By Judy Davie
Sometimes sticking to a diet is just too hard if every meal from breakfast through to dinner is itemised.
If you want to lose weight but still have a bit of freedom with what you eat, following this one simple rule is an effective way to help you shed those kilos:
Nothing white... except for cauliflower and low-fat dairy.
Banned white foods
Potatoes
Who would have thought there was anything wrong with potatoes? But look what we do to them. It's common knowledge that deep-fried chips and potato snacks are no friend of any weight watcher, but did you know that the baked potato is out too? They have an extremely high GI, tend to be very big and once they're opened it's far too tempting to smother them in butter and full-fat cheese.
Rice
It may be the staple of most third world countries, but they don't have a great deal of choice and their population could never be accused of overeating. White rice, like big baked potatoes, also has a very high GI and little if any nutritious value. That's why when you eat a bowl of white rice and veggies, you feel hungry soon after.
Pasta
Technically, white pasta is not that bad. It has a low GI and will fill you up for longer than rice or potatoes, but the problem is how much you eat and what you eat it with. The Italians will lash on the olive oil so the pasta slides around in an oily pool, ready to receive a pile of parmesan on top. We like our energy-rich creamy pasta sauces and, let's face it, how often do we stick to the entrée size? The safest solution is to say no altogether (but not forever)!
Bread
Calm down — it's not all bread! There are plenty of other types of bread you can eat... just don't eat too much of it.
The types of bread you can't eat include: Turkish bread, baguettes, white sandwich loaf, white dinner rolls, high fibre white bread, white tortillas and Lebanese wraps, bagels, muffins and croissants.
Recite the mantra over and over: "Doughy food makes me doughy!"
White flour
Remembering your mantra, "Doughy food makes me doughy!", you must also strike off anything made with white flour. That includes cakes, biscuits, pies and crumpets.
Whole wheat is OK and, believe me, if it's made with whole wheat, the manufacturer will let you know.
White sugar
You'll have to use your common sense here or play the food detective because sugar is in loads of things and it's not always that obvious. The easiest place to start is by not adding it to your tea and coffee. Head into your pantry and make a mental note not to eat anything with sucrose listed in the ingredients, and cut out all soft drinks and alcohol.
The two white exceptions
Cauliflower
It seldom gets a write-up, but it's worth mentioning all the reasons why you should include it in your "nearly nothing white" diet.
Cauliflower is an excellent source of vitamin C, folate and fibre. It contains plant chemicals called indoles, which scientists have found offer protection against cancer. And, of course, it has very few kilojoules: Compared to potatoes at 278kj per 100g, cauliflower only has 96kj per 100g.
If you love mashed potatoes, why not try mashed cauliflower instead? It looks similar, provides an excellent creamy base for grilled steak or lamb at a fraction of the energy and GI of mashed potatoes.
Low fat dairy
1-in-2 women and 1-in-3 men over the age of 60 will suffer from a bone fracture due to osteoporosis. 10% of Australians already suffer from this preventable disease. It occurs when bones lose the mineral calcium at a greater rate than what the body can obtain from dietary sources.
Weight-bearing exercise is one way to help prevent the condition but it's also important to obtain sufficient calcium from dietary sources. Dairy foods or calcium-fortified dairy alternatives are the richest source of this valuable mineral.
Low-fat and skim milk, low fat natural yoghurt, cottage cheese and ricotta have less fat and kilojoules than full-fat dairy. These foods will help you make up your recommended daily calcium requirements: 1000mg for women aged 31-50, and 1300mg for women aged 50+.
