Sally's introduction to the diet
Watch Sally's special video message for all those joining her plan above, then read her words of wisdom below to get you on the right track!
Well done for deciding to Vow to Wow this Christmas - I’m going to teach you to look at food in a different way. Rather than trying to get slim for the slim's sake, let’s concentrate on getting healthy. The great news is, weight loss is a very easy side effect of getting healthy.
You will look better, feel better, lose weight and get a HUGE energy boost just when you need it, at this busy time of year By understanding how to eat for health - weight loss will be simple to achieve and sustainable side effect. How fabulous!
This plan is completely free and includes a four week eating plan. Below are a few notes to get you thinking in the right way and explain the very simple principles of the Vow to Wow healthy eating plan.
The main principles of the Vow to Wow healthy eating plan are:
Be aware of calories, but don’t get hung up on counting them constantly.
Make sure everything you eat offers your body a healthy benefit
Eat the right sized portions for YOU!
Cut out all processed food and take-away food.
Cut out alcohol until you have reached your target weight.
Cut out all fizzy drinks, even diet drinks unless it’s fizzy water.
Understand the difference between ‘Need’ and ‘Greed’.
Eat more vegetables, fruit, chicken and fish
Drink lots of water
The science is simple If you eat less and move more you WILL lose weight.
Listen to your body
Sadly it is impossible for me to be looking over your shoulder all the time – I can advise you but I can’t be there to make your decisions for you. Therefore, it’s important that you get your brain in gear and start to listen to your body. Are you ‘tummy’ hungry or ‘brain’ hungry? If you feel hungry but have had a large meal an hour or so ago, you know you are not ‘tummy’ hungry; meaning your stomach isn’t empty and asking for food. In this situation, it is your brain telling you to eat because your blood sugar levels have probably dropped. So instead of eating too much food, just eat a small palmful of nuts and raisins. This will be enough to naturally lift your blood sugar levels and keep you going until you are properly ‘tummy’ hungry.
Need or greed?
It’s also a good idea to ask yourself, is it ‘need?’ or ‘greed’? when you are about to eat. If you haven’t eaten for three or four hours and feel hungry, you know this is a ‘need’ meal; therefore your meal needs to be nutritious to fuel your body. If however, you have had breakfast and then meet friends for coffee and cake one hour later, this isn’t a ‘need’ meal – it is a ‘greed’ meal. When you are in the process of getting healthy and losing weight, try not to put yourself in the position of eating a ‘greed’ meal – or at least wait for a special occasion to enjoy a occasional as a special and worthwhile treat.
Get prepared to meal match
Meal matching is quite simply matching the food you eat to your daily activities. For example, if I am sitting at my desk for most of the week, writing, I don’t need lots of spare energy, but I do still need lots of good nutrients to keep my brain sharp. A full eight hours writing a day is not physically draining but it sure makes my brain hurt! In this case I would go for a light breakfast and lunch, consisting of fish or chicken with a delicious salad (no soggy lettuce leaves in sight I might add!) or some roasted vegetables. This would nourish me but not make me sleepy during the afternoon when I’ve got my editor breathing down my neck wanting finished work. I would then probably only need another light meal at around 6pm, as sitting all day at a desk doesn’t use many calories.
If on the other hand, I am having a busy week, rushing around from one event to another, needing lots more energy to keep me active throughout the day, I would go for an active breakfast that would keep me going longer. I would make sure I had plenty of nuts, raisins and fruit in my bag for on-the-go snacks and I would try and make time for a more substantial lunch. This is especially important if I thought I wouldn’t get a decent evening meal at a decent time.
This year I have made this even easier for you by adding the words LIGHT and ACTIVE beside each recipe. You need to aim for two LIGHT dishes and one ACTIVE Dish every day. Just think about what activities you do at each stage of the day. When do you need your energy most? Do you lack energy in the afternoon when you have lots to do? If that’s the case choose an ACTIVE dish for lunch and have a LIGHT dish in the evening.
Night-time meals
My rule is to have your last meal of the day 12 hours before you are due to have your breakfast. Your body needs a 12 hour break without food. So if you have breakfast at 7.30am, don’t eat dinner any later than 7.30pm the night before. This will not only aid your weight loss but you’ll wake up with better skin, clearer eyes and no dry mouth or sore throat. Try it!
No excuses!
I’ve heard them all. ‘I can’t afford to buy healthy food’. ‘I don’t have time to cook’. ‘I haven’t the time to exercise’. The fact is, being overweight causes health problems. So there are no excuses! Make the changes now so that you can enjoy a full and healthy life. I only survived my three heart attacks at the age of 36 because I was fit and well before. If I had been overweight – things could have been a lot different!
Portion control – very important information
We are all different shapes and sizes. It would be foolish for me to give a 6ft rugby player the same diet plan as a 4ft ballerina! This is why you need to gauge your portion size. My rule is that when losing weight, the protein and carbohydrate in any meal needs to be no larger on the plate that the size of your closed palm. Your palm size relates directly to your stomach size.
We have all lost sight of what is a normal portion these days – the fact is we are becoming an obese nation because we simply eat too much and move too little. So from now on – YOUR portion size has to be the size of YOUR closed hand… simply hover your hand over your plate of food and you will quickly get the measure of how much you are over-eating. The only food that is allowed outside of your closed palm is vegetables or fruit.
Why Vow to Wow will work
If you’ve tried and failed at other diets and want to make the ultimate healthy choices that will ensure you get the body you deserve, the healthier life you will enjoy and the energy to make the most of everything, join us for The Vow to Wow Healthy Eating Plan.This is the only simple, health giving, life enhancing weight loss plan you will ever need.By eating three palm sized meals a day, using my recipes with fresh and unprocessed ingredients, cutting out all chemicals, fizzy drinks and alcohol, taking threesmall snacks a day and drinking eight glasses of water – YOU can safely and sustainably lose your excess weight and keep it off forever!