By Judy Davie
"Arghhhh why didn't I control myself and eat less?!" is the common cry of many people who peel their winter clothes off to find a few extra kilos that weren't there four months before.
In nature, bears and squirrels stock up with food to provide warmth before tucking themselves away to hibernate for winter. While most of us would like to take a long nap during the colder months as well, our daily demands are no different to any other time of the year. Yet, many of us barely have enough energy to get through the list of "must dos" let alone the list of "need to dos".
If you really need to lose weight, it's not worth putting it off until spring. Our scrumptious soup weight loss diet is designed to give you more energy, keep you feeling warm, nourished and satisfied without too much extra work.
The beauty of soup is that it tastes better the day after making; therefore our diet plan is planned with meals rolled over from one day to the next. There's less work and more taste — a double bonus! Soups are either eaten for lunch or dinner and there are plenty of other simple meals to give you enough variety so you won't get bored.
With exercise thrown in, depending on how much weight you have to lose in the first place, there's no reason why you can't be 4kg down in 4 weeks' time.
Note: Make sure you have plenty of soup containers if you have to take your soup to work or store it in batches in the fridge.
Day one |
Day two |
Day three |
Day four |
Day five |
Day six |
Day seven
Day one
Breakfast
Dried fruit porridge — use low fat or skim milk, and add 1 tbsp LSA.
Morning snack
Sliced carrot and celery sticks
3 tbsp low fat hummus
Lunch
Toasted tuna sandwich: Between 2 slices dense wholegrain bread, spread avocado, fill with baby spinach leaves, sliced tomato, 1 small can tuna in spring water and sprinkle with grated low fat cheese. Put under grill or in sandwich press.
Afternoon snack
1 large green apple
15 raw almonds
Dinner
Wintry lamb and vegetable soup
Note: Eat your soup at least 3 hours before going to bed. If you eat late, reduce your portion size.
Evening snack
Peppermint tea
Day two
Breakfast
2 medium eggs, poached, soft boiled or scrambled
1 slice dense wholegrain toast, 2 slices avocado
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced, and oven roasted for 10-15 minutes
1 mug tea with skim milk, no sugar
Morning snack
1 mandarin
1 tub low fat plain yoghurt, 200g
Lunch
Wintry lamb and vegetable soup from previous night, with 2 rye crisp-breads served with low fat ricotta.
Afternoon snack
¼ cup mixed nuts and dried fruit
Note: Nuts are the perfect snack to ward off low energy levels mid afternoon and keep you feeling full until dinner. Always buy raw nuts.
Dinner
150g grilled salmon, marinated for ½ hr (lemon juice, coriander and garlic, for example)
Steamed broccoli, beans and asparagus
½ cup cooked quinoa
Note: Quinoa is available from health food stores, and is a delicious and is a healthier low GI alternative to rice. Rinse it thoroughly before use and then cook with one part quinoa to 2 parts water. Bring to the boil before reducing the heat to simmer. Cover the pan and cook for 15 minutes.
Evening snack
1 small pear, dry baked and sprinkled with cinnamon
Note: Cinnamon is believed to help speed up the metabolism and lower high blood sugar levels.
Day three
Breakfast
Apple and banana porridge, add 4 prunes
Morning snack
3 rye crisp breads, spread with tahini and topped with sliced tomato and cracked pepper
12 raw almonds, 3 Brazil nuts
Lunch
Toasted sandwich on grain bread, filled with avocado, chicken, salad and low fat grated cheese.
Note: if you are buying from a sandwich bar make sure they don't add butter or margarine.
Afternoon snack
1 skim milk cappuccino
2 full of fruit biscuits
Dinner
Sweet potato and red lentil soup
Green salad
Evening snack
1 tub (200g) low fat plain yoghurt
1 kiwifruit, sliced
Day four
Breakfast
2 slices dense fruit bread, spread with 2 tbsp low fat ricotta cheese
1 mug tea with skim milk, no sugar
Morning snack
15 almonds, 6 cashews and 3 Brazil nuts
Lunch
Sweet potato and red lentil soup from previous night
Small green salad and 1 small wholegrain roll
Afternoon snack
1 large red apple
1 skim milk latte
Dinner
Grilled steak (about 120g each), served with 1 cup steamed pumpkin cubed, steamed broccolini and cauliflower. Top veggies with 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tablespoon toasted almond slivers.
Evening snack
2 scoops plain low fat ice cream, topped with 6 sliced strawberries
Day five
Breakfast
1 small can baked beans, warmed on stove
2 slices sourdough or grain bread, toasted
3 slices avocado, to spread
1 small tomato, sliced
Note: Buy sodium-reduced baked beans to help minimise fluid retention.
Morning snack
1 orange
200g tub plain low fat yoghurt
Lunch
Large salad with a mix of greens, tomato, mixed veggies, and chicken or tuna, egg or beef.
Afternoon snack
1 small pear
20 raw almonds
Dinner
Chicken minestrone
Evening snack
Peppermint tea
Day six
Breakfast
Apple and banana porridge, add 4 prunes
Morning snack
Sliced carrot and celery sticks
3 tbsp low fat hummus
Lunch
Chicken minestrone from previous night
1 slice grain bread, toasted and topped with tahini
Afternoon snack
3 rye crisp-breads, topped with 2 tbsp low fat cottage cheese and 1 small tomato
Skim milk cappuccino
Dinner
1 piece white fish, such as snapper or barramundi, grilled using a small amount of olive oil and finished with a squeeze of lemon and black pepper. Serve with ½ cup cooked quinoa (see previous note), a large green salad and steamed green veggies.
Evening snack
Baked apple, cored and stuffed with 1 tbsp sultanas and chopped walnuts
½ cup natural low fat yoghurt
Note: To bake apples, stuff them with a filling of your choice and wrap in foil. Place them in an ovenproof dish filled with approximately 3cm of water. Place them in a preheated oven for approx 20-25minutes, depending on the size of the apple.
Day seven
Breakfast
2 eggs, scrambled
1 slice dense wholegrain or sourdough bread
Sliced tomato and mushrooms
1 mug tea with skim milk, no sugar
Morning snack
1 skim milk latte
1 mandarin
Lunch
Large green salad with mixed vegetables (eg: tomato, carrots, cucumber, mushrooms), add avocado and 1 small can of salmon, and dress lightly. Serve with 1 small wholegrain roll.
Note: The small soft bones found in canned salmon are an excellent source of calcium and should be eaten with the rest of the meat. To make it more appealing, mash the salmon and bones together and mix with lemon juice, seasoning and a teaspoon of olive oil.
Afternoon snack
20 raw unsalted almonds
1 medium red apple
Dinner
Chicken and vegetable laksa
1 glass red wine
Evening snack
3 squares dark chocolate
Note: There's a big difference in chocolate. White chocolate is pure fat with sugar, milk chocolate has more sugar than dark chocolate, and 70% dark chocolate contains a greater number of heart-strengthening antioxidants and the plant chemical theobromine. Theobromine has a number of health benefits — most recently it was cited as providing relief to asthma sufferers. And for all of you wishing to lose weight with dark chocolate, because of its concentrated taste, you simply can't eat too much of it.
