs I use, but I always use extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil, red-wine vinegar (balsamic has sugar in it), and organic tamari (normal soy sauce is made from wheat so has carbohydrate in it). I use a bit of cream or coconut cream in my curries.

I often do a big cook-up so I have a whole buch of different meals in the freezer that I can grab in the morning as Im heading out. Eg "lasagne" made with eggplant slices instead of pasta sheets, fritatta, thai beef curry, asian chicken (or pork) balls, beef rissoles, salmon patties - all sorts of things!

Below are some more pics of some of the things I've made. If you're stuck for recipe ideas, or you're not the best cook in the world, check out http://www.atkins.com/Recipes.aspx . I also bought the Atkins book, and recipe book - if you do, make sure its the new one, not the old. The new version is much healthier than the old one (Atkins has been around as long as me!).

Well, thanks for reading, and if you have a story or comment, please leave one below, I'd love to know what you're up to. And if you want to share this blog - share away!

Big hugs - see you in a few kilos!!!  xx

Salmon cutlet with avocado & green bean salad.

The making of Asian chicken basil balls

...and the cooking of Asian chicken basil balls

Lamb cutlets on greens with red wine vinegar

Eggplant "lasagne" on the sides. Spinach & smoky bacon frittata in the middle

Left: chicken & spinach curry. Right: Beef & zucchini rissoles

 ^ See Atkins website or book for more info on Atkins for vegetarians, it can be done.