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Slow but sure

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Diet Club

Spill your diet secrets!**

Chat to other slimmers here

Slow but sure

I am a 20-year-old athlete. I had a terrible injury that had me off training for about 12 months. At the start I was really careful with my food choices — obviously I couldn’t eat as much as I did when I was exercising all the time. However, I got into some really bad habits (mainly over-eating through boredom) and managed to gain about nine kilos over a period of five months!

One week I’d try and lose weight by going on the “soup diet’, but then the next week I’d feel really deprived and binge-eat. This went on for seven months! My self-esteem was out the window, and I felt awful looking into the mirror. I couldn’t keep doing this to myself.

I was allowed to start going to the gym again in July 2005 — my injury was getting slightly better — but it wasn’t until one morning (Sep 16, 2005) that I woke up, and realised I couldn’t lose two or three kilos in one week, and that I had to start eating extremely healthy, small meals, and exercise six days a week if I was going to lose the weight.

So, that’s what I did! I ate a lot of fruit, yoghurt and vegetables, and just cut down my portion sizes. I still had meat and fish, but hardly ever had pasta or bread. I exercised as much as I could, and by late November I’d lost the nine kilos! I was back to 63 kilos. I’d been weighing myself once a week, and most of the time I’d lose about one kilogram per week. It was amazing getting back into all my sexy clothes!

I have since kept my weight between 60 and 62 kilos. I love my body and I feel so great!

So remember, there is no miracle diet — if there was we’d all know about it by now. One kilo at a time, that’s the way to go. For every kilogram I lost I’d buy myself a present at the mall as a reward — shoes, handbags, cute mugs — anything you like! I had a list: “When I’m 68 kilos I can buy that nice bag I saw.” It works!

And to help your cravings for certain bad foods, or if you have trouble with over-eating, buy the book French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano, it helped me a lot.

— Lara

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Keep your cat happy and their teeth great!

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Question:

Cats are natural carnivores and most of our pet cats just love a good munch on something meaty! Some butchers have the odd chicken neck floating around, this does sound gross but your cat will love you! (Make sure to serve outside to minimise mess.)

Answer:

Grace

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My Sunday with Terri Irwin

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My Sunday with Terri Irwin

Terri Irwin is so beautiful, fragile, and strong.

Despite the overwhelming sadness that prompted our meeting, I spent one of the most inspired, loving Sunday afternoons of my career.

I came away completely shattered by Terri’s grief, overwhelmed by her immense strength and unshakeable faith, humbled by her generosity and big heart despite it being currently shattered.

Such is her amazing outlook, rather than feeling cheated by the death of the man she loves so deeply, Terri chooses to see the positive.

“I just feel blessed that we had 14 years together,” she said as she walked me through the magical grounds of the paradise Steve created, Australia Zoo. “So blessed to have two very beautiful children…

“And I know I’m going to see Steve again, in heaven. My faith is not rattled by this — it’s what’s getting me through.”

Terri’s emotions are so raw she’s exhausted from crying and trying to be brave at the same time. You just want to hold her and tell her something, anything that will take away this overwhelming anguish that causes her to breakdown.

We chat as old friends, hopping from grief to laughter and back again. It felt such a privilege to talk to Terri, to cry with her and to pray with her at the end our interview.

One minute she was so shattered, the next, those beautiful eyes so tired from crying, would sparkle as she recalled so many of the fun times she had with her big kid of a husband.

“He truly was magical,” she told me. “It’s nice in this day and age that we can have a hero, have someone who actually is who he seemed to be.”

I felt truly grateful that Terri has Wes Mannion, Steve’s best mate to hold fast to.

“Every morning I have therapy with Wes and a little cry,” she said. “I think because he was Steve’s best friend and knew Steve longer than me it’s extremely helpful. “We can talk about good times and then it gets me through another hour.”

The animals too are working their magic. They sense Terri’s grief and draw near to comfort her. It’s like something out of Dr Doolittle, they communicate with each other, and her face becomes a picture of serenity in their keeping. It’s truly surreal. I’m standing with Terri talking about Steve, sharing the space with a fat wombat, a baby alligator, a cockatoo, a python and three elephants. I’ll never forget it.

I leave Terri with a hug.

“I don’t want this to die with Steve,” she said, looking around the zoo he so lovingly created. “This zoo, his conservation work, his children, and his passion for life are going to be his legacy.”

As I leave, Wes comes up and gives me a hug. “That was awesome,” he said. “You took the time to care for Terri and not just fire questions at her.”

It’s Terri Irwin who’s awesome. I loved meeting her.

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Steve’s eerie prediction — ‘I’ll die doing what I love’

Tributes to Steve

Steve Irwin 1962 — 2006

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Ray Martin meets Terri Irwin

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Ray Martin meets Terri Irwin

Ray Martin tells Woman’s Day: “Terri is a broken woman who’s lost the love of her life.”

Terri Irwin is tough, brave and courageous. She’s also brittle and feeble, like someone who has been in hospital for three months — one of the most harrowing interviews I’ve done. What struck me most is this is a love story — a fair dinkum love affair. The one. Terri thought she and Steve — like a pair of swans — would sail off into the sunset. But suddenly, he was taken away — the absolute love of her life. This is as deep as it gets.

We knew it was an adventure story, we knew they were a good team, but until you see someone whose whole life has collapsed and yet has to go on for the kids and the zoo — it’s heartbreaking.

Terri’s very capable — she’s running the world and then, in the next breath, she says she’s been lying on the floor crying in the foetal position. But only when the kids aren’t around. Terri is going through all the emotions you would expect.

I knew she would be emotional and she cracked around 15 times during the interview. Each time I thought we’d need to stop so I could give her a cuddle, but she would take a deep breath, steel herself and go on. She’s got a great capacity but clearly this is all still raw.

The strongest message we got from Terri was that Steve thought she was better than she thought she was. He gave her confidence to do things she didn’t think she could do. Not just jumping crocs, but in life. She’s obviously an intelligent, confident, capable woman. And yet he pushed her further and made her stronger.

She says the park will go on, she will fulfil the dream they had together — they’re obviously committed to the wonderful vision, but having said that, she looks over her shoulder and says “I wish he was here to help me.” That’s the hard part. I asked Terri “Have you started to adjust?” and she said “I’ll never adjust”. I think she means it.

Steve was a big kid. He taught Terri it was okay to stand in the rain, get your clothes all muddy, tear them — nobody cares. All these things children know and as adults we forget.

Terri really hadn’t been out of the house. She hadn’t even wandered around the zoo after dark. She hadn’t read newspapers, watched TV or listened to radio. When she walked out at the memorial service, she was gob-smacked by the crowd when they stood and roared. She said Steve would’ve said “Crikey mate! Can you believe this?”

Looking at the floral tributes for the first time, Terri put her arm around my waist for support and I put my arm around her shoulder because I feared she was going to drop to the ground. She was so feeble, walking gingerly because she was so raw, such an emotional wreck, I think she feared she would stumble and fall.

Shaking her head she said “I love Australia. This is why Steve loved it here. I can’t believe people are so kind. I couldn’t make it through without this sort of support.” Australians aren’t a demonstrative lot — but we’ve done it.

It’s hard for you and me to believe the way Bindi performed at the memorial service. She didn’t seem like a girl who realised her dad was gone. I don’t understand death at my age; I don’t know how at eight you could possibly understand it.

Terri says both Bindi and Robert were introduced to death in the animal world early on. She says Bindi did understand what it was all about but she acknowledges what the psychologists have said, that it may take 10 years before it hits home.

Steve meant much more to Australia than I thought. As journalists, we’re supposed to have our fingers on the pulse, but it floored me. I had no idea there would be this overwhelming emotion for him. I knew he was the most famous Australian in the world but I didn’t think Australians would grieve as publicly as they have.

We cringed a bit at Steve — as David Wenham said in that poem he read at the memorial — but there is a bit of Steve Irwin in all of us. We’ve got to stop cringing at people who are real and he was like that on and off camera. That’s what he was. We’re tearaway larrikins — we’ve got to be proud of that. Steve reminded us we are pretty unique — and he was more unique than the rest of us.

RELATED ARTICLES

My Sunday with Terri Irwin

Steve Irwin 1962 — 2006

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I ruined my horrible sister-in-law’s wedding

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I have never gotten on with my husband’s family, and since meeting his only other sibling, a younger sister, have thought she is a spoiled, lazy person. Time after time I witnessed my husband’s family — namely his mother — put my husband’s needs far behind his sister.

When my husband and I got married, his parents gave us only $500 and had little to do with the planning and preparation for our special day. Yet, when my sister-in-law announced her wedding plans, my in-laws decreed they would pay for everything, and my mother-in-law proceeded to plan every detail of her wedding.

My resentment for my sister-in-law reached a peak when she told my husband he was not included in any way at their wedding (despite her having been in our bridal party at the begging of my mother-in-law). My husband was devastated, so I vowed that I would make her pay.

I waited until eight days before the wedding, after my mother-in-law had contacted the venue for the last time before the ‘big day’, then I rang the venue pretending to be my mother-in-law and gave them a sob story about the wedding being on hold because the groom had come down with mumps and was unable to travel for two weeks (they lived in a different town to where the wedding was being held). Being so close to the date of the wedding, the venue kept the deposit my in-laws had put down, and by the time they sent the letter of cancellation out to my in-laws, it was only four days before the wedding.

When my mother-in-law rang the venue to say there had been some mistake, she was informed that they had already rebooked the venue for another function, so there was nothing they could do.

My mother-in law was in tears, my sister-in-law was furious at her mother for ruining her wedding, and they ended up having their reception at the local RSL with the ‘all you can eat’ buffet. My in-laws were busy ringing around all the guests up to two days before the wedding to advise of the change of venue.

Whilst my sister-in-law has forgiven her mother for the cancellation, the ‘all you can eat’ buffet was horrible and she even to this day continues to moan about how her wedding was ruined. They never figured out what really happened, and continue to blame the venue for mixing up the cancellation.

I make sure I leave the room before breaking into a smile whenever they complain.

Picture posed by model.

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Detox kits

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Judy Davie

By Judy Davie

For further information about food and nutrition, visit Judy Davie’s website at www.thefoodcoach.com.au

‘I want to detox for spring — what do you think of these detox kits available from health food stores?’

A good detox diet is more than enough to encourage elimination of waste products and train you towards long-term healthy eating habits. Detox kits are full of insoluble fibre, cost money and do the same job as a diet rich in fibrous foods. To detoxify the system you must minimise the intake of hard-to-digest foods like red meat, poultry, cheese, wheat products and dairy, and increase the intake of vegetables and fruit. Most importantly you must eliminate all processed foods which may contain artificial flavours and additives, stimulants such as coffee, tea, chocolate, alcohol and tobacco.

By improving the digestive system, you increase the metabolism, toxins are released and weight loss occurs. To further speed up the detox process you should also add exercise to your daily life. Detoxification occurs through the skin, through sweat, as well as through our excretory processes. The more you sweat, the more toxins are released, so make sure you add plenty of cardiovascular exercise to your daily program.

‘I would love to try the October food plan but am allergic to cheese and mushrooms and don’t like fish. Is there any other way I can do the plan when these foods are eliminated?’

It often happens, someone will read a diet and just because they don’t like a few ingredients, decide not to go on it. Such is the limitation of set diets.

Once you are aware of the categories a food belongs to i.e. carbohydrates, fats and protein, it’s easier to substitute certain foods with others. The overriding rule, regardless of what you choose to substitute certain foods and meals for, is they must be low in saturated fat and as natural as possible.

Cheese is diary and although you don’t say whether you’re allergic to other dairy foods, if you are, you could substitute it with soy products like soy cheese and tofu. Mushrooms as a vegetable can be substituted with any vegetables other than the higher carbohydrate veggies like corn, sweet potato, carrots, and potato. And fish may be substituted with any other lean protein foods including chicken, turkey, cuts of lean red meat, and eggs.

Without fish in the diet you may be lacking in Omega 3 fats. Omega 3 fats can’t be made by the body and it is necessary to help reduce inflammation, thin the blood and protect the body against heart disease. Without fish in the diet it’s a good idea to supplement with fish oil capsules or add a tablespoon of flaxseed oil to your daily diet. Flaxseed oil is one of the few plant foods rich in Omega 3 fats. It’s delicious added to yoghurt at breakfast or used in place of olive oil as a salad dressing. Store it in the fridge and never use it for cooking.

‘Are some oils lower in kilojoules than others?’

All oils are energy rich and have a similar number of kilojoules gram for gram. For weight loss it’s always best to include them in the diet but restrict their intake.

Mono-saturated fats like olive oil and camellia tea oil are overall better for your health and studies have found they metabolise more completely than many other fats which can be stored and converted as fat.

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Cowardly canine

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Question:

Our dog Jazz is a two-and-a-half-year-old Weimeraner x who we picked up from the pound two years ago. She had been mistreated for the first three months of her life then lived at the pound for the next two months before we adopted her. She’s a lovely dog, however, she is constantly edgy and scared — she freezes and shakes when in a confined space such as the car and spends most of her time hiding in her kennel. Once we are walking her she is fine but as soon as we get home she hides again. How can we gain her trust and make her realise she has nothing to be scared of?

— Donna

Answer:

It sounds like poor old Jazz really has some issues of anxiety that are pretty well ingrained in her personality, which is not surprising with her history. If she is hiding even at home, things are pretty bad and she would definitely be a candidate for medical intervention. There are many specific anti-anxiety medications that will not sedate her but help with the imbalance of neurotransmitter chemicals in her brain contributing to her stress. Once her anxiety is being treated you can start some behavioural modification therapy, which will teach her to be calm and have more positive associations with things.

She has learned that she can’t rely on humans and that she needs to fear all unknown things and over time you can help to change this. It will take time and you will need the help of a behaviourist. Positive rewards will be the key and not pushing her beyond what she is comfortable with. They will give you specific exercises with relation to travel, meeting strangers and individual phobias. She will probably always be a reserved and shy dog but I have seen many patients like this make huge improvements so there is hope for your hound!

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Two bad habits of highly effective people

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After dinner drinks

There are two bad habits that are common to many people in today’s fast-paced world: the get-me-going caffeine charger, and the wind-me-down after work — or ‘wine o’clock’ — drinks. We all know that everything is fine when alcohol and coffee are enjoyed in moderation, but if you enjoy one too many of either of these beverages, you’ll be jeopardising your health, your weight-loss goals and your highly effective performance. So if you’re pounding away at the gym and still not shifting the kilos, perhaps you should ask yourself if you have:

  • One too many after-work drinks

If you enjoy a glass or two of wine with dinner or a couple of beers after work on Friday, you’re drinking at a “safe” level. However, if that enjoyment extends to more than a few wines or beers or a “heavy session” every weekend, then you’re heading into the heavy drinking zone. Heavy drinking leads to a range of health and social problems and is more frequent in young and middle age males and women working in highly competitive jobs.Alcohol is also high in kilojoules and frequently consumed with high fat, high kilojoule snacks ( for example, chips, nuts, etc). Plus, drinking alcohol tends to stimulate your appetite and lower your resolve for sticking to those healthy eating goals. This means that you’re far more likely to go for the late night kebab than the sushi on the way home and end up adding a whole lot more kilojoules to your day!

  • One too many caffeine chargers

Caffeine is a drug and acts as a stimulant. It’s found in foods, drinks and medicines, and occurs naturally in plants such as coffee, tea, cacao beans and kola nuts. More than 63 species of plants growing in all parts of the world contain caffeine in their leaves, seeds or fruit.Small quantities of caffeine probably does little harm and can be an effective way to maintain alertness and performance. Most researchers agree that there is little risk when people consume less than 500-600mg (approximately five cups) of coffee per day. Many health professionals advise that sticking to three cups a day is a good guide for adults as a whole.However, a dose of 1000mg or more (10 cups of coffee) will generally cause adverse effects like headaches, insomnia, trembling, rapid heartbeat or irregular heartbeat, ringing in the ears, desire to urinate and heartburn.And unless you like yours short and black, a cuppa with full cream milk and sugar can also pile on the kilojoules. Even if you’re going for a skinny latte with no sugar, you’ll be consuming around 500 kilojoules per hit. That’s 2000 kilojoules added to your day if you enjoy a morning, lunchtime, arvo and evening coffee break.

Alcohol is also high in kilojoules and frequently consumed with high fat, high kilojoule snacks ( for example, chips, nuts, etc). Plus, drinking alcohol tends to stimulate your appetite and lower your resolve for sticking to those healthy eating goals. This means that you’re far more likely to go for the late night kebab than the sushi on the way home and end up adding a whole lot more kilojoules to your day!

Small quantities of caffeine probably does little harm and can be an effective way to maintain alertness and performance. Most researchers agree that there is little risk when people consume less than 500-600mg (approximately five cups) of coffee per day. Many health professionals advise that sticking to three cups a day is a good guide for adults as a whole.

However, a dose of 1000mg or more (10 cups of coffee) will generally cause adverse effects like headaches, insomnia, trembling, rapid heartbeat or irregular heartbeat, ringing in the ears, desire to urinate and heartburn.

And unless you like yours short and black, a cuppa with full cream milk and sugar can also pile on the kilojoules. Even if you’re going for a skinny latte with no sugar, you’ll be consuming around 500 kilojoules per hit. That’s 2000 kilojoules added to your day if you enjoy a morning, lunchtime, arvo and evening coffee break.

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Water works

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Water is really the most essential nutrient. It’s the first thing your body demands in times of starvation. While your body can store certain vitamins and minerals while it maintains carbohydrate, protein and fat deposits, the absence of water soon leads to life-threatening dehydration. So, why do we need water?

The role of water

Around 50-80 percent of our body weight is made up of water required for a whole host of functions including digestion, absorption of nutrients, and elimination of waste products via the kidneys. Even mild dehydration — the equivalent of losing as little as two percent of one’s body weight — can lead to a drop in mental and physical performance. So how to best stay hydrated?

Fluid recommendations

In individual terms, this is quite varied as hydration status differs from person to person. It’s affected by things like your kidney function and how much body water you lose each day, including those sweaty gym sessions. A good personal guide is to keep check on the colour of your urine which should be light or clear and not deep coloured. The official population guidelines set by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), which will be appropriate for the majority of adults, are that an adequate intake of fluids per day is:

Men: 2.6L or around 10 cups

Women: 2.1L or around eight cups

How much of the tally should be water?

For good health, it’s a great aim to drink six cups of water a day. The rest of your daily tally can be made up of caffeine-free beverages. Great choices if you’re watching your weight include soda and sparkling mineral waters, diet soft drinks, tonic water and herbal teas.

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Bone appetit: good nutrition for healthy bones

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Luke Mangan

Almost 50 percent of all Australian adults are not getting the recommended daily intake of calcium and vitamin D needed to maintain healthy bones.

For World Osteoporosis Day 2006 (October 20), Osteoporosis Australia asked celebrity chef Luke Mangan to come up with a couple of quick — and, best of all, delicious — recipes to show how easy it is to increase your daily intake of calcium and vitamin D and prevent osteoporosis and other bone ailments later in life. Tune into Channel 9’s Today show on October 20 to watch Luke cook some of his recipes live on air or make them yourselves with the recipes we give you below.

Osteoporosis facts

Foods containing micronutrients of potential benefit include:

  • Green leafy vegetables: Vitamin K

  • Breads, cereals, meat products, poultry: B vitamins

  • Green vegetables, fruit, fortified cereals: Folic acid

  • Green vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, unrefined grains, fish: Magnesium

  • Seafood, lean red meat, meat products, poultry, whole grain cereals, legumes and pulses: Zinc

Protein itself is a key element of bone and low protein intake has been shown to be detrimental across all age groups, both for the acquisition of bone mass during childhood and adolescence, and for the preservation of bone mass during ageing.

While a simple but varied diet rich in calcium is essential for building and maintaining healthy bones, more than half of all Australian adults are still not getting their recommended daily intake of calcium.

Current statistics indicate that 1 in 2 women and 1 in 3 Australian men over 60 years of age will suffer an osteoporotic fracture.

Learn all about the National Health and Medical Research Council’s new calcium requirements, and find out what else you can do to keep your bones healthy.

Check out the recipes Luke Mangan developed for World Osteoporosis Day:

Luke Mangan’s calcium-rich smoothie

Spinach and ricotta parcels

Vanilla bavarois with poached rhubarb

Apricot ricotta cake

And try these calcium-rich recipes from our archives:

Homemade yogurt

Baked cheese pasta

Low fat tiramisu

Oysters

For more information about World Osteoporosis Day and the benefits of a calcium-rich diet, call Osteoporosis Australia on 1800 242 141 or go to www.osteoporosis.org.au

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