Carrying a few more pounds than you’d like? Feeling bloated and lethargic after the excesses of Christmas and the new year? The flat-stomach eating plan should not only help you to shift the extra weight — up to 12lb (5kg) in a month — but also reset your eating thermostat to a new way of life, and improve how you feel.
There’s no calorie counting or cabbage soup involved; instead, this plan will help you to acquire a taste for foods that are good for you, yet also delicious — as you’ll have realised from my columns, healthy eating is not about deprivation, but balance (olive oil, dark chocolate, cheese, Greek-style yoghurt, Kettle Chips can all be found in my kitchen). Not only will your energy levels improve, but you should find that wind and bloating become a rarity rather than the norm; your nights will no longer be interrupted by indigestion or that heavy-in-the-gut feeling that makes lying down uncomfortable; any fluid retention should also be diminished.
This plan is full of foods that men will enjoy — hearty casseroles, lean red meat, porridge, cooked breakfasts, even puddings. Unlike the Little Black Dress diet we ran in November, this plan includes rice and more bulk — because men are usually able to lose weight more readily than women (their muscle mass is greater and so their metabolic rate tends to be higher). But it is just as suitable for female readers: simply reduce portions, omit the rice and other starches such as potatoes and crispbreads, and instead of porridge have fresh fruit salad or a fresh fruit smoothie. Tweak the diet to get the results you want. These recipes are nourishing enough for children, but make sure you add pasta, rice, potatoes or another starch, and fats so that they get more calories and sustenance. I’ve provided menus for two weeks, but the plan is healthy enough for you to repeat for another couple of weeks — so you’re looking at a month’s healthy eating. (This diet is not suitable for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.)
The weight may not drop off instantly, but after two weeks you should see a difference. There will be times when you’re climbing the walls — not because you’re not eating enough, just less than your body is used to. Take one week at a time. If you want to weigh yourself, do so once a week, at the same time, in the same clothes. It’s about how your body looks in the mirror and how you feel in your clothes — scales don’t tell us much more than we know already. And take body measurements — waist, thighs, calves, upper/lower arms, neck, bust — once a week, same area each time; seeing fewer millimetres can be a great motivation.
Allow yourself, and those who are going to help — partners who cook, secretaries who organise your diary — a day to prepare everything, which is why I suggest you start on Wednesday. Stock up today on the foods in the shopping list (see right), plus plenty of healthy snacks; this list will keep you going until Saturday morning. Make a list of everything you need so you don’t get halfway through a recipe and find that you’re missing an essential item — your brain can feel a little fogged during the first few days of dieting, so plan ahead.
Paring down your social life may help you to stay on track. And you’ll need your evenings to put together the recipes, such as the mango chicken for lunch on Day 2, which you have to prepare the night before. Look ahead through the recipes: in some I’ve doubled up on the quantities so that there’s enough to take to the office, or warm up at home for lunch the next day. Buy containers for taking stuff to work, or keeping it in the fridge or freezer.
DIET RULES
Drink 2.5 litres of water during the course of each day — a glass an hour — tap, bottled, fizzy, hot, cold or infused with herbal tea. You may have to go to the loo every ten minutes or so while your body readjusts to proper hydration, but it’s worth it: water improves digestion, and you’ll feel more energised and be able to concentrate more. Water also helps by swelling the food you eat, stimulating receptors in the brain to acknowledge that you’ve eaten enough. Avoid flavoured fizzy drinks, even so-called fresh organic ones, as these contain more calories than water and won’t hydrate you as well. Skip alcohol — many people give up in January anyway — and reduce tea and coffee intake to just a couple a day.
Snack on fresh fruits — keep a full bowl on your desk, in the kitchen, etc — even banana, mango and pineapple, usually banned on diets; I’ve seen plenty of people shift the weight while still eating these, but don’t exceed four portions a day as fruit can contain a lot of fruit sugar. Unsalted cashews and walnuts are good, too, but a few at a time, not a bag. Raw vegetables — cherry tomatoes, carrots, celery, fennel — are good if you need to eat as soon as you get home from work. Try not to go straight to the fridge — take a shower, make phone calls. Picking at food is often just a habit; if you can distract yourself, the urge goes away.
For lunch and supper have a big portion of fresh vegetables — steamed or lightly boiled — or an easy-to-grab bagged salad. You can even add half an avocado to a salad; because it’s creamy, you need less olive oil (which is fine, by the way, but contains calories, so don’t use more than a dessertspoon per person per salad). The only vegetables to avoid are potatoes (other than the recipes that include sweet potato). Use only a little olive oil or butter with the vegetables, and add lemon juice, fresh herbs, a little sea salt and lots of black pepper to give food extra flavour.
Unless stated, desserts should be fresh fruit, which is no hardship at this time of the year when apples, pears, fresh figs, plums and clementines are so good. Add raspberries, strawberries, mangoes and pineapple for a more exotic twist. A little fromage frais or yoghurt on top is fine.
Make sure that you don’t eat more than your body really needs — serve half what you would normally eat, eat it slowly and then, if you need extra, have it, but stop when you’re full.
In addition, take a couple of remedies: first, milk thistle, 300mg twice a day (it’s a traditional herbal detox remedy) and, secondly, aloe vera juice, 20ml three times a day, leaving half an hour before having anything to eat or drink. Aloe vera is great for the gut and skin. Finally, because your gut has probably had a bit of a hammering lately, take a probiotic bacteria supplement called acidophilus; look for one that has been kept in the fridge — the dose needs to be eight billion (yes!) bacteria, ie, one tablet per day. Follow the instructions on the label. Milk thistle, aloe vera and probiotics are available from good healthfood shops.
