The Biggest Loser Cookbook Part 1

The Biggest Loser Cookbook.

Hamlyn Hamlyn.

Foreword.

Faith Toogood, Biggest Loser diet.i.tian.

Congratulations! Whether you are in the middle of a weight-loss programme or just starting out, you are on track to make a real difference to your life.

Previous winners of the Biggest Loser TV series all talk about how much they hated being seen as a 'big girl' or 'big guy'. They may have disguised it with humour, but other people's negative att.i.tudes hurt. One of the best things about getting down to a healthy weight is that people will see you as yourself, not as 'the fat person' - and that feels special.

The Biggest Loser Weight-Loss Programme is so successful because it is easy to follow and the foods you can choose are delicious and filling. Biggest Losers keep the weight off because they learn how to eat healthily - and exercise - for life. This is not a 'diet' and it is not about denying yourself your favourite foods. This is about making good choices, enjoying food and learning to cook healthy meals without compromising on flavour.

This cookbook has more than a hundred recipes that taste so good you'll never believe they're low calorie, and they're all so simple to make. There are healthy versions of family favourites, such as Steak with herby, healthy chips, and there are some exotic dishes, such as Spicy North African prawns with rice and Moroccan lamb ca.s.serole with apricots. There are desserts, healthy snacks and also a treats allowance so you can still have that gla.s.s of wine or chocolate bar.

There's no counting of calories - we've done it all for you. You can follow a two-week plan with a generous calorie allowance so you don't go hungry, or you can use the recipes to add a bit of spice to your menus if you are already following the Biggest Loser programme online or using one of the previous books.

You won't have to eat healthily for long before you start to feel amazing. You'll soon find you have more energy as the pounds start to drop off and the compliments start flooding in. Your digestion will work more efficiently, your clothes will fit better, and you should feel very proud of your achievement when you weigh yourself each week. We're proud of you!

Set yourself a clear goal at the beginning of your weight-loss journey, or if you have already started, reset your goals if you have lost sight of them. Focus and allow yourself to move forwards.

Enjoy the recipes in this book - and enjoy the new slim you that is about to be revealed!

INTRODUCTION.

Introduction.

It is possible to be overweight because you eat too much healthy food - but in our experience fat people are fat because they eat too much junk. What do we mean by junk? They are foods that are not only high in calories and fat, but also provide few (if any) of the proteins, vitamins and minerals we need for good health.

The first step on any weight-loss programme is to cut right back on these 'empty' calories. That means limiting your intake of: sugar.

sweets and chocolate.

cakes and biscuits.

pastries and pies crisps deep-fried foods.

oily takeaways, such as pizza, fish and chips, burgers and curries ice cream.

desserts with whipped cream and custard alcohol.

Does that sound like your staple diet? If so, you've got some BIG changes to make.

The most important rule on the Biggest Loser Weight-Loss Plan is to eat fresh, healthy foods, and learn how to prepare them yourself.

That way, you can avoid all the fattening additives that are routinely added to shop-bought products. It may take a little time to cook for yourself but the benefits to your health will be enormous. Besides, it's almost always cheaper to make your own food, and if you cook meals for a partner or family you'll be boosting their health as well.

Think you can't cook? You haven't tried our Biggest Loser recipes. They're straightforward and foolproof, with no fancy equipment or mysterious chefs' techniques. If you can boil a kettle and make a cup of coffee, we guarantee you'll manage these recipes just fine.

Now we're not saying that you should sprout wings and become a saint in order to lose weight. If you denied yourself all your favourite foods, your halo would slip before long. That's why we give you a daily 'treats' allowance, so that you can still have a pint with your mates, or a couple of squares of chocolate while watching the TV. What's more, you'll be able to choose your own treats, so long as they fall within your daily allowance (see here for more on this).

There's a two-week menu plan here to get you started, but once you understand the way the Biggest Loser Weight-loss Programme works, you can mix and match the recipes in this book to suit yourself. We want you to get used to eating healthily for life, not just for two weeks - so that you keep your brand new figure and enjoy the new you!

INTRODUCTION.

Our Top 10 Biggest Loser Guidelines.

1 Buy food in as natural a state as you can - fresh fruit and vegetables rather than canned; raw chicken, fish and lean meat, rather than pre-cooked in a sauce. That way, when you cook meals yourself, you'll know exactly what's gone into them.

2 Choose low-fat options whenever there's a choice: skimmed milk, low-fat spread for bread, light mayonnaise, 0% fat yogurt and low-fat creme fraiche. Remove the skin from chicken and cut visible fat off meat before cooking. It makes a huge difference to the calorie content of a meal.

3 Buy a set of scales and measures, and stick to the quant.i.ties given in recipes. It's easy to be over-generous, particularly with the more fattening ingredients, such as cheese and oil, but you will have to be strict if you want to see results on the scales.

4 Buy non-stick pans so you can use minimum quant.i.ties of oil for cooking. Just 1 tablespoon of cooking oil has 120 calories while 1 teaspoon has only 40 - but a 'glug' can have several hundred.

5 Don't be tempted to skip meals. Your blood sugar levels will drop, causing cravings for sweet, stodgy foods that can be hard to resist. And if you keep starving yourself, you could find your metabolism slows down so it gets harder to burn off calories.

6 Remove temptation from your kitchen. If you don't have cakes and biscuits in the cupboard or ice cream in the freezer, you're less likely to succ.u.mb to late-night munchies.

7 Don't cut whole food groups, such as carbs, or you'll make yourself unhealthy in the long run. Try to include some fruit and vegetables, protein, carb and a little fat in every meal.

8 Plan meals and shop in advance so you can be sure you have all the ingredients to hand. The shopping list will help.

9 Write down everything you eat and drink in a food diary. It's a useful nudge to your conscience. You're less likely to gobble the kids' jelly snakes if you have to confess in black and white afterwards!

10 And don't forget your daily treat! It's psychologically important to have a little indulgence to look forward to. See here for tips on choosing your treat.

INTRODUCTION.

How Much Do You Need to Lose?

You may think you know how much weight you should be shedding, even if you've been avoiding the scales since the pounds started to creep on - but in our experience a lot of people badly underestimate their own weight, so you could be in for a shock. Brace yourself!

It's easy to ignore an expanding waistline if you tend to buy loose, stretchy trousers or skirts and team them with baggy s.h.i.+rts.

One tip for keeping an eye on your weight long-term is to wear fitted clothes with snug waistbands, so you get an instant wake-up call when it's a struggle to fasten the top b.u.t.ton.

Doctors recommend that we aim at a weight for our height that gives us a healthy score on the BMI (body ma.s.s index) chart. That's the weight at which your heart will work most efficiently and your risk of getting life-threatening diseases will be lowest. Slipping into the 'obese' or 'morbidly obese' categories may well shorten your life - but getting back to a healthy BMI boosts your chances of living to a ripe old age.

Reading the chart Find your height on the BMI chart. Now run your finger along the horizontal line beside it until you are within the band marked 'healthy'. Follow an intersecting line up to the top of the chart and you'll see the weight you should be in kilos. If you prefer to work in stones and pounds, run your finger down to the bottom of the chart. So, for example, if you are 5 foot 7 inches tall, you'll see in the chart opposite that your weight should be between 56 and 70 kilos (roughly 9 to 11 stone).

Now for the moment of truth...

1 Step on the scales and find out what you weigh.

2 Now calculate the difference between that weight and what you should weigh to have a healthy BMI. That's how much you need to lose. Gulp!

3 Now look at your current weight on the chart. With your finger, follow the vertical line down to the bottom where you will see shaded areas marked with letters of the alphabet. If you are female, look at the upper area. Are you an A, B, C or D? If you are male, look at the lower area and work out if you fall into category B, C or D. These are important, because they will determine the menu plan you will follow to help you shed the excess flab and get yourself right back to a healthy BMI - and a fantastic new figure!

INTRODUCTION.

BMI Chart.

You can also download a PDF of the BMI chart from the web.

INTRODUCTION.

Setting Realistic Targets.

In modern society we're programmed to expect a quick fix for everything, which is why so-called crash diets occasionally top the bestseller lists - until users find out that any initial weight loss is swiftly followed by an even greater weight gain as the body adjusts its internal mechanisms, or until hunger drives you to binge-eat.

This book offers a long-term plan for sustained, healthy weight loss. We recommend that you break down your goals into manageable chunks and give each chunk a deadline. It's a good idea to target forthcoming events. If there's a school reunion coming up, or a wedding, work out how many weeks there are until the date and set your goal accordingly. For example, if it's 10 weeks away, aim to lose 10 kilos or 20 pounds by the big day. Once you've achieved that, set another goal with a new target.

Don't jump on the scales every time you're pa.s.sing. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you might fail to lose weight on a particular day. You might even gain a pound or two. There are all sorts of reasons why this can happen, so don't feel disheartened. If you are following our weight-loss plan carefully, you should lose some weight every week, and that's why we recommend only weighing yourself once a week.

Step on the scales at the same time of day each week, either naked or wearing the same clothing, and jot down the results in a little weight-loss diary. Watching the numbers drop is a good way of staying motivated. Keep wearing fitted clothes during the daytime, and pat yourself on the back as the waistbands get looser. It's always a special moment when you realise you can fit into a whole size smaller than you wore before.

Do it with friends A weight-loss buddy is a great tool for success. If it's your partner, you can take turns to cook meals and discourage each other from walking down the dessert aisle in the supermarket. If it's a friend, you can still get together for exercise sessions and weigh-ins or offer encouragement by phone. Tell friends and relatives that you are on a weight-loss programme and ask them not to tempt you with home baking or gin and tonics. They'll be proud as they see the new, healthier you emerging - and that should make you even more determined to achieve your target weight.

INTRODUCTION.

How the Plan Works.

The meal plans are carefully calculated so that you will have plenty to eat and won't feel hungry but will still lose weight.

If you are following Plan A, which provides 1,500 calories a day, you should prepare the quant.i.ties shown in the recipes and eat just one portion. Those on Plans B, C or D eat the same basic meals as those on Plan A, but they can also have some extras, which are listed underneath each recipe. Plan B has a total of 2,000 calories day, Plan C has a total of 2,500 and Plan D has a total of 3,000.

Those who are heavier are allowed to eat more because they need more calories for their bodies to carry out essential functions, such as breathing and blood circulation. If a 30-stone man tried to follow Plan A, he would feel weak, dizzy and starving, and wouldn't stay the course. As the weight drops off, those on Plan D are promoted to C, then to B, and women should eventually reach Plan A.

Look at the BMI chart to find out the weight at which you will be ready to progress to the next level. As it approaches, you can start to reduce the number of extras you eat so that when the time comes the switch feels effortless.

You don't have to eat your extras at each meal if you're not hungry, but always carry a healthy snack with you so you don't get tempted by junk food between meals. Healthy snacks are listed here, and you can choose your favourites, or the ones that fit in with your lifestyle, so long as you stick to the snack quota for the day shown in the right-hand column of the meal plans.

Note that your snacks allowance is for healthy snacks only. Don't confuse this with the treats allowance, which is quite separate. Treats are naughty but nice. They're good for morale, if not for the waistline.

Your treat allowance * Those on Plan A can have a 100-calorie treat per day.

* Those on Plan B can have a 150-calorie treat per day.

* Those on Plan C can have a 200-calorie treat per day.