Friday, September 9, 2011

Keeping you on track



Hunga-busta-fat-burning soup… 

3 large onions
a bunch of chopped celery
2 packets chicken-noodle soup
2 large green bell peppers
2 tins green beans (or 2 coffee cups frozen beans)
2 tins tomatoes (the basil and garlic is tasty!)
1 tin minestrone soup
1 kg carrots (grated)

Chuck everything into a big sauce pan (if you’re using tinned beans, do not drain). Prepare the powdered soup each with a litre of water, add a tin of water to the tinned minestrone soup and add to the ingredients in the sauce pan. Bring everything to the boil. Add more water if the soup is too thick and liquidize if you prefer a smoother consistency. Eat throughout the day if you feel hungry.

The best method of losing weight, however, is to stick to a normal eating, but simply switching to making healthier choices. 6 smaller meals throughout the day keep your metabolism in perfect, fat-burning mode.

Always start the day with a breakfast. The best is plain old oats with no added sugar (carbs turn to sugar the minute they touch your mouth) If you cut out sugar entirely; do not be tempted with the artificial rubbish; rather try xylitol if you simply can’t go without, but you will be surprised how quickly you get used to it and begin to actually appreciate the taste.

Now what you may not believe is that the good ol’ bacon, egg and toast combo is not as bad as everyone makes out because it is a good combination of protein and carbs and there is not as much fat as you would believe. Just prepare it with very little oil and go for a nice, heavy bread like a good quality seed or rye bread.

Then make sure you have a good mid-morning snack of fruit and a cracker or two (pro-vita or similar) and some good quality protein (a few almonds always a good choice) or cheese, biltong – matchbox size.

Eat a proper lunch combo of salad and protein. Cook a few extra skinless chicken breasts for this, or you can do a tin of salmon or tuna or pilchards – all which are high in Omega3 and very good for the heart.

For an afternoon snack a bit of cheese and crackers will suffice or biltong and a fresh carrot and perhaps a banana. You can have pasta or a small potato around lunch time (fist size) but stay away from carbs after four in the afternoon. (Remember, the coloured veggies – butternut etc. – and fruit also count as carbs)

Supper must be a combination of green veggies such as broccoli, green beans, a big salad with lots of cherry tomatoes and some olives and a protein like steak or chicken or fish fillet – the size of your palm. Try to keep it lean and use olive oil for your cooking. Salad dressing should not be the store-bought type but rather a simple homemade mix of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Italian herbs, a splash of soya, black pepper and salt. No creamy stuff.

Then a bit later you can do a desert which is a bit crazy but works for late night just before going to bed. Make a shake with low fat milk, an egg, a spoon of Milo and zip it in a blender so it comes out thick and creamy. It is comfort stuff but does wonders for a good night’s sleep and will keep your body going till morning.

What all this means is that you end up eating six meals throughout the day and you will find that after the second week your body gets used to this system and will tell you it is time to eat. This means that your metabolism is kicking into gear and has your fat burning system in operation.

A good walk per day or any exercise which you can squeeze in will do no harm. But I would say that 80% of fat burning comes from how you eat. Cut back on salt and lose the sugar. This diet works because you are not really cutting out carbs or proteins and you don’t feel that you’re really depriving yourself of anything.

If you feel like having pizza over the weekend, no problem, just keep it light on the cheese and heavier on tomatoes. Oh and a very important ... no drinking, other than the odd 120ml glass of red wine with that pizza! Have fun! J



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