ANALYSE YOUR LIFESTYLE

Before you start the 10lb Diet, you will need to analyse your lifestyle. Look at where your lifestyle is right now! Consider the following factors and ask yourself how they have affected your weight.

ALCOHOL

It is very clear that alcohol can cause serious health problems, and we must also look at alcohol from a weightloss point of view. Consider this: 1g alcohol contains 7 kcal. This is second only to fat, which contains 9 kcal/g. Protein and carbohydrates contain only 4 kcal/g. Put these facts into practice and you will find that one small bottle of wine (187ml) has about 20g alcohol. The alcohol alone amounts to 140 kcal. When you add in the sugar and other contents, the calories shoot up even more. And there is little nutritional value: drinking alcohol is simply drinking calories!

Even if we are happy to drink the calories, we must think about the other effects of alcohol. Too much alcohol leads to dehydration and other horrible side effects – it is also the quickest way to derail your diet! I love white wine – Sauvignon Blanc, preferably South African. (Don’t forget I lived there for almost five years!) My favourite bottle has just under 10 units of alcohol in it. Shocking, I know! When I talk about units and healthy limits of alcohol with my patients, they are shocked too! We used to say that 14 units a week is a healthy limit for a woman and 21 for a man – but that has changed with new emerging research showing how alcohol is a poison. I get goose bumps (kananliha in Finnish) when I say this.

SMOKING

Smoking is the single greatest avoidable risk factor for cancer, and if it is added to the risk of carrying extra weight, you are going to be facing the consequences – guaranteed! I can always smell a smoker and I can also spot them in a crowd: lines around the lips, and damaged skin, hair and teeth. I feel so sorry for smokers and their loved ones. Not only are smokers wasting money but they are also stealing years from their lives.

Whatever about alcohol, there is nothing positive about smoking! All of the research agrees that nicotine and other chemicals in cigarettes will reduce the absorption of vital nutrients and will weaken your immune system. I don’t want to send you on a guilt trip, but smoking is a drastic threat to your health – and drastic measures are required!

This is a weightloss book. However, if you are a smoker, I am asking you to address that issue first. Stop smoking! If you want to change your life, your appearance and your health … you can. You can do the weightloss plan and stop smoking all in one go. If there is a will, there is a way. You will thank me in the end. And your loved ones will be happy that I am being tough on you. Sometimes you need to be unkind in order to be kind. There is nothing cool or sexy about smoking!

DIABETES

So many people suffer from prediabetes that I have adopted the following opinion in my clinics: everybody suffers from diabetes, unless it can be proven otherwise! Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) has reached such a worldwide epidemic that this opinion does not feel like an exaggeration to me. The worst thing is that the primary cause for 90% of T2DM is actually obesity. This means that the disease is preventable! Why is it that we turn to drugs for this problem, when we should look at weightloss first?

If we reduce carbohydrates and calories in the diet, we will force the body to utilise its own stores of energy. This will bring weightloss, improved glucose levels, improved insulin sensitivity and, most important, lowered levels of produced insulin. Sensible weightloss can achieve all of these things and help to prevent major health problems further down the line.

SLEEP DISORDERS

Sleep helps our bodies to regenerate. Most of us need an average of 8 hours of sleep per night (me included). However, we know that 1 in 10 people suffer from insomnia and 3 in 10 feel sleep-deprived. How is this linked to weightloss?

Sleep disturbance is a sign that something is wrong: in order to sleep well, you need to be well! Lifestyle choices (e.g. caffeine, alcohol and lack of exercise) affect the quality of our sleep. When I ask my patients how excess weight has affected them, without fail they will say ‘low energy levels’. Of course, carrying excess weight is physically tiring – but there is more to the low energy levels. Low energy levels are really bad news for your health: they lead to poor motivation and bad choices. We have a saying in my native Finland: Sleeping is like putting money in the bank. Take some good advice from Finland. Mind your sleep and you will be better able to take care of your weight also!

MOTIVATE YOURSELF

Once you have analysed your lifestyle, you know where things are now. The next step is motivation: thinking about where you want to be! Motivation is all about clear goals – and 10lb is a very clear goal.

Once you set this goal for yourself, you can decide whether it is something you will do by yourself or with a partner or friend.

I believe that the reason many people postpone their goals is seldom down to laziness, but rather the fear of not succeeding. Don’t let this happen to you! Set a clear goal, commit to 10lb and really go for it.

It helps if you have a clear plan. Try to visualise your goal. What do you want at the end of the process? Do you want to be a size 12 again? Do you want to reduce the effects of your diabetes? Do you want a six-pack? Whatever it is, write it down on paper and be descriptive! This will be your motivation to keep going if things get tough. You must remember where it is you want to go!

COMMIT TO THE RULES

You can read more about the Fast Plan and the Slow Plan from here onwards. But whether you choose the Fast Plan or the Slow Plan, there are certain lifestyle rules that should always apply. I like the number 13: for me, this is a list to live by!

  1  Sleep well

  2  Eat regularly

  3  Plan your meals

  4  When you are eating, focus on eating

  5  Be active every day

  6  Eat protein with every meal

  7  Eat fruit or vegetables with every meal

  8  Get your daily intake of unsaturated fats

  9  Drink 2 litres of liquids every day

10  Eat real, unprocessed food

11  Consume fish oil, magnesium and Vitamin D3 every day

12  Don’t forget the final touch: make an effort with your hair, clothes and makeup

13  Follow these rules 80% of the time – and forgive yourself for the other 20%.

 

HOW TO USE THE PLANS

It is difficult to quantify exactly how many calories a person needs in a day.

It depends on so many variables (age, gender, medication, exercise levels, previous diet history, etc.) that I could write a whole chapter on the subject. The official guidelines say that the average woman needs 2000 kcal per day to maintain her weight – and the average man needs 2500 kcal. In reality, this doesn’t seem to be the case for the average person that I see in my clinic.

The 10lb Diet is built on my belief that the average woman needs around 1800 kcal per day to maintain her weight. The average man needs around 2200 kcal per day. But if these are the amounts for maintaining weight, what can we do when we want to lose weight?

People say that weightloss is difficult – but in many ways it is very simple. Use more energy than you take in, and you will lose weight! We have seen the health improvements that can come from losing 10lb. Of course, there are many different ways to get to that goal. Here, I offer you two different plans. It is up to you to choose what will work for you. As I always say: ‘All roads lead to Rome!’

 

 

FAST PLAN

Lose 10lb in 3 WEEKS

1000 kcal per day

Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner

Snack carefully throughout the week

Avoid alcohol

Exercise: burn 200 kcal per day

 

 

SLOW PLAN

Lose 10lb in 12 WEEKS

1300 kcal per day

Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner

Snack moderately throughout the week

Enjoy alcohol in moderation

Exercise: burn 200 kcal per day

 

THE FAST PLAN: 10LB IN 3 WEEKS

If you can identify with any of these statements, consider doing the Fast Plan.

■  I am totally fed up trying to lose just 10lb of weight – I just want to see results immediately!

■  I have gone through a major change in life (e.g. having a baby) and I have gained 10lb really quickly. Now I want to lose it quickly.

■  I am just back from the holiday of a lifetime – but I am 10lb heavier than when I left…

■  I am facing a medical procedure and I need to get in shape really quickly.

■  I need to lose more than 10lb but I know I won’t continue with my weightloss journey unless I get off to a brilliant start.

■  My GP tells me that my cholesterol/blood sugar level is not healthy. If I lose some weight, maybe I won’t need to go on medication.

■  I have lost a lot of weight but I cannot seem to shift the final 10lb: they are just so stubborn!

HOW DOES THE FAST PLAN WORK?

On the Fast Plan, you restrict your calorie intake to 1000 kcal per day and create a further daily energy deficit of 200 kcal through exercise.

You need to stick to 1000 kcal per day, so it’s all about planning! Get a pen and paper and plan your meals to suit your day. Take a look at my sample Diet Diaries here but remember you can mix and match. Try out new recipes and meal options – and adapt the plans to suit you.

So, if Monday morning is mayhem in your house (as it is in mine), don’t take on the Courgette and Bacon Pancake! Have ‘breakfast on the go’ with the Raspberry Smoothie. If Sunday is a quiet day for you, the Seafood Rice Paper Rolls would be perfect for lunch. If you have a craving for a curry on Saturday night, try making the Chicken Tikka Masala. You get the picture!

TIPS FOR THE FAST PLAN

It can be difficult to stay within the 1000 kcal daily limit for 3 weeks. Here are some tips for you.

■  Think of your day as three targets:

□  200 kcal for breakfast + morning snack

□  300 kcal for lunch + afternoon snack

□  500 kcal for dinner + evening snack.

■  Snacks are vital in the first week of the Fast Plan, especially since you might be used to snacking a lot. Plan them carefully, though!

■  Eat Filler Soups (see here). They are a smart way to keep the hunger pangs at bay while you stay within your calorie limit.

■  Avoid alcohol: it will make you too hungry and too relaxed. You might forget that you are on the Fast Plan!

■  Vary your recipes and meal options so that your diet is interesting and nutritious.

■  Remember: you don’t have to cook every single meal. Create a weekly plan that includes recipes and meal options that are readily available.

THE SLOW PLAN: 10LB IN 12 WEEKS

If you can identify with any of these statements, consider doing the Slow Plan.

■  I don’t want to make a radical change to my diet but I do want a lifestyle change, with better food choices.

■  I have gained 10lb over the years. I don’t need to lose it overnight, but I do want to lose it.

■  I want to ‘clean up my act’