This eating programme is graduated downwards, getting stricter as it continues...1500 calories a day for the first eight weeks, 1200 calories for the next eleven weeks and 1000 calories, as low as nutritionists recommend for extended periods, for the last five. This will help keep weight loss steady, energy and spirits up, frustation down. Plateau phases are avoided by reducing food intake as the diet progresses, Where you start depends on how much you have to lose...
Start right at the beginning, week one, if you have more than 12.5kg (28lb) to lose, week eight if you have between 9 and 12.5kg (20-28lb), week 12 if you have between 6.5 and 9kg (14-20lb), week 16 if you have between 3.5 and 6.5kg (8-14lb) and week 20 if you have 3.5kg (8lb)or less.Starting earlier rather than later will make for more lasting differences in weight, shape, eating habits. So allow plenty of time. If you reach your goal before the end of the programme, gradually increase intake to keep weight stable by repeating two of the early (1500-calorie) weeks before stopping the diet altogether.
Resolve now to follow the diet as closely as you can. Buy fruit, vegetables, fish and meat as fresh as possible, find shops that sell wholewheat bread and wholewheat pasta (not difficult - most supermarkets now stock them as well as health food stores) and take the trouble to follow the recipes where given.
The programme has been devised in line with the most recent research findings and recomendations. It is healthy as well as refined carbohydrates and fat, moderate in protein and high in fresh fruit and vegetables, often raw for maximum nutritional value. Sugar is kept to a minimum. Salt should be kept down.
Once familiar with the diet, you will find it very flexible. Breakfast and light meals are coded according to calorific value and listed on the following pages, so as to give as wide a choice as possible. Main meals are given each day and are specially planned, week by week, to include at least one vegetarian, one fish and one iron-rich meal, some poultry and red meat. Red meat, although rich in minerals such as zinc, is limited to just once or twice a week because the latest studies advise moderation of all animal fats.
Lists of vegetables are given beneath each of the main meals. Where the meal contains rice, pastry, pulses, potato or pasta (as in lasagne), or where these are listed separately (as in vegetable curry and rice), choose just one, otherwise, choose three (preferably one of them potato if listed). Green and mixed salads of lemon and mustard, lemon and tarragon, cucumber and yoghurt or cottage cheese and chive dressings.
If you do not like the main meal, replace that entire day for another eithin the appropriate section (i.e. weeks 1-8, 9-19, 20-24), but try to keep the balance right by exchanging like for like. (fish for fish, for example), and remember to switch light meals too so that the total calorific value for the day remains the same.
While it is important to follow the diet closely, you may have to allow yourself some lattitude if you have a busy social life. Concentrate on keeping intake moderate, Choose, or ask for simply prepared meat and fish (no rich sauces), unbuttered vegetables, salads with a little dressing, fresh fruit instead of heavy desserts. Alcohol, which counts as an indulgence, can be drunk in moderation.
Drink at least six glasses of water a day (bottled or tap) and any amount of herb teas, tisanes and tea (with lemon). Try decaffeinated cofee, or cofee with chicory, for a change and discover the huge range of herbal teas and tisanes available. They not only keep you calmer, but delicious too...
This interesting diet article taken from :
Vogue Diet Programme, by Deborah Hutton
