Slimmer - and well rounded - Sydney Morning Herald

Egg white omelet. Photo: Paul

Changes to your whole lifestyle and not just your diet is the key to losing weight in a healthy way.

Too many people make the mistake of thinking that eating for weight loss is about not eating. Wrong! It's all about burning more energy, revving up your metabolism and eating the right kind of nutrient-dense foods for your activity level.

The worst way to try to lose body fat is to starve yourself. When you do that, your body fights back by lowering your metabolic rate, burning more muscle and burning less fat. In other words, muscle, not fat, is the first to go.

For weight loss to work effectively, it's important to look at this as a lifestyle, not a diet - a lifestyle that will ultimately help you become leaner, fitter and healthier for the rest of your life.

Salmon burgers. Photo: Paul Cutter

I was overweight as a young kid and the main reason was I ate huge portions of rich, fatty food at mealtimes, lots of junk food in between meals and didn't move much.

Richard Simmons changed my life when I was 10 years old.

I remember being inspired by his aerobics classes and the healthy recipes he made on his TV show.

I made my first egg-white omelet and started showing mum how she could cook healthier food for us.

I was inspired to play sport at school and started riding my bike everywhere instead of catching the bus.

Without realising, I had lost all my excess weight within a year and I felt great. I could move freely and not puff and pant. By eating healthy and exercising, I was so happy and full of energy.

Most of us gain weight for three simple reasons: we eat way too much, we eat the wrong kinds of food and we don't move around enough. Losing weight and being healthy takes working on all three of these aspects.

Eating the right foods, getting regular exercise and making the right lifestyle choices are the key ingredients of staying lean, fit and at a healthy weight. Not to mention lowering the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and high blood pressure.

Egg-white omelet

150g mushrooms, sliced

2 handfuls baby spinach

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Pepper and salt

4 organic egg whites

¼ avocado

Handful rocket leaves

1 lemon

In an ovenproof pan, saute the mushrooms in one teaspoon of olive oil over medium heat until golden. Add spinach and parsley, then season with a little pepper and salt. Beat the egg whites until stiff and pour over mushrooms. Bake in a 220C oven for five minutes until golden and souffle-like. Remove from oven and top with avocado and rocket leaves. Serve immediately with a little lemon juice.

Serves 1

Protein, 28 grams; carbs, 6 grams;

fat 10 grams; kilojoules, 1046. Gluten-free, high protein, low GI.

Summer red fruit salad

500g strawberries, halved

300g cherries

200g raspberries

Zest and juice from 1 orange

1 tbsp honey or substitute sweetener of choice (xylitol, stevia)

Combine all the ingredients and chill. Serve alone or with some natural yoghurt.

Serves 6

Kilojoules, 347; protein,

2.8 grams; fat, 0.4 grams; carbs, 14 grams. Gluten free, low GI.

Tabouli

2 tomatoes, chopped

2 spring onions finely sliced

100g tuna in springwater (or lentils, chickpeas, chopped almonds or grated firm tofu)

1 Lebanese cucumber, chopped

4 tbsp chopped parsley

4 tbsp chopped mint

1 tbsp pumpkin seeds

Juice and zest from ½-1 lemon

1 tbsp cold pressed olive oil or flaxseed oil

black pepper

Combine the tomato, spring onion, tuna, cucumber, parsley, mint, pumpkin seeds, juice, zest and oil. Mix through well and season with plenty of black pepper to taste.

Serves 1

Protein 29 grams; carbs 4 grams; fat 19 grams; kilojoules 1450; Gluten free, high protein, low GI.

Salmon burgers

400g fresh raw skinless and boneless salmon fillet

2 tbsp chopped parsley

1 lemon

A little sea salt and a grind of pepper

1 egg white

Almond meal to coat (optional)

Combine salmon, parsley, lemon zest, salt, pepper and egg white in a food processor. Pulse until combined, then remove and shape into four burgers. Coat in almond meal and rest in the fridge for 15 minutes to help them set. Cook the burgers in a pan over a medium heat with a little olive oil until crisp and cooked through. Serve over green salad or vegies, then drizzle with lemon juice.

Serves 2

Protein, 40.8 grams; fat, 14.2 grams; carbs, 0.4 grams; kilojoules, 1230. Gluten-free, high protein, low GI.

01 Oct, 2011

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