The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet

As mentioned previously, we started the New Year with a decision to lose weight. We dug out the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet (Book 2) after a long period of neglect. This healthy weight loss program is based on proven scientific principles. It includes a balanced diet that is high in protein and moderate in carbohydrates. High protein diets keep people feeling full for longer. It also has an important exercise component.

The book is friendly and the principles behind it are well-explained in simple language, making sure the reader understands why the diet is structured as it is. It contains over 80 beautifully presented and really delicious recipes and encourages flexibility (within the constraints of healthy eating, of course). It's a very simple diet to follow and easy to maintain, because overall servings are generous and it shows how healthy food can taste wonderful.

We're not following the diet religiously, but we are using it as a guide and generally abiding by the principles. We are finding we are eating very well indeed and not feeling hungry at all. (Actually, I usually can't eat the full ration of meat.) We do, however, love our carbohydrates, and changing the way we'd pile rice or potatoes or couscous on our plates has been probably the biggest challenge for us in terms of eating. We are honouring the suggested proportions and to be honest we're not suffering for it, which goes to show how much of our previous habit was just that — habit. But perhaps the biggest overall challenge has been carrying out the exercise component. We'll have to work on that... sigh!

We are lucky because we work from home and taking time to prepare fresh and healthy food isn't a big issue for us, especially as we usually do it together, but I do remember how difficult it could be after a long day at work then a commute home. Cooking is generally the last thing I felt like doing then, and anything that took more than half an hour to an hour to get on the table was out of the question. But this is the beauty of the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet: just maintain the principle of low fat, high protein, moderate carbohydrate meals with lots of vegetables and salads and some fruit — and try to get regular exercise — and you won't be far wrong.

You soon get a feel for the recommended proportions and, quite apart from the recipes and meal suggestions in the book, there is a vast range of suitable meals — homemade or otherwise. Just about any low-fat meal will be suitable or can easily be adapted. We're eating a lot of our prior favourites as well as previously untried recipes from the book.

Even despite sneaking in a small glass of wine with our meals (and I don't recommend you do this — it's more of a confession for which I require absolution!) we're losing weight and, while we still have a way to go, we're confident we can maintain it as we are enjoying our "diet" food so very much! If you take a peek at my Edible365 Flickr set you'll see some of the healthy yumminess we've consumed so far this year, and lost weight while doing so!

If you've been thinking you'd like to lose weight in a manner which is healthy, enjoyable and sustainable in the long term, then the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet might be of interest to you, too.

Posted by Vicki on Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 05:04 PM in General and Healthy Eating.

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