Is your diet letting you down? Did you embark on a new eating and exercise programme with gusto at the turn of the year but it’s stopped working? If so, you are not alone! Quick fix diets are a great way to achieve early success which motivates us to keep going but many involve strict regimes with little flexibility and can be a hard slog.
I am a Nutritionist and author of 2 Weeks in the Super Fast Lane and I believe the answer here is to make a super quick U turn before motivation deserts us. Here are my tips on how to Lose a Stone in 2 Weeks.
There are all sorts of reasons why our chosen diet may not be reaping the rewards we hoped for but perhaps the one most often ignored is that the shoe simply doesn’t fit! So try another one! When things aren’t moving forward, perceptive individuals act fast to remedy a situation – this doesn’t make them yo-yo dieters, this makes them smart thinkers! Motivation is key to successful weight loss, boredom and hunger are major stumbling blocks.
Parcel-Baked Fish
To make a necessary U turn, I suggest adopting a few important strategies:
- Keep an eagle eye on starchy carbohydrates – only include them at certain times of the day.
- Don’t go low fat – fats are essential for hormone health and a faster metabolic rate.
- Don’t buy into the cheat day philosophy – treats are not cheats, they just have to be carefully managed for successful fat loss.
- Only involve yourself in group slimming if you can handle disappointment – there is always someone who is going to lose more weight in a week than you have!
- Plan and cook ahead wherever possible – don’t get caught in the grab a quick snack trap, it’s likely to be a diet wrecker!
- Keep cold foods to a minimum at this time of the year – warm means comfort and comfort nourishes motivation!
- Consider supplementing your diet to ensure you get all the essential nutrients to feed the fat burning mechanism.
Try the following for 7 days, go for variety rather than sticking to the same choices each day, lose 7 pounds and repeat…
To save/print off all the recipes mentioned (in italics), click here
Breakfast Choices
- Bowl/carton of homemade or ready made porridge with a drizzle of honey and a good sprinkling of cinnamon powder.
- Bowl of sugar-free muesli mix with warm milk (cows milk if you don’t have an intolerance or rice, oat, almond, soya if you do) topped with a tablespoon of mixed nuts and seeds.
- 2 rye crispbreads topped with 1 egg scrambled plus 2 slices of dried ham, quickly crisped under the grill or 2 slices of smoked salmon.
- 2 large oatcakes topped with nut butter and a Green Smoothie.
Parsley Soup with Chicken Nuggets
Lunch Choices
- A bowl of Thai Curry Sweet Potato Soup with a mixed leaf salad.
- A bowl of Parsley Soup with Chicken Nuggets with a mixed bean/lentil salad.
- A bowl or small carton of ready made soup (avoid noodles, pasta and potato) and a mixed leaf or bean/lentil salad.
- Lemon Ginger Chicken or a hot, cooked chicken portion with stir fried mixed vegetables.
- A small plate of cold meats, cheese slices and mixed olives and a mug of vegetable broth (Herbamare is warming and delicious and the tub is easy to transport!)
Tofu Towers
Dinner Choices
- Parcel Baked Fish
- Baked Omelette
- Tofu Towers
- Salmon with Roasted Vegetables
- Warm Salad
- Or if you have to opt for a ready meal, go for a protein-rich dish (meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish, egg) without starch (potatoes, pasta, beans, lentils, rice and other grains) and add a vegetable medley or have a mixed salad alongside.
Snack Choices (mid morning or mid afternoon but not both – you know when snack attacks invade!)
- A small carton of natural live/bio yoghurt with a handful of toasted flaked almonds.
- A small carton of natural cottage cheese with a fresh pear and a handful of walnuts.
- A small carton of hummus with a small tray of mixed, raw baby vegetables.
- A mug of miso soup.
- A shop bought green smoothie.
- A small bar (35g) of minimum 70% cocoa solids dark chocolate with a piece of fresh fruit and handful of mixed nuts.
Drink Choices (between meals, not with meals)
- Hot Lemon and Ginger
- Mixed vegetable juices
- Water – still and sparkling
- Coffee – small, black and strong (no milk or sugar)
- Tea – black, green, white, redbush, fruit, herb (no milk or sugar)
- Wine – maximum 5 small glasses of rich red or dry white per week
- Spirits – maximum 5 measures on the rocks or with soda per week
Supplement Choices
- A daily pack which includes vitamins, minerals, antioxidant nutrients and essential fats which are easy to transport and do away with the need to remember what to take and when. Nutrishield is a great product as is Patrick Holford’s 100% Health Pack
- Chromium is a trace mineral that does a great job of keeping blood sugar hormones balanced but it is hard to get good levels from our diet. I favour a liquid form and Biocare’s Nutrisorb Chromium fits comfortably into a handbag or briefcase and is easy to add to drinks a couple of times a day to quell sugar cravings.
The above has been adapted from my 2 Weeks in the Super Fast Lane diet which is available in digital format through Amazon, iBooks, Kobo and Nook at £2.99 and in paperback through Amazon at £4.99.