If you've tried every diet going with little to no success, you'll be pleased to hear there's a new concept on the weight loss front – eat lots and stay slim.
A new book by Della Galton and Peter Jones promises just that. All you need is a willingness to change, and some gold stars...
Inspired by his nephew's enthusiasm to collect stars for school, a "simple concept that very much appealed", Peter decided to introduce a star system to help motivate readers. Each thought-provoking, scentificaly-provable idea in How To Eat Loads and Stay Slim has a star rating. Fifty-four stars are available and you get one just for buying the book.
The authors personally guarantee that if you collect enough stars, a slim figure and a healthy but satiated appetite is yours. Peter gives HELLO! Online three easy suggestions to get you started – they total nine stars…
Virtually Fat Free Chips – 1 star
"Everyone loves chips. But they’re bad news if you’re trying to keep your weight under control, right?" says Peter.
"Not necessarily. You can have guilt-free chips. All you need to do is swap the cooking method to a combination of microwave and oven baking!"
Cut washed potatoes into chips, nice and thick (easier to cook), then spread them out on a plate and spray them with a low fat spray or a tablespoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and microwave for four minutes. Transfer them to the oven on a baking tray (add a little more low fat spray, if necessary) and bake at 240 degrees Celsius. You will need to turn them often so they get evenly browned.
"Chips made like this are totally guilt free. You can have as many as you like. They go very well with ham and eggs. They also work very well if you roast vegetables alongside them. And if you'd like cheesy chips then just sprinkle a handful of half fat grated cheese over them and melt."
Swapping – 1 star for each ‘swap’ to a maximum of 5
"‘Swapping’ is the concept of identifying foods that could easily, and painlessly, be switched for healthier, less fattening alternatives. For instance:
- Swap full fat chips for jacket spuds
- swap beef mince for extra-lean mince
- swap full fat cheese for half fat cheese
- swap pints of beer for bottles of beer
- swap sugar for less sugar (with the cunning use of measuring spoons)
- swap crisps for popadums
- swap shop-bought burgers for shop bought veggie-burgers
- swap snack foods for healthier and shockingly tasty alternatives
"It isn’t a new concept at all, but it’s such a simple, easy idea that it’s often overlooked and forgotten about."
Changing Your Mind – 3 stars in total
"Never mind calorie counting, or spending your lunch hour on the treadmill, the real secret to eating loads and staying slim is to exercise the lump of grey matter between your ears – to re-think your approach to food, based on facts.
"For instance, there’s evidence that we use our eyes, rather than our stomachs, to judge how much food we’ve eaten. If our plates are anything less than over-flowing we often feel cheated, and consequently hungry. And if there’s food on the plate we’ll often eat it, regardless of whether or not we’ve already had our fill.
"This is scientific gold dust, and immediately gives us two more techniques we can use to control our weight.
"Firstly, get into the habit of checking in with your stomach whilst you’re eating. Are you full now? Then stop. Who cares if there’s food left on the plate. Leave it. Don’t worry about the WASTE, worry about your WAIST. 1 star for this one.
"Secondly, you can actually trick your mind into accepting smaller portions by using smaller plates. If you’re using ten inch dinner plates, switch to nine. That’s a 10% decrease in overall food intake right there, and you won’t even notice. 2 stars for this one."
How To Eat Loads And Stay Slim is available now as an ebook, in paperback, and as an audio download, from amazon.co.uk & amazon.com – find out more at howtoeatloadsandstayslim.com