My name’s Samantha. After 7 years together me and my Fiance Paul are getting married in September, so a big day is upon me. I am currently 12stone 10lbs, I have lost a stone or more myself but I am now at a sticking point and panicking a bit. I have always been a big girl and struggle with comfort eating and portion control when I do eat my meals. So I’m going to try Diet Chef and will be videoing a series of posts for the Diet Chef blog documenting my story.

Video Diary 4… My weight is another 2 1/2 lbs down this week

Video Diary 3… My weight loss news this week, I’ve lost 5lbs

Video Diary 2… My Diet Chef journey continues…

Video Diary 1

My motivation is my wedding but my ultimate goal is to feel happy in my own skin. I have dieted alone and with friends. I have also tried Slimming World, Weightwatchers and the Slim Fast diet. A juice diet, cornflake diet and slimming sprays have all been tried and I failed at them all! Many times. I have always given up if I have had a bad day of making the wrong choices. But I have to say, I found that I was hungry a lot of the time and also found I was having to write and plan/ cook my own days food hard because I would end up not wanting to eat what I had planned and then just eating what I could find.

I start with good intentions and cook all our meals from scratch. My personal problems with food are emotional and comfort based. If I am feeling down or in pain (I currently have a leg injury) I will reach for a glass of Coke or bag of crisps. I then beat myself up for eating badly and it all starts again. I have had this relationship with food since I was about 12. I have never been one for drinking and partying and would much rather indulge in my favourite foods.
I hope some people out there will find this useful and interesting as I share my thoughts and experiences.

Sam x

It can be difficult to curb or change snacking habits as there are many different components involved – sometimes we snack out of hunger, boredom, cravings or just pure habit. Identifying our snacking ways and preparing ourselves is the first step to snacking success. As the saying goes failure to prepare is preparing to fail.

Our Nutritionist, Caron Leckie, shares her 10 simple tips to cut down and resist snack temptations.

1. Identify what – whether you want to cut down on or cut out your snacks you need to know truly what you are snacking on – it’s actually quite common to snack without even realising what or how much we are having. Keeping a food diary can help you identify your snacking reality.

2. Identify where – once you know what your snacks are, you need to consider where you are most likely to snack. Is it in the office? Passing the vending machine? Or at home? When you know where you snack you can focus your efforts on clearing out your snack drawer in the office or the snack cupboard at home.

3. Identify when – then think about when you are most likely to get the urge for something – at night in front of the TV? Late afternoon? Or it might be emotionally related – whenever you’re stressed, lonely, bored or feeling down. Knowing when you snack gives an indication of what may trigger your snacks – is it mid-morning? Are you having a sensible breakfast? Is it when you’ve had a bad day? Your snacks may be more emotion-related than hunger or boredom – when you’ve sussed out your snacking patterns, you’re ready to confront them.

4. Find a healthier alternative – there are always alternatives, if you are craving chocolate try a low calorie chocolate drink or instead of crisps try some popcorn – a healthier option means although you are snacking, it’s guilt-free.

5. Distract yourself – occupy your mind with other things – go for a walk, phone a friend, cleaning/ironing, read a book, take a bath, paint your nails – try a few things and see what takes your mind of those snacks.

6. Avoid tricky situations – prevention is better than cure so if you are tempted at lunchtime when you go to the shop, remove the need to go to the shop with a packed-lunch, take everything into work with you. If you associate having a biscuit with a cup of tea or coffee, cut back on the amounts you are having.

7. Cut the portions – if avoiding the situation doesn’t help you can make anything instantly healthier by cutting the portion sizes – this way you get a little of what you fancy, just in a smaller package.

8. Fill up on fruit and veg – we should be aiming for at least 5 a day so if you feel yourself reaching for a snack, try make it fruits or vegetables packed with nutrients and this will keep your hands and belly full till mealtime.

9. Make small changes – sometimes trying to tackle everything at once can mean we end up with too much on our plate (literally). If you snack in the morning and evening – pick one to start with, or if you like both chocolate and crisps – again just pick one. If you deprive yourself of everything that you like and is habitual, it’s much harder and likely to end in a cycle of deprivation and bingeing.

10. Don’t forget drinks – cutting your snacking is typically aimed at cutting some calories so don’t forget drinks will count too. Whether it’s a fizzy drink, orange juice or the mid- morning caramel latte – they add up so choose a healthier alternative like green tea or water helping to cut your calories and also keep you hydrated as thirst can often be mistaken for hunger leading you to snack.

Spring has arrived and brings with it a new zest and fervour for salads. You can really get creative with flavour combinations when it comes to making salads. Whether it’s a substantial main-meal or a simple side-salad to accompany your Diet Chef dinner, you don’t need to be a culinary whizz in the kitchen. With some tasty leaves and juicy tomatoes as a starter you can trial and test the seasonal best vegetables on offer. It’s good to keep salads interesting, so why not try one new ingredient each time – beetroot, apple, coriander, horseradish, spring onion, balsamic – they all add new flavour dimension.

Our chef Alan has created a simple but tasty salad recipe, which is perfect to try for when you want a day off from Diet Chef and cook for yourself or friends. The Thai dressing can be kept in the fridge for weeks making it a quick and easy addition to the next salad you make.

Curried grilled Mackerel cucumber, spring onion & bean sprouts

Fresh Mackerel and curry flavours go fantastically together and with the peppery, and freshness of this salad it is great combination to the taste buds.

Preparation time 20 minutes/ cooking time 10 minutes

Serves 4

approximately 385calories per serving

Ingredients

8 x60g fillets of mackerel (pin boned)
2 tbspn Pataks madras curry paste
5g chopped fresh coriander
1 tbspn sunflower oil
juice of 1 lime

Method

Firstly take the curry paste, fresh coriander and lime juice and sunflower oil & mix together. Lightly slash the skin of the fish, this will allow the marinade to thoroughly penetrate. Then rub the marinade all over the mackerel fillets and leave to infuse for a couple of hours or even overnight if possible.
When fully marinated place the fillets under a pre-heated hot grill and cook for 4-5 minutes until cooked, leave longer if not cooked.

Serve with the salad and a wedge of fresh lime.

Salad

4 large spring onions sliced thinly at an angle (approx. 80g)
80g fresh bean sprouts
100g peeled and deseeded cucumber (sliced)
5g fresh chopped coriander
15g roughly chopped cashew nuts
40g sliced white or red radish
2 tbspn Thai dressing (see recipe)

This salad is very versatile, any combinations of vegetables can be added, raw red and white cabbage, raw carrots. You can also mix in some sesame seeds, fresh chilli, watercress or some peppery, fragrant baby lettuce leaves. Really whatever you have to hand.

Method

Place all the chopped ingredients into a large bowl, add the dressing just before serving.
Thai dressing serves approx 10 (will keep for ages)
90ml good quality rice wine vinegar
25ml light soya sauce
5g caster sugar

Finally

Place everything into a pan and bring it all to the boil, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Keep in the fridge in a Tupperware tub with tight fitting lid.

Anna and Chris love their food. They are also going on holiday this April.

Put off by the fuss of calorie counting they have never really dieted.

They had heard about Diet Chef and thought they would give it a go.

This is their Diet Chef story so far. . . .

How did you find the first few weeks on Diet Chef? Did you have similar experiences to Anna & Chris? Whether it was giving up your favourite food or adjusting to the portion sizes, why not post a comment and share your experiences. We always love to hear from you, good or bad tell us how you found starting out on Diet Chef.

Reaching your weight loss goal is not only about achieving the body shape you’ve dreamed of, it’s often the life changing boost to your self-esteem and confidence that makes the difference.
Here Diet Chef graduates share how losing weight has changed their lives and what motivated them to lose their weight.

Tara Willson

Age: 45
Height: 5’ 1”
Weight before: 12st 2lb
Weight now: 10st 8lb
Dress Size before: 16/18
Dress size after: 12

Favourite Diet Chef Meals:

Chicken Fricassee and Paella

Tara, from Islington in London, has been with Diet Chef for five months and losing an impressive 21lb has given her confidence to go dating again! My GP had been burning my ears about my weight for ages, as I had high blood pressure and my waist was 44 inches. But I only felt motivated when my mum won an OBE, for her work with a homeless charity called Centre 404, and wanted me to go with her to Buckingham Palace. Not having anything to wear was an issue. That’s all changed now. Being able to fit into size 12 clothes again is fantastic.

And it’s been so easy. Diet Chef is simple to follow, and I don’t feel I’m on a diet as the food is so tasty. Just three minutes in a microwave and you’re done. Brilliant! I love the portion control as it was the one thing I couldn’t get right. I’d cook enough food for two and eat it all, and put on weight. Now I also get the portions right when I go out: I know I don’t need a large pizza – a small one is enough. Diet Chef stopped my sugar craving of at least one bar of chocolate a day. Now if I’m hungry between meals, I’ll have fruit.

And there’s so much variety with Diet Chef dishes that I’m never bored. I leave the meals in the box, and each night I close my eyes and I put my hand in to pick out a surprise dinner! Losing weight gave me confidence to change. I’ve chopped my hair into a chocolate bob (before I was grey and mousy). I’m invited out much more as I’m a happier person to be with, and even tried speed dating. I’d never have done it before. When I arrived in my pencil skirt and top with a plunging neckline, I could feel the whole room turn and look, as if to say: “Wow! Who’s that?” That was a great feeling.
“Losing weight gave me confidence. I’m also invited out much more as I’m a happier person to be with!”

Erin Kurt

Age: 39
Height: 5’ 5”
Weight before: 10st 11lb
Weight after: 9st 2lb
Size before: 16
Size now: 12

Favourite Diet Chef meals:

Chicken Mulligatawny Soup, Sweet Potato & Coconut Soup, Paella

Erin, from Windsor in Berkshire, lost the 21lb she gained during her second pregnancy after being on the Diet Chef plan for two months Diet Chef was perfect for me because it’s so much about eating the right food rather than doing loads of exercise, and after my second son, I don’t have time to work out much. The programme is so easy and that fits in with my lifestyle too: I’m so busy with my parenting consultancy, and of course now I have two children. My business is all about helping mums with stress-free parenting techniques, and I always look for stress-free solutions in life, and that’s what Diet Chef is!

The only thing I worried about was the fact that Diet Chef allowed me to have pasta and rice, which I love. But learning about portion control meant I ate the right amount of carbs without gaining weight. I loved the convenience too – just take your meal out of the box and add a bit of rice and you’re ready.
And everything tastes fresh and natural, whether it’s Paella or Chicken Tikka Masala. Life has changed for the better and that’s really great: I can finally get into the clothes I want to wear and show who I am. That means a lot to me, especially in my work, when I go out and speak to mothers all over the world, and have to present a confident image. I wasn’t shy before, but thanks to Diet Chef I’m really, really in my groove!

“Life has changed for the better and that’s really great. I can finally get into the clothes I want to wear and show who I am”

Simon Green & Gwen Pearson

Gwen, 38 and Simon, 44 both from Milton Keynes decided to do something about their weight when they saw the photos from the Christmas party at Simon’s manufacturing firm. Simon in particular was stunned at his photo “I was shocked about how many chins I had! With New Year approaching, it seemed like the best time to get on a diet and kickstart a healthy lifestyle.”

“I had borderline high blood pressure. But the real wake-up call was when I was admitted to hospital with chest pains. Tests revealed nothing was wrong, but I was still worried. I saw Diet Chef advertised and liked the way it worked – a calorie controlled diet delivered in hampers every month.”

Gwen also thought starting a healthy lifestyle was a good idea. “I knew I could stand to lose a few pounds and as Simon and I tend to share the cooking duties, I thought it was a good time for me to start a diet too.”

The couple spotted an internet advert for Diet Chef and decided it could be the right plan for them. “It sounded like the best solution for us as we both work long hours and don’t really have the time to fuss about with diet food – having everything delivered in our own hampers would leave us more time in the evening for R&R!”

Simon was amazed that he lost six pounds in the first week, “It was incredible! My trousers were already feeling loser and I didn’t even feel like I was on a diet.” Gwen also experienced success by losing three pounds in the same first week, “I was delighted! I was a little sceptical about the diet at first but felt so much more energised”. The pair found the food tasty and delicious and have continued to order the hampers. “We love food and still have not made it through the extensive range on offer, some of my favourites include Chilli Con Carne and Chicken Fricassee,” adds Gwen.

Gwen and Simon have lost over six stone between them. “We feel great! The food is delicious and we’re now jetting away more often with all the money that we’re saving from food shopping!” The couple have also started experimenting in the kitchen, “Diet Chef have a fantastic range of simple and healthy recipes that we like cook together a few times a week, overall it’s a great plan and has made us feel like a team once again!”

]]> http://www.dietchef.co.uk/be-inspired/feed/ 1 http://www.dietchef.co.uk/this-season%e2%80%99s-picks/ http://www.dietchef.co.uk/this-season%e2%80%99s-picks/#comments Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:05:26 +0000 david http://www.dietchef.co.uk/?p=3283

Eating food that’s in-season means eating food at its best, not only it’s tastiest but means you’ll get the optimum nutrients from it.

PEARS:

Oh-so-sweet and super juicy, the comice and conference varieties of pear are high on our list of fruity picks. Not only are they full of fibre, but they also get top marks for their vitamin C and K content. And research by Holland’s Wageningen University linked high consumption of white-fleshed fruit such as pears with a lower stroke risk.

TRY THIS:

Add a diced pear to a handful of rocket, chunks of low-fat feta cheese, pine nuts and a drizzle of olive oil for a heart-healthy salad.

BEETROOT:

This delicious root vegetable contains nitrates, which are thought to help lower blood pressure. A recent study showed that people who drank one glass of beetroot juice a day had significantly lower blood pressure after just 24 hours. Other studies have shown that drinking beetroot juice also helps boost stamina for exercise. Beetroot is also low in calories and fat.

TRY THIS:

For a high-strength liver-cleansing drink, blend the juice of one beetroot with two carrots and a stalk of celery.

PURPLE SPROUTING BROCCOLI:

Add a colourful punch to meals with this beautiful-looking veggie. It’s bursting with
phytochemicals – thought to help protect us from some forms of cancer. It’s also full of iron and contains vitamin C, which aids the absorption of iron.

TRY THIS:

Lightly steam and serve with black pepper and a small knob of butter.

RHUBARB:

Rhubarb is good for fibre and vitamin C and can be used in savoury and sweet dishes. A study carried out by the Scottish Crop Research Institute revealed that baking rhubarb for 20 minutes dramatically increases its levels of anti-cancerous compounds.

TRY THIS:

Dice the stalks and simmer with honey and water for healthy stewed rhubarb. Serve with low-fat natural yoghurt.

APPLES:

They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, so munch on crunchy British apples as one of your 5 a day. A great on-the-go snack, the humble apple is packed with pectin, a soluble fibre with cholesterol-lowering properties. Fresh apples are also loaded with vitamin C, potassium and antioxidants.

TRY THIS:

Fill a cored apple with a handful of raw chopped nuts and bake with a spoonful of honey and sprinkling of cinnamon for a healthy after-dinner treat.

KALE:

One of the green gods of veggies, curly kale is a nutrient powerhouse, crammed with heart-friendly, antioxidants which can protect against cancer, including vitamins K, A, C and E. For those who don’t consume dairy, kale is an excellent source of calcium.

TRY THIS:

Kale is quite sharp, and works best when sautéed with garlic or shallots.

Can you spot the largest portion?

Given that Diet Chef solves most of your portion dilemmas it might seem strange to be blogging about portion control?! Well, getting the right portion is key when it comes to losing weight successfully and keeping it off! Although we’ve done most of it for you this is a quick guide to the little portion snags people can often hit at different point in their diet and most importantly how to tackle them!

For The Beginners

Portion Issue: Hunger
How to Tackle it: If you have just started reducing portions your likely to feel a little hungrier because you will be used to larger portions, your body will adjust to this change however there is an easy way to tackle it in the meantime – How? Eat small portion-controlled snacks throughout the day WHEN YOUR NOT HUNGRY (making sure these are lower calorie options so things like fruit or veg sticks are perfect!). Why? Eating small amounts when you are not hungry will prevent you reaching the point of hunger – If you are hungry you are more likely to make poor choices either in portion sizes or food selection. A happy portion-controlled medium you might say – you don’t want to feel hungry but also don’t stuff yourself full!

For The Inbetweeners

Portion Issue: weight plateau

How to tackle it: Have you ever thought I’m eating everything right but haven’t lost any weight? Portion control might be the last thing you think of as the culprit but everything adds up. The little extras can make a big difference – be mindful of those extras creeping up with you! Here’s some examples;

COFFEE: A daily latte may appear harmless and besides price wise it usually sounds value for money, right? Choosing the bigger ‘large’ over the ‘small’ can add well over an extra day’s worth of calories over just 1 month – that’s over 24,000 kcal in a year (and that’s using the ‘skinny’ milk version).

DRESSINGS: Dressings will vary but generally between 40-60 kcal – serving suggestions are 15ml – that’s one tablespoon! Always try measure this out if you free pour you’ll almost certainly double if not quadruple the calories meaning that good side-salad you prepared with your evening meal now contains more calories than the meal itself!

So how do get around it? If you are buying always order the smallest portion available, ALWAYS and use spoons/visual guides to help if you are adding things yourself.

For Those at Goal Weight

Portion Issue: Maintaining the portion control on your own

How to tackle it: Get smaller plates – I’m always surprised how many people have heard this one and still haven’t got round to doing it yet! Essentially it will help you eat less without really paying much effort or attention to cutting back. Use it for drinks too, smaller wine glasses mean smaller measures and less calories. Simple but effective.

Butternut squash mash

Why not buy a butternut squash, carefully slice straight down the middle, scoop out the seeds and make deep diamond scores, rub a tspn of oil over it and slice fresh garlic and slide into some scores, season with salt and pepper and wrap in tin foil, place into a pre heated oven for 25 minutes or until its soft. When soft scoop out and mash.

Broccoli

When using broccoli, cut of the florets and boil or steam till crisp. Place straight into ice cold water too thoroughly cool, drain and reserve in the fridge. When required stir fry in a little butter and add some roasted almond and salt and pepper.
Do not through away the stalk of broccoli, keep and cut down the middle and slice thinly. Place into boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Place into ice cold water till thoroughly cool. Drain and refrigerate. Add them to stir frys just like other veg.

Some sides

When you have spicy curries, make up a simple riatta, you can make any flavour; I prefer chopped mint, lime juice and grated /diced cucumber added to plain yoghurt and season. This will give a new dimension to curries. Hot and cold work so well together.
When serving rice especially with curries try adding some defrosted frozen peas and chopped fresh coriander for added flavour and texture. It also gives more volume and not a lot more calories.

Oils

When stir frying always use sesame or sunflower oils. Never use olive oil. The olive oil will burn and taint the flavour of the dish. The other oils will boil to a much higher temperature, and sunflower oil will add no flavours to the dish.
Remember when you are cooking at home try and minimize the amount of oil you use. Many people don’t know how many calories are in their oils. On average there is approximately 120 calories per tablespoon. So try and use a little as possible.

White bean, rosemary and garlic mash

Take a can of white beans, drain and empty in to a pan, heat and add minced garlic, finely chopped rosemary and a small splash of olive oil, mash together and add water to get the consistency you require. Season with a little lemon juice and salt if required.

Noodles

When you fancy noodles , but think they are high in calories and you get a tiny portion, add lots of finely cut carrots, bean sprouts, spring onions , chilli and peppers and see how more tasty and interesting they become plus the portion gets much bigger too.

Peas

When cooking frozen peas, place them into a pan, add salt, pepper, a tiny amount of butter and a few tablespoons of water. Place onto a heat and they will cook perfectly, they will taste so buttery and full of flavour. In fact this works really well with sweet corn and any small frozen vegetables.

Dinner Made Easy

Whenever you want a day off from the Diet Chef plan and feel like cooking instead, our brand-new range of meal kits are ideal for helping you create something special. Pots of seasonings, spices and oils are perfectly measured to make it easy for you to prepare delicious, healthy meals – all you need to do is add fresh ingredients. Choose from Madras Curry, Chow Mein, Tikka Curry or Firecracker Sweet & Sour kits, which all come with easy-to follow recipe instructions. It couldn’t be easier!

Identifying our food cravings and keeping them in check can be an important component of weight management. So here are some quick top tips on how to curb those cravings without breaking the diet! Don’t forget to add some comments below if you have any tips to share yourself!

STEP 1. IDENTIFY WHAT, WHERE, WHEN

Chocolate, biscuits, crisps, sweets, ice-cream, toast – the list is almost endless. Whatever your vice, take comfort in the fact we probably all have one! Once you know what your “downfall” is you need to consider patterns – think about when you are most likely to get the urge for something – at night in front of the TV or late afternoon passing the vending machine? Also consider where? Is it at home? Or in the office? Or it might be emotionally related – whenever you’re stressed, lonely, bored, feeling down.

STEP 2. BE PREPARED

When you know your pitfalls you can be prepared for them!

There are 4 key tips to help (a) find an alternative (b) distract yourself (c) avoid the situation (d) or eat something healthier first

(a) There are always alternatives, if you are craving chocolate or crisps look for a healthier alternative – try a low calorie hot chocolate or a lower calorie packet of crisps. Remember it’s about the calories so the odd bar of chocolate within your calorie allowance doesn’t spell disaster just avoid making it a habit! I’ve put some food swaps at the bottom to help get you started!

(b) Occupy your mind with other things – go for a walk, phone a friend, cleaning/ironing, read a book, take a bath, try a few things and see what works best for you. It goes with the old saying ‘The devil makes work for idle hands!’

(c) Prevention is better than cure they say! Avoiding the situation – so if you are tempted at lunchtime when you go to the shop avoid needing to go to the shop, take everything into work with you. If you associate having a biscuit with a cup of tea or coffee avoid drinking it or cut back on the amounts your having.

(d) There is a flip-side to avoiding your vices completely – some people may find by totally eradicating what they crave for most makes it worse. In this situation it can help to make sure if you’ve decided to have something your craving like some chocolate make sure you have something healthier first that will fill you up a little – you’ll often find that will either reduce the amount you eat or you may even decide to go without it.

CRAVING SWAPS

Chocolate – Low calorie Hot Chocolate Drink
Ice-cream – Sorbets or frozen yogurt (be careful of the sugar content in these – read the labels!)
Crisps – Popcorn (again read the labels not all are lower in calories)
Takeaway’s – Do It Yourself or follow the Diet Chef’s eating out guide to order wisely