The alli Diet Plan: Your Essential Guide to Success with alli

Chapter 2 Your Diet Essentials

Well done for taking the first steps to a healthier, trimmer you. The information in this chapter will help you learn how to eat a healthier diet, both while you are trying to lose weight and in the longer term.

Many people spend years hopping from one diet to another but are still confused about what or how much to eat. Add to this the pressure of modern living, being short of time and the confidence to cook, as well as being surrounded by tempting and readily accessible food, and it’s little wonder we find it so hard not to put on weight. There isn’t a magic solution, but you can take more control by learning more about what and how much to eat and starting to incorporate more activity into your life.

This chapter explains the background to the diet, giving you guidance about the food groups that will be part of your eating plans.

This chapter has several sections:

• The key to weight-loss success outlines the principles of energy balance.

• What can I eat? takes you through the food-group system, explaining the importance of each group and providing you with useful tips for your diet.

• Your diet goal provides a breakdown of the calories and fat that you may have at each meal.

• Your meal blueprints helps you to plan healthy, balanced meals by giving you a clear guide of what to include each mealtime.

• Food and your mind helps you to identity why you eat and provides a few tips to keep you motivated.

The Key to Weight-loss Success

Successful weight loss is about losing weight and keeping it off. To do this you need to understand how to eat and live healthily, not only while you are in your weight-loss phase, but beyond it, too. You also need to understand your own triggers to eating so that you can recognize when you are hungry, and when you are eating just because you are bored. More on this at the end of the chapter, but first some nutrition basics.

The Energy-balance Equation

Food and drink provide us with energy, which is measured in kilocalories, normally shortened to calories, or sometimes in joules and kilojoules. Our bodies use energy in a host of different ways: keeping our bodies ticking over – even digesting food needs calories; for maintenance and growth and the repair of our tissues and organs. We gain weight when we consume more energy (calories) than we use up, so in order to lose weight we need to consume fewer calories or use up more.

The healthiest way to lose weight is to use up more calories as well as consuming fewer. This is because:

• becoming more active is great for your health now and in the long term

• if you only cut down on food you run the risk of cutting out vital vitamins and minerals

• being active releases feel-good hormones, which help sustain your efforts and make you feel better

• you will improve your muscle tone

• studies have found that people who increase their activity as part of a diet maintain their weight-loss success for longer than those who only cut back on calories

• you are likely to lose weight faster.

Chapter 7 provides information on how to incorporate more activity into your daily life.

What Can I Eat?

This diet follows recommended nutrition principles for a healthier diet. That is, it encourages you to eat a balanced diet, eating foods from all the main food groups, control your calories through portion size and reduce fat intake, and also be more active.

This may not sound like rocket science. It isn’t. The diet is designed so that:

1. you achieve effective, gradual weight loss

2. you lose weight by eating ‘normal’, not ‘diet’ foods

3. you learn to take control of your eating by understanding more about foods and nutrition.

Alongside the diet you are encouraged to become more active and also to spend some time looking at the triggers that may make you eat when you are not hungry. Whole books have been written on the motivational side of eating and slimming, and it is not within the scope of this book to provide more than a thumbnail sketch with some practical hints and pointers to help you.

To start off with, you need to look at what a healthy, balanced diet really is so you can begin to make better choices from now on.

What Is a Healthy Balanced Diet?

A healthy, balanced diet contains the right amount and mix of nutrients and energy for your individual needs. Not too much and not too little – a sort of Goldilocks principle.

That sounds all fine and dandy, but who knows exactly how much energy you need or which particular vitamins and minerals you need the most? Few people do, and even then it will vary week by week. So we need a way of showing what this may be for an average healthy person.

There are different ways this can be done. Sometimes a pyramid of food and drink is used, or a basket depicting a range of food groups. The UK model is called the Eatwell Plate and represents the type and amount of different foods that should form part of a healthy diet.

The idea is to show you the relative proportion of food groups you need to eat as part of a healthy diet. There are five groups:

1. Fruit and vegetables

2. Bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and other starchy foods

3. Milk and dairy foods

4. Meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sourced protein

5. Food and drink high in fat and/or sugar

If we all managed to eat these types of foods in suitable portions and were sufficiently active, we’d all have a healthy, balanced diet and be more likely to be a healthy weight. Unfortunately, most of us eat more of one group than another, especially the fatty and sugary foods group, and not enough of the fruit and vegetables group, so we end up with a poorly balanced diet, which can lead to overweight.

Let’s take a closer look at each food group and how it fits into your weight-loss diet.

Fruit and Vegetables

Fruit and vegetables are a really important part of any diet, as they provide a wide range of different vitamins, minerals and important plant substances. Each vegetable and fruit contains different amounts and types of these, so it is best to include as many different fruit and vegetables as you can. Eating a range of differently coloured fruit and vegetables each day is a good way to ensure you have a mixture of these essentials. For example, carrots, sweet potato, mango and pawpaw (orange) are rich in vitamin A, while vegetables such as spinach and cabbage (dark green) provide vitamin K. Tomatoes, strawberries and peppers (red) are particularly rich in vitamin C, as too are orange and yellow citrus fruits.

Fruit and vegetables contain a high proportion of water compared to the amount of calories they provide. This means they have a low energy density, which is good news for dieters, as along with their general bulkiness they are great for filling you up without adding lots of calories or fat (with the exception of avocados).

An often overlooked dietary essential is fibre, which is found in all plant foods. Fibre is the term used for many different compounds, and each has its own beneficial functions in the body. Keeping your bowel habits regular relies on insoluble fibre. Soluble fibre, meanwhile, increases feelings of fullness and also has a positive influence on your blood cholesterol levels.

You should be aiming for at least five portions of fruit and vegetables each day. If you are uncertain as to what a portion is, have a look at Chapter 9 – but don’t forget that juice only counts once a day, and potatoes don’t count as vegetables. Also – to help you see that getting your five a day doesn’t have to be difficult – the menu plans in Chapter 3 all include at least five portions of fruit and vegetables.

Bread, Rice, Potatoes, Pasta and Other Starchy Foods

This category also includes breakfast cereals, oats and other grains. Starchy carbohydrates should be the most important source of calories in your diet. Starches are a type of carbohydrate that provide energy, and it is important to eat a starchy food at every meal, including some wholegrain versions as these give you additional fibre, minerals such as iron and calcium and B vitamins.

Starchy foods, especially those that are wholegrain, can be filling and are much less energy-dense than fat or oil. One gram of carbohydrate provides less than half the calories per gram compared to fats such as butter and oil.

You may have heard of foods with a high or low ‘GI’ or glycaemic index. Foods with a low GI help regulate your blood sugar so you don’t have surges of sugars in your blood after you’ve eaten, followed by a trough that leaves you feeling ravenous. These fluctuations are unhealthy and are thought to reduce the efficiency of the hormone insulin that controls your blood sugar. In the long term this can lead to diabetes. Foods with a high GI cause a sharp rise in your blood sugar, while those with a low GI cause a more gradual rise that is then prolonged. Having foods with a low GI helps you feel fuller for longer.

This diet encourages the use of lower-GI foods, and Chapter 9 provides nutrition and GI information on some commonly eaten foods. You may also find more information on the internet – and look for GI labels on some foods in supermarkets.

This is not a low-carbohydrate diet. Some people have great weight-loss results through cutting out carbohydrates, but for lifelong healthy eating this important food group provides essential nutrients and fibre.

Milk and Dairy Foods

Foods such as milk, yogurt and cheese (or the fortified soya alternatives) are essential for the calcium and vitamin B2 (riboflavin) they supply. Dairy products tend to contain a relatively high percentage of fat and saturated fat, but by choosing reduced-fat versions you will be able to meet your fat targets.

If you choose skimmed or semi-skimmed milk, reduced-fat yogurt and cheese, you will cut back on calories from fat and saturates but not on essential calcium or riboflavin.

You don’t have to use fat-free dairy products when on the diet if you follow the recipes and menu plans, as the diet allows for about 30 per cent of your calories to come from fat. This means you don’t lose out on vitamins A and D, which are important fat-soluble vitamins, found in milk and cheese.

Meat, Fish, Eggs, Beans and Other Non-dairy Sourced Proteins

This group also includes poultry, lentils, soya, tofu and vegetarian alternatives. We need surprisingly little of these foods – just a couple of small portions a day – and as some of these foods can be high in fat it is important to choose them carefully. Meat should be lean, with visible fat removed and skin trimmed from poultry. How these foods are cooked will also influence their fat content, so use fat-free or low-fat cooking methods such as grilling, baking, steaming, poaching and braising.

It is important to include plenty of fish in your diet, at least two portions a week. You can still include one portion of oily fish such as salmon or tuna in your diet by eating a small portion, making sure it fits within your fat target. Oily fish is one of the very few sources of dietary vitamin D, and it also contains omega-3 fatty acids, which have a wide range of health benefits. White fish is naturally low in fat and a great part of any weight-loss diet.

Beans, lentils and peas are low in fat and high in fibre, which makes them ideal for your diet. You will find that you also eat eggs on the diet, probably just one per meal as egg yolk contains fat but is also a source of iron and vitamin A.

Nuts provide healthy unsaturated fats, and small quantities can be used in your diet if you weigh them out. They are a great addition to low-fat breakfast cereals. See Chapter 9 to make sure you only eat quantities that are consistent with your targets.

Food and Drink High in Fat and/or Sugar

These are, for most of us, our favourite foods – but these really are the ones we need the least, nutritionally. These foods include cakes, pastries, fried foods, chocolates, confectionery, biscuits, ice cream, mayonnaises, sauces and dressings. Drinks such as squashes, carbonated sweetened drinks and hot chocolate are high in sugars.

Butter and creams, oils and fat spreads of all types are included in this group because of their fat content. Fat contains more than twice the calories per gram compared with carbohydrates or protein. That is, they are very energy-dense, so by reducing the amount of fat in your diet you will decrease calories fast. However, some oils and vegetable fats contain beneficial unsaturated oils and vitamin E, so can be eaten in small quantities if you carefully measure them out.

The diet doesn’t ban foods high in fat and sugar from your diet, as they do add variety and enjoyment. Banning something only makes it more attractive. There are some considerations you must bear in mind, however.

• Only eat fatty and sugary foods once you have had a balanced meal so are feeling fairly full.

• Ask yourself why you want to eat this food – see Chapter 2 for some help.

• Make sure you know how many calories and grams of fat a portion contains. If it fits in your plan, then stick to the one item.

• Measure or weigh everything.

More on Fats

When you are on the diet you will be focusing on a total number of grams of fat you can eat. However, it is also important to consider what sort of fats you are eating.

Fat is found in many foods, and we tend to classify them into those that are said to be saturated and those that are unsaturated.

Put very simply, saturated fats increase your blood cholesterol levels, which can lead to your arteries becoming blocked. This increases your risk of developing heart disease. Saturated fats are found mostly in animal foods such as butter, ghee, lard, cream, cheese and meat, though certain plant foods such as coconut are also high in saturates.

Unsaturated fats can have a beneficial effect on your blood cholesterol and don’t increase your risk of heart disease. There are many different types of unsaturated fats, from monounsaturates, which are found in olive and rapeseed oils and spreads made from them, to polyunsaturates, which are found in sunflower, nut, seed and fish oils. Omega-3 fatty acids are part of the group of polyunsaturates and are known to be beneficial for heart health as well as having other important health benefits.

Hydrogenated fats (or trans fats) are made when liquid oils are made into solid fats. Trans fats have been found to have a damaging effect on the body. In the UK, food manufacturers have removed almost all hydrogenated fats from foods, and foods must be labelled if they contain them.

Fluids

Having plenty of water in the diet is essential for your metabolism, not just to stop you feeling thirsty. Aim to drink at least 1.5 to 2 litres of water a day (this is about 6–8 glasses). You may include low-calorie flavoured drinks or fruit or herb teas in this. If you drink a lot of tea and coffee you should drink plenty of water as well, as tea and coffee are both slightly diuretic (cause you to excrete more water). Beware of the calories found in juices, smoothies and coffees such as lattes and cappuccinos.

Lastly – A Note on Salt

A healthy diet needn’t contain added salt unless you are very active or have been told to do so by your doctor. Having a diet high in salt increases your risk of high blood pressure and stroke, and by cutting down on salt you are protecting yourself. We should all be aiming to have no more than 6g of salt per day.

Many foods have salt added during manufacture or processing. Ham, bacon, salami and other cured meats are all high in salt, as are smoked fish, hard cheeses, pickles, chutneys, olives, soups and sauces, crisps and savoury snacks. Even foods that don’t taste salty include some, such as bread, breakfast cereals and many baked goods.

The recipes in this book do not contain added salt, and if stock is used it is a reduced-salt variety. Each recipe includes the amount of salt per portion so you can monitor your salt intake. If you do like to add salt to food, add it at the table so not all the family has to have it, and always taste food before adding it. Try to cut down gradually – you can add a little bit less each time and will not notice the difference.

Your Diet Goal

In Chapter 1 you read about how to set your fat and calorie targets, so by now you will have chosen the targets that fit you best.

Planning Your Meals

Based on the healthy, balanced diet model described previously, you can choose whether:

• to follow the suggested meal plans in the book (Chapter 3)

• to use the recipes in Chapter 4 to make up your own daily menus

• to buy ready-made foods that fit your targets with ideas from chapters 6 and 9.

You may of course do a combination of these depending on your circumstances and mood. Whatever you do, write a daily food diary.

The table below is a guide to help you plan your meals. It shows the recommended amount of calories (kcal) and fat for each meal occasion, including one or more snacks.

Your Meal Blueprints

These blueprints provide the basics to help you plan healthy meals.

Breakfast Blueprint

1. A piece of fruit or some vegetables or a glass (250ml maximum) of unsweetened fruit juice or smoothie

2. A starchy food such as bread, rolls or crackers, ideally wholemeal or granary, or a bowl of breakfast cereal, muesli or porridge

3. A low-fat, preferably unsaturated spread to accompany the starchy foods, and/or a teaspoon of jam or marmalade

4. A measured amount of skimmed or semi-skimmed milk to have with your cereal and morning drink

5. A glass of water

6. You may also be able to include some other foods depending on which programme you are following

Have a look at Chapter 9 for fat and calorie guidance.

• A boiled or poached egg or grilled fat-trimmed back bacon with grilled tomato

• A slice or two of lean ham

• A small portion of cheese

• A few almonds or walnuts to add to your cereal

• A low-fat yogurt or probiotic drink

Midday Meal Blueprint

If you have your main meal in the evening then your lunch meal still needs to include a wide range of different foods to maximize the nutrients you get.

1. Include at least one, preferably two or more fruit or vegetables. For example, a mixed salad, a bowl of vegetable soup, an apple/pear/orange or a bowl of carrot and pepper sticks

2. A measured or weighed source of starchy carbohydrate such as bread, potato, pasta, rice etc. If you are buying a sandwich lunch, then have a look at the guide in Chapter 5

3. A source of protein – e.g. lean meat, fish, beans or lentils, an egg, or perhaps a small amount of cheese. Weigh these out so you recognize what a suitable portion looks like

4. A glass of water

5. Are you having any high-fat foods such as spreads or dressings? If you haven’t reached your fat target, and can include them, make sure to measure them out

6. Can you add a low-fat yogurt or fromage frais to provide calcium if you have fat and calories to spare?

Evening Meal Blueprint

You may like to make this a two- or even three-course meal if your fat and calorie targets permit. Whatever the combination of foods you choose, make sure you follow the same guidelines as for lunch.

1. A minimum of one, preferably two portions of vegetables, plain, cooked or as salad

2. A piece of fruit, possibly as a starter or dessert

3. A measured portion of protein-rich food with associated low- or reduced-fat sauces or accompaniments

4. Measured starchy foods such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, brown rice, pasta, polenta, couscous or other grains cooked with minimal fat