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Annie tipped the scales at 89kg: now 71kg

Diet Club

When Annie Bristol — a 36-year-old registered nurse and mother-of-three from Springfield, near Brisbane, Qld — tipped the scales at 89kg, she knew she had to do something about it.

“I remember thinking that the only time I’d been this heavy was when I was pregnant with my twins, who are now four, Thomas and Sarah,” she recalls. “I stacked on weight during that pregnancy and found it very difficult to lose afterwards.

“Then when I was pregnant with my third child, Matthew, now one, my husband and I separated, so I ate lots of comfort food — things like cheese, creamy pastas, garlic bread, or nachos with sour cream.

“Anyway, when I realised I was up to 89kg, I started exercising but didn’t really change anything regarding food. Then I read about Betalife, and started with them in January this year.

“My whole mind-set has changed. Now I’m eating to live, not living to eat. I try to eat foods still in their natural state, rather than processed. I never liked salads, but now I eat heaps. So it’s been a big change of eating habits.

“I’ve also started walking a lot more — to kindy to pick-up the kids, to the shops to get milk. And I’ve bought a treadmill, so when the kids go to bed at 8pm, I’ll go onto the treadmill for 40 minutes. And I’m playing netball twice a week too.

“Now, I feel fabulous and it’s good to go shopping for size 12 jeans … I was getting really close to those 18s at one stage!”

Annie’s vital statistics

Weight before: 89kg.

Weight after: 71kg.

Total weight loss: 18kg.

Clothing size was: 16.

Clothing size is now: 12.

Annie’s hot diet tip

“I cut down on processed foods and ate salads, vegetables and fruit as much as possible. I guess my motto is: if it’s white (things like bread, potato, pasta), avoid it or eat it occasionally.”

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Does coffee make you fat?

Cup of coffee

It may not be what you eat but what you drink that’s making you fat. I had a client who recently told me that she couldn’t understand why she wasn’t losing weight. A food diary audit revealed that she consumed 2980kj a day in coffees alone. That equates to more than half the average recommended energy allowance for weight loss.

While most of us know that soft drinks and alcohol are full of sugar and empty kilojoules, many don’t realise that coffee (even if made with low-fat milk) may also be the cause of their inability to lose weight.

Coffee is an institution in Australia. Coffee is no longer a mug of instant grains with hot water and a splash of milk. In some circles it’s as revered as wine, with the same amount of snobbery attached to the brand of bean as there is to a type of grape.

Business deals, blind dates, make-ups and break-ups, hanging out with friends — all this takes place with coffee as the mediator. For some, until they get their first caffeine hit, the brain refuses to function.

Our Italian immigrants are responsible for Australia’s café society and thanks to them many of us now won’t even consider a chemically altered instant brew. It’s enjoyed by many, including myself, but if you’re trying to lose weight you must consider how much you’re drinking.

Coffee chains everywhere offer various cup sizes, milk options and added flavours. These days it’s not uncommon to see people walking around with vessels more reminiscent of a bucket than a cup.

While the Italians might drink a short black espresso at the start of the day, our global exploitation of this zero kilojoule heart-starter is a large or extra large latte or cappuccino.

Even without sugar it adds up, as the below shows, and while many people substitute a huge coffee for a meal, it is no substitute for a healthy life (or healthy weight loss).

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Hazel eyes

Question:

I have hazel eyes, brown hair and a warm skin tone. What eyeshadow would compliment my eyes for the day and evening?

Thank you,

Serena Beke

Answer:

You could wear just about any colour. But the lovely greens that are around would really bring out the colour of your eyes. Mix them up with taupe browns and soft pinks. It really is a great colour combination.

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I slept with my boyfriend’s best friend

It was just another beautiful weekend; waking up beside my man of a year-and-a-half — except something was different now. Every morning that I woke up with him from this day on would now be a lie. I had done the worst thing.

Tom and I met through a mutual friend and we hit it off straight away. He was the sexiest guy I had ever met (complete with washboard abs) and he made me laugh so much that my stomach hurt. It wasn’t long before we were going out and I was staying at his house most nights. I would buy the food and clean the house while he was at work, and try and entertain myself until he got home. But trying to do that now was not an option. I couldn’t even look in his beautiful eyes because I knew he would see right through me. I am a hopeless liar and he knows it.

My problem with Tom began with insecurity. I had no trust in Tom at all and it didn’t help that whispers of cheating and random girls were always in my ears. In fact, Tom’s best friend Matt had told me that he seen Tom with another woman and that Tom had sent him a text message to brag about it. I would cry myself to sleep beside Tom but I stayed with him any way — I loved him. Things began to get difficult as I would spy on Tom, check his phone and ask 20 questions when he came home late. I guess you could say I had it coming but I turned the tables.

One particular night, I was out with Matt driving around. I had just had a big fight with Tom (because of him allegedly cheating on me) and was feeling that payback would suffice and teach him a lesson. I asked Matt to pull over the car and before I knew it, we were having sex in the back of it! We both swore not to say a word about it because we both would have so much to lose.

Of course, afterwards when I saw Tom I realised how much I loved him. I have been trying my hardest to act normal and pretend things are okay but Tom isn’t stupid and is always trying to coax it out of me. One day I will crack and confess it to him … one day when I’m ready to face the consequences.

My own stupid insecurity led to me deceiving an honest man and I know, like karma suggests, that eventually I will pay for it.

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I made my ex pay!

Three weeks after our engagement party I saw my fiancé Tessa in the arms of another man outside her work. I had planned to surprise her for lunch. When I pulled up I saw her talking to a well-built man with blonde hair and sunglasses on. A few seconds later I realised it was her ex-boyfriend Mark. I was about to beep the horn to get her attention but before I knew it she was kissing him passionately and snuggling into his neck. Needless to say I was in shock and I even hid as they walked over to his car hand in hand and drove away.

I drove to a park and sat in the car in silence for about an hour, not even thinking. I couldn’t feel or comprehend anything. After what seemed like forever, I started to feel more anger than I had in my entire life. I felt betrayed and humiliated. I thought about the home we had shared for the past two years and her constant questions about my own ex, how she would accuse me of still being in love with her when I hadn’t thought of or felt anything for anyone else but her since we’d met. I thought about the day I proposed and how happy she appeared to be, then I visualised them kissing and hugging in the open for anyone to see. I wanted her to pay for it.

That afternoon I devised a plan as I drove to my parent’s house (they happened to be out of town for the weekend). I rang our home number and left a message that I was staying at Mum and Dad’s for the night because one of the dogs was sick and I wanted to keep an eye on it. I tried to sound as normal as possible. Later she rang and left a message, saying how much she would miss me and that she’d see me after she finished work tomorrow. That was the first time since I realised we were over that I cried and I didn’t stop for hours.

I knew Tessa’s schedule like the back of my hand and I quietly let myself in the front door of our home at 8.10am the next morning. Sure enough, she was in the shower. She always took her engagement ring off and placed it back in the box whenever she showered. I had noticed that she left the box in different spots most mornings and I had said more than once that she should be more careful whenever she’d looked puzzled as to where she’d left it that morning. I found the box on her dresser, picked it up and left as quietly as I had come in. She had no clue I had even been home. I went to the jeweller I bought the ring from, told the sad story that my offer of marriage had not been accepted and because I looked like a man destroyed, the manager took the ring and receipt I had kept in my wallet and agreed to return the $5230 to my account without much hassle.

After that, I went home and packed my bags. I was waiting for Tessa when she walked through the front door and said that I saw her with Mark a few hours ago, taking a chance that they had indeed been together that day as well. I was right. She broke down and told the story of the last few months during which she and Mark had “found each other” again. I said I was leaving and demanded the ring back, knowing full well she didn’t have it. She burst into tears, saying she had lost it and had spent ages looking for it that morning before work. I screamed that it had cost over $5000. She was hysterical and begged me to stay and for my forgiveness. I said I was leaving and that I had better have my ring back by the end of the week or I would sue her and the whole town would know about her “tarting around”. I could still hear her sobs as I pulled my car away and left.

At the end of that week she went to my parents’ house and gave my mum an envelope to give to me. Inside was a cheque for $5230 and a long letter from her apologising and explaining that it was completely over with her and Mark and that she had used her wedding dress money and savings to pay me back. She asked for forgiveness and a second chance. I screwed up the letter and used the money (more than $10,000 in total) to start my life over. I have never looked back.

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My weight loss secret

Diet Club

I have lost 15kg in the last nine months since giving birth to my second child. The only real change I made to my diet was to stop eating bread and look for other alternatives such as wholemeal pita bread, rye crispbreads, etc. Before it was too easy for me to grab two pieces of bread, throw in a cheese slice and have a quick snack and/or lunch. Now that I am avoiding bread I find myself making the effort to add some salad and tuna or chicken. Good luck — it worked for me, I hope it works for someone else too.

Amy Gledstone

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Losing weight: what am I doing wrong?

Diet Club

I find myself asking more often than not, what am I doing wrong? We are told to cut out fat, exercise, walk, eat vegetables. Well, I have weighed 135kg since I had my first son. I lived in an area then that was populated with fast food outlets and I admit that when I went to a bakery, I would make up a name for who the other cream bun was for. I have now lived in a rural area for two years and I believe I eat healthily. Healthier than most of the people I associate with. This is what raises my doubts.

I have lost 16 inches off my body and instead of being a size 26-28, I am now a size 18-22. However, I still weigh 135kg. I have tried many different scales and it’s so disheartening to hear people complain about weighing 100kg when I can’t crack 120kg. I don’t believe there is anything that you can tell me that I don’t already know or don’t already do. Get off my butt and eat right, you may say? Done it and am doing it.

How much of a woman’s body is predisposed by genetics? By saying this I am not giving up or finding an excuse as I am much too young for the fashion of ‘larger woman’. I have now decided that my last hope is to join a sporting team despite my EE-size breasts. Hopefully, that will crack the code of the everlasting 130+kg scales.

Belinda

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How Drew Barrymore dropped 10 kilos

Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore has always had a curvy figure, but since turning 30 last February and adopting a healthy new diet and exercise regimen, she’s looking more lean, fit and radiant than ever before. Drew says she only noticed she’d gained 9.6 kilos last year when she struggled to fit into her trousers. “I was a lot heavier and didn’t notice the change — except when I found my old pants!”

The Charlie’s Angels star admits she was paranoid about her size, but shunned Hollywood’s faddy diets in favour of regular exercise and sensible eating. “I didn’t exercise before, but ever since I started, my body has really changed,” Drew says. “So it turns out those people who say exercise is good for you are right. I hate that!”

Now, instead of partying late and then lying in, Drew jogs in the mornings. “I picked up running as I needed an outlet,” she explains. “It has made my life better.”

The resilient star also enjoys going for long strolls and bike rides. She varies her routine with dancing, swimming and even crazy golf. “It doesn’t matter how you raise a sweat,” she says, “so long as you have fun doing it!”

The twice-married actress has to work at maintaining her svelte body — at 164cm, every kilo she puts on is noticed — but Drew is modest about her slim figure. “I’m like a corgi — I have very short legs. I know I’m not ugly, but I don’t think I’m pretty. I hate my arms, they’re like sacks,” she laments.

To look and feel her best, Drew combines regular exercise with a balanced diet. She drinks plenty of water and takes vitamin C tablets to keep her skin healthy.

“Two years ago, I was a full vegetarian, living on carbs,” she says. “Now I eat more protein. If I want that pasta, I’m gonna have it though! I don’t eat a ton of meat, but if my body needs some, then I’ll eat it. When I don’t feel good about myself, I’ll eat healthier or eat a little less.”

Drew has three meals a day, consisting mainly of organic fruit and veg, and she snacks on sugar-free jelly when she needs a sweet fix. “I want to eat what I want. I think, ‘I ran today, I can have the fettuccine Alfredo’. You heard me — cream and carb!” she laughs.

But the actress’s big secret is simple — be happy! “Psychology is like a layer of skin, it shows as much in your eyes, smile and physicality.”

We really like her attitude — and we’re loving the results!

Daily diet

Breakfast

Fresh organic fruit salad

Or

Brown toast spread thinly with peanut butter

Snacks

Sugar-free jelly

Lunch

Grilled chicken, jacket potato and salad

Or

Green vegetable salad

Drinks

Eight glasses of water a day

Dinner

Grilled turkey fillet with rice, tomato and mixed peppers

Or

A small serving of pasta with a light sauce

Drew’s exercise plan

Sessions per week

Five 45-minute workouts

Suggested exercise

  • 45 minutes outdoor running

  • 45 minutes fast walking

  • 45 minutes cycling

  • 45 minutes swimming or dancing

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Not eating properly: a very common complaint

Judy Davie

“I spend my days running around looking after the kids. At night I’m so tired, I don’t even sit down to a proper meal. I really need to lose some weight — can you help?”

This is a very common complaint. For many mums who spend their days looking after the family, it’s usually the unconscious eating that creates the problem.

Do you pick at food when preparing and clearing up meals for the family?

For example:

½ piece toast with peanut butter

¼ cup orange juice

5 chips

½ mini chicken drumstick

2 small jelly lollies

1 small (4cm) piece banana cake

1 small piece cheese

1 small piece roast pumpkin

1 small roast potato

1 tablespoon ice cream

= 1900kj

It’s so easy to unconsciously pick from plates but each time you do, the kilojoules add up, as the above list shows.

That spare piece of toast, the dregs of orange juice at breakfast, a corner of banana cake mid-morning, a few chips, the remaining chicken drumstick at lunch, a couple of lollies, a small piece of cheese, a couple of jelly lollies and on and on it goes until after dinner, when you’re clearing the plates.

It’s time to stack the dishwasher so it’s just as easy to pop the leftover roast potato and pumpkin into your mouth rather than throw it in the bin and lick the ice cream spoon rather than rinse it.

At the end of the day you’ve added 1900kj to your daily energy intake but “haven’t eaten a thing”!

Over a week this amounts to an unnecessary 13,300kj.

What people don’t realise either is the quick “no meal” cheese on toast with a well-deserved glass of wine, cup of tea and a biscuit is higher in energy and kilojoules than sitting down to a proper meal. You can whip it up in minutes but you’re also whipping up over 2000kj and next to no fibre.

A grilled steak with steamed broccoli, carrot and an apple will give you seven times more fibre and numerous nutrients for 900kj less.

One kilogram represents approximately 32,000kj of energy from food. If you are managing to maintain a steady weight but want to lose some, to lose a healthy average of 500g a week you have to create a deficit of 16000kj worth of food in the week.

Type of eating in kilojoules

Unconscious eating: 13,300

Quick evening meals: 6300

Total: 19,600

Over the week, you’ve added an extra 19,600kj — 3600kj more than you needed to lose weight. The bottom line is stop picking and make time to sit down to a good meal at the end of the day.

Diet advice for the day

If the garbage bin is stowed away under the sink, take it out ready to receive any leftovers immediately after the dinner plates are cleared. It will reduce the temptation to eat them off the plate.

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

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The carb-addict’s diet

Courteney Cox