103 Diet Tips for Lifeby

Lorna Willock 1

Lorna Willock

Hi there,

My name is Lorna Willock and I am a fully qualified and practising Dietician and Nutritionist. For many years I have been helping people to lose the extra pounds gained by getting ‘out of balance’ with their appetite and falling into poor dietary habits. During this time I have also been reading and studying all aspects of nutritional health and well being, and keeping abreast of the latest research.

The situation is getting worse: diabetes and obesity are now problems for our younger children as well as the adults.

According to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001 to 2004. About two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight, and almost one-third are obese.

But the solutions to these problems are so simple... we are eating far too many simple carbohydrates and omitting the essential fats from the diet. We also eat too many foods which have been adulterated by the food industry. Our bodies do not recognise these as foodstuffs. Sugar is added to many foods when this is not necessary and increasing our taste for sweet stuff as well as promoting production of insulin the sugar storage hormone.

I have managed to maintain my own weight, give or take a couple of pounds, for over 30 years and do not think this is a result of denial or my ‘lucky’ biochemistry. I was overweight at 19 years old, went on a diet for six weeks, lost the stone I needed to drop and have kept it off ever since.

I now want to pass all I have learned in all these years of education onto you to help you reach your goal of a healthy, slim, vital body. You can

Lorna Willock 2

then stay like this for the rest of your life by following a few simple tips.

Below is my book containing 103 diet tips.

For more information about myself and my qualifications visit my website

www.foods4life.co.uk

Your top over one hundred weight loss tips begin very soon. Try a new tip every day or just a couple per week if you want to take things slowly.

Think about how these tips can best work for you given your lifestyle and environment. We all seem to be so busy these days it can be hard to stand back and see what changes we could make fairly easily.

Watch the pounds fall off as you incorporate these tips into your daily life – making simple changes without any difficulty.

Easily become the more energetic, vital person you have always wanted to be.

Lorna Willock 3

Diet tips for life1. Go ‘cold-turkey’ on sugar hits. Sugar is a highly addictive

substance: the more we have, the more we seem to want. The best

policy is to cut it out of your diet as much as possible, and to watch

for hidden sugars in foods. The September 2008 issue of ‘Zest’

showed that a chilli chicken ready meal contained 14½ tsp of sugar

– scary! These are empty calories and deplete us of our important B

vitamins, which become used up whilst we metabolise these simple

sugars.

1. Cut back on carbohydrates. Soaring

obesity rates have made it startlingly

obvious that the low-fat, high

carbohydrate regime does not work as a

method for losing weight. We need our

essential fats, and it is crucial that we

include them in our diet because we

cannot make them ourselves. There is no

such thing as an 'essential carbohydrate'!

3. Avoid low-fat foods such as low-fat

biscuits. 'Low fat' does not necessarily

translate into 'low calorie'. Foods sold

as being low fat often contain more

sugar than their higher fat version.

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Extra sugar → extra insulin production

→ extra weight laid down as fat.

4. Ensure that a minimum of 40% of your diet is made up fruit and

vegetables. Fruit and vegetables fill you up as they are full of

soluble fibre. They are also a great source of vitamins and minerals,

increasing your vitality. If you’re not a great fan of fruit and

vegetables, soups and smoothies are a good way to incorporate

them into your diet.

5. Have a reasonable intake of ‘good fat’. As a nation we are a bit

‘fat phobic’, but in fact, it is the fats and proteins we eat that fill us

up and slow down stomach emptying, keeping us feeling full for up

to three times as long. A carbohydrate meal can leave the stomach

after just two hours, leaving us feeling hungry again relatively

quickly, while fats take up to six hours

to pass through the stomach.

6. Eat

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fish, particularly oily fish. Fish is a good source of easily-digested

protein, and oily fish is great for supplying our essential omega

3. It keeps us full for a long time and we only need a small

portion to make a meal.

7. Maintain a minimal intake of tea and coffee. There are a couple of

reasons for this. Drinking tea and coffee reduces our blood sugar

and makes us hungry, plus we are too often tempted to eat a cake

or biscuit along with our cuppa. Remember the 1985 advert for

McVitie’s rich tea biscuits, which proclaimed: ‘a drink’s too wet

without one’ (of course, they neglected to mention that the biscuit

did not provide anything pro-health!).

8. Eat a good breakfast. Remember the expression: ‘breakfast like a

king’. It is vitally important to eat a good breakfast. It really does set

you up for the day, and it means that the rest of your meals can be

smaller.

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9. Cut out refined cake,

biscuits and sweets. These

foods give us minimal

nutrition whilst being

nutrient robbers.

8.

10. Stop eating before you feel full. If you eat very quickly you can

easily end up feeling ‘stuffed’, where the contents of your stomach

cannot be digested properly as it is too full to churn them over.

11. Drink very cold water with ice, as your body will burn up a few

calories as it heats up the water.

12. Freeze pieces of fruit and eat them while partially frozen. Grapes

are particularly useful to freeze; it takes far longer to eat them when

they are still partially frozen.

13. Avoid pastry. Pastry is full of saturated fat (or hydrogenated

margarine).

It is extremely high in calories that you can really do without.

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14. Make a big pot of low-calorie soup. A soup made entirely from

low calorie, low G.I. vegetables (not parsnips!) such as tomato,

celery, onion, French beans is filling and will keep you going if it is a

while until your next meal. The soup can be chunky or smooth

depending on your preference.

15. Don’t deep-fry. Apart from the extra calorie issue, sunflower oil

is polyunsaturated and should never be heated as it will then

produce harmful substances that damage our bodies. Deep frying

with a saturated fat such as dripping is safer, but who needs or

wants all that artery clogging fat anyway?

16. Never eat while watching television. Always give the food you

eat 100% of your attention, otherwise you will end up barely

noticing the meals you eat and feeling unsatisfied. TV dinners are a

bad idea nutritionally speaking, and do nothing for the family's

social skills either!

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17. Eat a big salad as a

starter to your meal.

Salads are absolutely

delicious and if eaten first

are digested quickly but

will still fill you up. You will

therefore eat less of the

main dish and still feel

satisfied. Watch the

dressings, however, as

you may be adding too

many calories with fatty

'ranch-type' dressings.

18. If eating potato, go for

sweet potatoes. Mashed

potato has a G.I.

(glycaemic index) of 85,

while table sugar is 59! I

am not suggesting that it is

fine to eat sugar; however,

one needs to be aware how

quickly potatoes raise

blood sugar → high insulin

production → fat (often

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deposited on the

abdomen). My dad grew

his own potatoes and

always put on a few

pounds on his waistline

every summer!

19. Start the day with a

bowl of real porridge.

When I say 'real' porridge I

do not include the

microwaveable varieties;

they are too glycaemic

(causing blood sugar levels

to rise too quickly). Soak

real raw or pinhead oats

overnight and cook through

slowly in the morning while

you wash and dress.

Porridge has a low G.I. and

keeps us feeling full for a

long period of time. Rolled

oats are another option but

have a slightly higher G.I.

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20. Set a weekly or monthly

weight loss goal. Rather than

just wanting to lose weight,

have a goal that is realistic and

that you would be happy with. If

you need to reset your goal, do

so, but have a plan in place.

21. Thicken with cornflour and not a ‘roux’. The traditional sauce

recipe uses a butter and flour mix to thicken but cornflour will do

the same job without the calories. A herb and onion sauce over

vegetables is very tasty.

22. Look at the sugar (and fat) content of boxed breakfast cereals.

There are a multitude of cereals out there selling themselves as

healthy and wholegrain when in

fact they are full of sugars and

often fats. Take a look at the

granola types; is it little wonder

many people love these? You

would be better to make your

own muesli – much cheaper and

you do not need to add all that

extra dried fruit.

23 Keep foods you can’t resist out of the house. If you have a

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serious chocolate biscuit habit, don’t buy them. Why tease yourself

by having them around? Do people buy cigarettes when trying to

give up? Don’t buy them for the kids, either; they will be much

better off with a peanut butter sandwich. If crisps or cashew nuts

are your problem foods, don’t buy them either.

24. Chew your meals thoroughly. We

generally tend to eat rather too quickly, don’t

we? If we chew each mouthful slowly we will eat

less and be much more aware of how much we

have eaten.

25. Keep away from the chip shop. A fish supper can contain

sufficient food value to keep us going all day. Portion sizes are often

huge, with a couple of pieces of fish covered in greasy batter and a

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mountain of chips, all cooked in vast quantities of poor quality oil.

Once you have bought it you may well be tempted to eat it all

despite its daunting size.

26. Eat whole fruits rather than drinking

their juices. If you eat the whole fruit,

you will soon become full due to its fibre

content, while you could drink a very

large quantity of fruit juice without

feeling full at all.

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27. Use a smaller plate and bowl. Psychologically, having a full plate

or bowl at mealtimes keeps us happy. A smaller plate will ensure our

portion size stays fairly small.

28. Watch out for the calories in

wine and beer. Many people put

on weight as a result of what

they are drinking rather than what

they are eating. There is a lot of

sugar in a glass of wine. It

would be better to have a brandy

and soda or, if you are having

wine, make it dry and turn it into

a spritzer by adding the same

volume again of fizzy water.

29. Cut down your wheat intake. Many of us are consuming too

much carbohydrate in the mistaken belief that it is the healthy

option, for example Weetabix for breakfast, a sandwich at lunch and

pasta for our evening meal. Too much wheat can lead to excess

bloating and weight gain as a result of fluid retention.

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30. Shop for food ‘on a full stomach’. If you are hungry when you go

for your weekly shop, your blood sugar levels will be low. This will

tempt you to buy foods that give you a quick lift, such as biscuits.

Make a list, stick to it and always shop after a meal.

31. Avoid reduced-fat cheese spreads. What processes have been

carried out to reduce the fat content? Stick with cottage cheese and

flavour it with fresh herbs, garlic and onion; it can be surprisingly

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tasty.

32. Keep away from ‘fizzy pop’ like

Coke and Irn-Bru. As a nutritionist

there are host of reasons I could

give on why to avoid these drinks.

Apart from the colourings and

flavourings they also contain very

high levels of refined sugar – a whole

34.9 grams in a can of Irn-Bru.

Whatever the advertisers say, that

does not help in building a strong

body.

33. Make your own low-calorie dressings. Whilst we need our good

fats/oils, it can be all too easy to consume a lot of oil without

realising it. I make low-calorie dressings using goats or cows natural

yogurt. Add a little lemon juice or balsamic vinegar, season well,

add fresh herbs, garlic, onion and/or mustard: delicious. This can be

used to moisten home-made coleslaw or Waldorf salad instead of

using mayonnaise.

34. Eat only low G.I. carbohydrates. The glycaemic index (G.I.) is a

system for ranking carbohydrates according to how quickly they are

converted to glucose in the body. Therefore avoid ordinary potatoes,

bread made from wheat flour, white rice and bananas (apologies for

the latter). Keep off the carbs in general, except for the occasional

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time when you need to boost your energy. Go for carbohydrate

foods such as quinoa and brown basmati rice.

35. Always go for the smaller portion. If a meal is already plated up,

take the one that appears smaller. Always ask for a small portion

when given a choice. Some cafes and restaurants will supply a

smaller size, or you could opt for two starters instead of a starter

and a large main course. Just ask!

36. Go 'cold turkey' on chocolate. Chocolate can be very difficult to

cut back on owing to its levels of theobromine, a highly addictive

substance. It is better simply to cut it out altogether. (Sorry!).

37. Avoid diet drinks and

foods containing aspartame. It

has been found in experiments

on mice that the mice who had

aspartame in their water ate

more of the food supplied than

others which had only water.

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Aspartame has also been

linked to such health issues as

headaches and rashes

(WDDTY, Sept 2008)

38. Don’t eat garlic bread. A popular side dish to many meals, garlic

bread's main ingredient is highly glycaemic white bread coated with

butter or margarine. The only wholesome part is the garlic, and this

is likely to be in powder form rather than the fresh article.

39. Watch how many nuts you eat. I am all for nuts being part of a

weight reduction diet as they contain good fats, vitamins and

minerals. However, eating handfuls will cause you to put on weight,

so keep it in check. You can make a few nuts go further by adding a

few to salads, such as a teaspoonful of toasted pine nuts, walnuts in

a Waldorf salad, flaked almonds in a brown rice salad or cashews in

a stir-fry.

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40. Keep off processed meats. These are generally poor grade

products, full of preservatives, salts and other additives as well as

high levels of saturated fats. As we store unwanted chemicals as

fat, such foodstuffs make us more likely to put on weight and to

suffer from fluid retention.

41. Minimise your intake of cream. There are many ‘creamy’ soups

and sauces on the market, which we often eat without appreciating

that we are eating cream. If you have to have some, enjoy some

single cream served with fresh fruit. The creamy desserts you see

on the menu when when you eat out are just calorie bombs and not

good for either your heart or your waistline.

42. Eat plenty of berries and cherries. Great for adding vitality,

these low G.I. fruits are great for keeping us going between meals.

They are also full of antioxidants, which are vital for good health.

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43. Snack on crudités. If you are at a drinks party pre-dinner and

there are lots of fatty dips on the table, steer clear of the dips and

instead snack on the crudités served alongside them such as

carrots, peppers or broccoli florets.

44. Watch out for shop-bought sandwiches. For example, Marks and

Spencer's Oakham Chicken and Pancetta Caesar Sandwich allegedly

contains nearly a third more fat than a Big Mac: almost 45 grams!

(Dispatches, July 2008). Unless you know exactly what is in your

sandwich, you could be consuming an awful lot of extra calories you

had not planned on.

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45. Keep an emergency fruit supply in your car, office or handbag.

When trying to lose weight, you can often find yourself suddenly

hungry. If you have plenty of fruit to hand then you need not suffer

unduly; it will help to keep you going until the next meal.

46. Always have a large glass of water before you drink alcohol.

Alcohol contains quite a lot of calories, so in order to lose weight

you need to watch how much you drink (drinking less is good for

your liver, too). If you drink a glass of water before your glass of

wine, you will already have quenched your thirst and will probably

drink your wine more slowly and enjoy it for longer. Also, as it takes

4 molecules of water to balance out each molecule of alcohol, you

are less likely to suffer from a headache caused by dehydration.

47. Don’t eat very salty foods such as nuts, crisps and bacon. Too

much salt in your diet will cause your body to retain fluid and you

will certainly feel larger. Most nuts can be bought unsalted; it is

simply a matter of retraining your taste buds. Don't eat too many

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as high in energy.

48. Include pulses and beans in your diet. These low-fat, low-calorie

foods contain ‘resistant’ starch. This makes the energy contained in

them slow to release, so you will feel full for longer. There are plenty

of recipes to try out; Rose Elliot has some very good ones. The

internet is also full of great ideas.

49. Use the stairs

rather than lifts or

escalators. Taking lifts

when you have the

option of walking is

never a good idea.

They are often no

quicker, either (an

exception could be the

Empire State Building!)

50. Go to work ‘on an egg’ – organic of course! It has been proven

that a protein breakfast keeps you satisfied for a lot longer than one

that is carbohydrate-based, such as toast and jam or cornflakes.

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51. Keep your serotonin levels high. Serotonin is produced from the

amino acid tryptophan, which is present in certain foods.

Tryptophan levels are high in chicken, tuna and salmon, while

chickpeas and lentils are good vegetarian options. Higher serotonin

levels reduce appetite; is it any wonder that depressed people often

turn to food to try and feel better? Plenty of vitamin B6 is also

essential for the conversion, so those who suffer PMS may benefit

from a B6 supplement. Complex carbohydrates (contained in whole

foods such as brown basmati rice) will keep levels circulating for

longer, whereas refined carbohydrates such as white bread are less

helpful.

52. Wear tight-fitting clothes to ‘bug yourself into action’. In the

days of loose jogging trousers and shell suits, people tended to eat

more. If you wear a garment that is a little tight, you are less likely

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to eat quite as much.

53. Train for a running event. Events are held all over the UK, many

of which are only 5 kilometres (around 3 miles) and can be either

walked or run: a target even a complete beginner can aim for.

Running will also raise your metabolic rate a notch or two, helping

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you to shift that weight fast.

54. Don’t use sweet foods as treats. Too often, sweets and

chocolates are used as rewards, as a thank you, or to bribe or

placate. Remember never to say ‘eat up your greens and then I’ll

give you something nice’. You need to start thinking of lean meat

and vegetables as treats.

55. Use pureed vegetables as a sauce instead of cream. We are

used to using tomatoes for sauces, but most other vegetables can

be used to make delicious sauces without adding fat, such as

carrots with chilli, peas and mint or caramelised onion.

56. Cut back on saturated fats. Fat comes in at 9 calories per gram,

compared to carbohydrate and protein at 4 calories. Whilst we need

our good fats and oils (which, as well as being essential to the body,

keep us fuller for longer), too much saturated fat is never a good

idea.

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57. Put photos of ‘slim you' around the kitchen, such as on the

fridge door. Choose a picture of yourself that you are particularly

fond of. If you don’t have an appropriate picture, get a flattering

current one whittled down using computer software such as

Photoshop.

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58. Don’t buy any food containing more than six ingredients. This

will cut out many of the foods available in the supermarket without

eliminating the staples. If you study the packaging of supermarket

cakes and biscuits you will see that many of them contain a scary

number of ingredients.

59. Poach and steam; don’t fry. These cooking methods are

appropriate for vegetables, many types of fish and eggs. Steaming

as a cooking method will ensure that your vegetables retain all their

vitamins as they are not leached into the cooking water.

60. Eat brown basmati rice. White and even regular brown rice are

fairly glycaemic. Basmati rice is much slower to break down, and

the brown version is slower still. It is great added to salads, stir fries

and soups.

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61. Sprinkle lemon juice and/or balsamic vinegar on salads. Instead

of the usual salad dressings, you can zap up a salad simply by

adding a little chilli and lemon juice. If the salad contains a fat such

as avocado or parmesan shavings, this will slow down stomach

emptying process, keeping you feeling full for longer - plus it will

taste delicious!

62. Never eat ‘synthetic’ food. This may sound like a strange thing

to say, but I am talking about foods that contain a high number of

additives, preservatives,

flavourings, hydrogenated fats and so on. There is a huge industry

manufacturing such ‘foods’, though I would question how many of

these would be eaten by any other species of mammal. Many of

them consist of unidentifiable animal parts minced to a pulp before

being reformed into ‘food’; remember Jamie Oliver and the ‘Turkey

Twizzlers'? We end up laying down fat as our bodies attempt to

protect us from these ‘foods’.

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63. Eat at the table. It is important to be aware of all the food you

eat, and not be distracted by another activity. It is easy to consume

a large quantity of food absentmindedly if you are busy with other

tasks.

64. Cut out crisps. Many of us get through a lot of packets of crisps

and other savoury snack foods. When you heat polyunsaturated oil

such as sunflower, it produces harmful by-products. So do yourself a

favour and give up these little bags of salt, fat and flavourings.

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65. Don’t fixate on ‘dieting’. Almost by default we start a diet and

feel deprived before we have even started. We cannot imagine that

losing pounds could be anything other than complex and DIFFICULT!

It is your mindset that you need to adjust. If you think about

maximising your fitness and energy, what foods do you need to

consume? Not cake, chocolate and pizza, that's for sure! You need

lean protein, lots of fruits, vegetables and wholegrains.

66. Watch out when buying minced meats. A lot of minced meat

products may be high in fat as they are likely to have been minced

from a fattier cut. If buying beef ask for steak mince, or have it

minced from rump steak. Turkey mince is fairly lean and can be

made into burgers instead of buying fattier versions. You can bulk-

make and freeze them to save time later. Adding garlic, onion, herbs

and spices will make them even tastier.

67. Watch your caffeine levels. A high consumption of caffeine

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through coffee or energy drinks such as Red Bull will cause your

blood sugar to rise and you will need more insulin (the blood sugar

reducing, fat storage hormone). One reason for this may be that

caffeine triggers the release of adrenalin, a hormone that releases

stored sugar from the liver.

68. Try eating small meals every few hours. This will help to balance

out your blood sugar levels. If these levels dip too low you will find

yourself getting hungry. Also, eating small amounts often is thought

to boost metabolism. Skipping meals in an effort to lose weight can

slow your metabolism right down, causing you to put on weight.

69. Don’t eat dinner late! I don’t know how many people I have

come across who practically starve themselves all day and then eat

all through the evening. It is important to 'break fast' by having a

morning meal a short while after you wake up. If you miss this meal,

your body (in its infinite wisdom) will respond to what it perceives

as being 'starved' by abruptly slowing down your metabolism. Later

in the day, maybe at around 5 pm, you might start eating and

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continue until bedtime. Does this sound familiar to some of you out

there? As a result you can end up not burning up the calories and

going to bed on a full stomach. Apart from anything else, you won't

sleep as well if you are digesting foodstuff whilst sleeping.

70. Eat a diet high in soluble fibre. However, don't increase your

fibre intake too quickly or you will overload your digestive system.

Some people are sensitive to high fibre levels, so make sure you

introduce it in a planned and gradual way. Soluble fibre, such as the

fibre in porridge, is easier on your bowel than rougher fibres such as

bran. Whilst on a diet you can try extra physillium or linseed tea to

help fill you up - just do it gradually!

71. Always buy jam with a high percentage of fruit. St Dalfour,

Meridian and The Real Organic Food Company all produce jams

containing very high levels of fruit, which are far better for you than

those containing up to 65% sugar.

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72. Cut out ‘ready meals'. These pre-made dinners can contain a

host of horrible additives. When you eat something your body

perceives as a toxin or chemical, it may react by storing it as fat to

keep you safe. Ready meals vary a lot in their quality, and many are

a very poor source of nutrition.

73. Don’t sit down for prolonged periods. If you work in an office,

see if you can go up and down some stairs a few times during the

day, or offer to do any extra jobs that will involve moving around. It

is hard to put fat on a moving object so keep moving. Find jobs

around the house to keep you active in the evenings. Sitting around

watching television does not burn many calories. Being fitter will

reduce your risk of many associated health problems.

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74. Walk or cycle to work if possible. If your workplace is less than

six miles away, there is no reason why cycling there should not to

be quick and easy. It is even possible that it would take less time

than driving or taking public transport (depending on where you

live!). Walking one mile should take around 15 minutes – maybe a

little longer if you are very overweight. See what is possible and

watch the pounds melt off whilst your body gets toned.

75. Have that tasty pudding once every ‘blue moon’. Every now and

then, if you really want to, allow yourself a pudding such as apple

crumble and custard or pecan pie. Start your meal with a low calorie

salad and have that pudding you have been craving. See it for what

it is – a total indulgence - and don’t do it too often. Also, if you make

the same pudding using alternative ingredients such as wholemeal

spelt flour, brown sugar, butter and seeds it will be more

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wholesome.

76. Juice vegetables for extra vitality. Vegetable juices will not pile

on the pounds the way smoothies might. They do not contain nearly

so much sugar as fruit, but are full of vitamins and minerals. This

will give you more energy and you will find you can do more - plus

you will actually feel like doing more as your mood and vitality

improve.

77. Use marinades to make meats taste delicious. People often

claim they are bored with their ‘diet’ foods. To avoid this, use tasty

marinades such as garlic and chilli for your fish and chicken and

give more 'zap' to your meals.

78. Start with a target weight.

When you begin your weight

loss plan, take a note of your

weight and check this against

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your BMI. Work out roughly what

your BMI should be and how

long it may take you to reach

this target. Make it realistic and

do-able.

79. Don’t be pushed into overeating. Some of your friends may say

‘they like you just the way you are’. It can be a threat to them for

you to slim down, or they may just feel jealous as they are unable to

sort out their own health issues. This negativity might be coming

from a partner or husband who may feel vulnerable if you gain

confidence through a 'healthier you'. Stick to your guns and don’t

be badgered into having a cake you neither want nor need.

80. Try to eat as much homemade food as possible. If you made it,

you know what’s in it - simple as that!

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81. Buy a ‘Foreman’ grill. These little beauties are great for cooking

meat and fish such as chicken, tuna and salmon. They quickly sear

the meat, keeping the juices in without adding fat – and the results

are delicious.

82. Don’t eat while walking around. Lots of people can be seen out

on the streets every lunchtime eating their lunches as they walk

around. They are too distracted to actually appreciate what they are

having, and their lunch is often gone before it is truly enjoyed.

83. Freeze fruit juice or smoothies. When the weather is hot and you

feel like having an ice cream: don’t! Have a fruit ice-lolly instead: far

less fat and still delicious. As far as 'whippy' varieties of ice cream

are concerned, they are full of additives. Ice cream, at its best, is

made simply of cream, sugar and eggs: high in calories but much

safer than the weird alternatives.

84. Don’t eat hydrogenated fats. Hydrogenation is the original

process of making margarine, which is produced from a liquid oil.

Sunflower oil should never be heated as this produces toxic by-

products; only saturated fats and oils should be heated as they are

stable compounds.

85. If you are out for something to eat and you are not feeling

hungry then just have a starter or something fairly light. It is not a

good idea to eat more than your body is asking for. Keep in tune

with your body.

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86. Avoid fast-food outlets. I saw a

great quotation the other day:

‘When you see the Golden Arches

you are probably on the road to the

Pearly Gates’. It was by William

Castelli MD, who was presumably

talking about McDonalds. There

have been plenty of exposés on

fast-food chains, such as the film

'Supersize Me'.

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87. Take out a gym membership – and use it! Many people take out

a membership to a gym in the New Year, as part of a health

campaign, and after a couple of months or less they rarely go. So

take out the membership, decide how often you can realistically go

and stick to it. It will take some self-determination but will definitely

be worth it. If you can find a friend or two to come along, you can all

help each other attend.

88. Take a photo of yourself in a tight top or dress. One thing that

often makes

people want to change is seeing themselves in a photo or video. Put

the photo in the front of your wallet as a daily reminder and see

how much it helps motivate you.

89. Drink approximately half a litre of water half an hour before

each of your three main meals. There are a few good reasons for

this practice. Often when you are thirsty, you can end up eating

instead of drinking; drinking plenty of water will put an end to this.

Also, it is important to give your body sufficient fluid to produce

your digestive enzymes, but if you drink with your meal this will

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dilute these much-needed enzymes.

90. Buy a good recipe book and/or use the internet to look for ideas.

We are not all born great cooks. If you have a good, fairly simple

recipe book, this will pave the road to culinary success.

91. If you are having a lazy day, only eat fruit, lean protein,

vegetables or salad. Your body needs protein on a daily basis, but if

you are planning to be fairly inactive you won’t need much

carbohydrate (such as potatoes or bread).

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92. Try whole rye bread open sandwiches (cut thinly). Ring the

changes and have an 'open' sandwich, thereby instantly halving

your intake of bread. Whole rye bread has a lower G.I. than wheat,

so when cut thinly it will not add too much carbohydrate. Pile tons

of salad on top and a few jumbo prawns. Then sprinkle with lemon

juice – delicious!

93. Use thermogenic herbs and spices. These will speed up your

metabolism by raising your core body temperature, and include

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ginger, cinnamon, mustard, paprika and cayenne. It should also be

noted that cinnamon has been used therapeutically to lower blood

sugar and could therefore be helpful to diabetics.

94. Exercise daily. Make a plan to ensure that you are doing some

form of exercise every day. Plan it out on a chart and, if possible, do

a variety of different things such as dancing, going to the gym,

swimming, yoga and walking. Really try to stick to it; you will feel

so energized.

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95. Book yourself into a weight-loss camp. If you have the time and

the money there is no better way to kick start weight loss than

attending a camp. People who have been there are amazed at how

good they feel after only a week. Once your metabolism has been

geared up a few notches, you will find it much easier to carry on

with a plan once you return home.

96. Try a supplement such as Hoodia Gordonii, which acts as an

appetite suppressant. It is a cactus which grows in the Kalahari

Desert in South Africa and has been shown in studies to be very

effective. It is also reputed to be a mood enhancer, promoting

feelings of wellbeing. (Note however that the principle active

ingredient, pregnene glucoside, is similar to glucose in its action but

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is far more concentrated, and therefore this supplement may be

contraindicated for diabetics.)

97. Try to get out into good light and/or sunshine as often as you

can. Many people suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). In

the winter, you can use daylight bulbs around your home for a

mood-enhancing effect. This will help your body to produce

serotonin, which the pineal gland will then transfer to melatonin,

important for regulating sleep cycles. If you have low serotonin

levels then you may well become addicted to carbohydrates such as

bread and potatoes as your body attempts to correct this problem. If

you suffer insomnia and/or depression this may well be a problem

for you.

98. Try not to use artificial sweeteners in tea and coffee (such as

Candarel, or Splenda). These sweeteners all contain aspartame

which, as I mentioned before when discussing diet drinks, will not

make you lose weight. It has been shown that laboratory animals

who were fed aspartame ended up obese. It may be that there is a

mechanism in these chemicals that increases appetite.

99. Often our excess weight is caused by fluid retention, so cut back

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on the foods that tend to trigger this, such as wheat. Watch your

stress levels, too, as stress can make you retain fluid by upsetting

your endocrine system (also bad for upsetting hormones). To relieve

fluid retention, try drinking infusions of gentle diuretic herbs such as

dandelion or chamomile. Many of the de-tox types of tea also

contain diuretic herbs.

100. Use seaweed in cooking. A little seaweed added to soups will

add a little iodine to our diet. Another great food containing both

seaweed, fish and rice is sushi: a favorite training food of tennis

champion Andy Murray. Iodine is the food of the thyroid gland,

which governs metabolism. If you have too little it can make you

feel sluggish.

101. Don’t start a slimming diet on a Monday. It’s often hardest to

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be strict about your eating at the weekends. Birthday parties with

cake, weddings, and dinner parties all tend to be held on Friday or

Saturday nights, leaving your blood sugar levels a little haphazard.

To start a fairly strict weight loss regime on a Monday morning is

asking too much of yourself; getting back to a working week after a

busy weekend is enough to cope with. A Wednesday would be a far

better option.

102. Stuffed vegetables are a good low-calorie light meal. Large

mushrooms, beef tomatoes, courgettes (zucchini) and peppers are a

few examples of vegetables that are easy to stuff. Add extra herbs

for flavour, and season well.

103. Get your children used to a variety of vegetables from an early

age. There are so many different vegetables to choose from, it is

most likely that your child will like some of them. Do not pass on

any preferences from yourself or the rest of the family, and let them

try out everything that you are happy to have. Maybe your child will

Lorna Willock 46

prefer many vegetables raw, such as carrots, peppers and celery.

Keep experimenting.

Disclaimer: These diet tips should have a positive effect on your body’s

physiology. If you have any health problems or are in poor health please consult

your GP before making any dietary changes. In certain instances dietary

change could interfere with or lower one’s needs for medication.

This e book does not provide medical advice

The information and materials on this e book are provided for general information purposes and may not be relied on as a substitute for actual professional medical advice, care or treatment. Nothing in this book may be used for diagnosing or treating any health condition and is not a substitute for professional medical evaluation, diagnosis or treatment. The information provided by this site is not intended to be, and should not be taken as, professional medical advice. You are encouraged to consult your physician or your local health care provider to obtain professional medical advice, which may agree or disagree with the information and materials contained on this site. You should consult your own physician or your local health care provider regarding your own symptoms, medical condition, treatment or medications. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, you should contact your own physician or local health care provider immediately. Do not disregard the medical advice of your physician or local health care provider or delay in seeking medical advice from your physician or local health care provider because of anything you read within this book. The information and materials provided in this e book are not recommended or approved nor disapproved of by the NHS in the UK.

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The materials provided by this e book are provided 'as is' without any warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement of intellectual property. Lorna Willock does not warrant the accuracy and

Lorna Willock 47

completeness of the information and materials provided by this site. Lorna Willock may make changes to the information and materials provided by this site at any time without notice. The information and materials provided by this site may be out of date and Lorna Willock makes no commitment to update the information and materials provided by this site.

In no event shall Lorna Willock be liable for any damages whatsoever, including without limitation, consequential damages and those resulting from lost profits, lost data or business interruption, arising out of the use, inability to use or the resulting use of this e book, or the information and materials provided by this or any linked site, whether based on warranty, contract, tort or any other legal theory and whether or not advised of the possibility of such damages.

The information and materials presented on this site is believe to be accurate, but should not be relied upon by the user for any purpose. Any and all liability for the content or any omissions from this e book, including any inaccuracies, errors or mis-statements is expressly disclaimed. All other damages, direct or indirect, special, incidental, consequential or punitive are hereby excluded to the fullest extent allowed by law, even if Lorna Willock has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Your use of this e book expressly acknowledges your agreement that Lorna Willock is not responsible for the results of your decisions resulting from the use of this e book including your choice to seek or not to seek professional medical advice, care or treatment.

This e book is not a substitute for in-person evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment by your

physician or other local health care provider. Questions concerning your health, medical

condition, treatment or medications should be made in person with your physician or other

health care provider

Lorna Willock 48