Two and a half years ago, I was having lunch with my friend, Neris. Between
us, we weighed more than 30st. Somewhere between cocktails and pudding, we
decided we’d had enough.
I had never attempted to diet before; Neris is a champion dieter, but she was
battle-weary. “Just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it,” she said. “But I
can’t read another diet book.” So I went off and read dozens, spoke to my GP
and a nutritionist, and concluded that cutting out carbohydrates and sugar
ought to do the trick.
I reported back to Neris and we started dieting together, tweaking as we went.
(We wanted to keep having the cocktails, within reason, and figured the odd
bit of chocolate wouldn’t go amiss, either.)
Over 12 months, we lost 10st between us. More to the point, nearly three years
on, we haven’t put any of it back on. I can’t tell you what a nice feeling
it is to finally, aged 42, know how to manage my weight.
We just went on a diet: it was never our intention to write a book about it.
But as the pounds started falling off – we were literally shrinking by the
day – it occurred to us that, having found a weight-loss method that
actually worked and, crucially, was liveable with and compatible with
everyday life, it might be handy to write it down. I’d also observed, from
trawling through endless diet books, that they are often written by
middle-aged men lacking in empathy, or failing that, they are written by
women who have never actually been that fat. In any case, none of the books
I came across addressed what, to us, was central to the whole issue –
namely, why we overeat. What goes on in your head as you reach for that iced
bun is as responsible for fatness as the actual act of eating it.
So, the book was published last January and, gratifyingly, went into the top
10 (the paperback version came out on Thursday.) We started a little blog to
go with it, but when that began to get tens of thousands of hits a day, we
realised what was needed was an online forum (which you can find at www.pig2twig.co.uk).
This was when the whole thing really hit home: the flood of posts was
graphic evidence of how profoundly miserable being fat makes women, even
women who pretend they’re fat by choice; of how brilliant women are at
supporting each other; and of how well the diet works: said women have lost
a collective 2.5 tonnes and counting.
Now, obviously, if you are on a diet, you become slightly obsessed about what
you will and won’t put in your mouth. Neris and I were both fairly obsessive
about food anyway – we just really like eating delicious things, which is
how we got to be so fat in the first place. Our diet book contained some
recipes, which were delicious but not fattening, but not enough, obviously,
for the hundreds of meals we all eat in a year. Enter Bee Rawlinson, who
started posting recipes onto our website. When I actually started cooking
them, I practically levitated with delight – especially when my family, none
of whom have a weight problem – started asking me to make them again and
again.
I don’t make any miraculous claims for our diet – it just works – but Bee’s
recipes are another kettle of fish altogether: they are simply brilliant
recipes, diet or no diet. One of the things Neris and I were keen to avoid
was having to go to the palaver of cooking ourselves one thing and our
families another – it is so dispiriting to be sitting there gnawing on
celery, while everybody else has roast potatoes. Our cookery book, to my
mind, isn’t just a “diet” cookery book – it’s a cookbook tout
court, and one that happens to cause you to lose weight if you use it in
conjunction with our diet.
There’s just space for a quick reality check. We’re not saying you can eat
onion bhajis or low-carb cheese toasties (yes, really) three times a day and
drop a couple of dress sizes in a month. The first phase of our diet is
hardcore, and based on eating protein, leafy green vegetables and good fat,
mostly in the form of butter or olive oil. It feels pretty weird for the
first few days, but after that most people find it the easiest diet they’ve
ever been on. There is no great hardship in fillet steak, creamed spinach
and side of béarnaise. If you’re devoted to your white wine, you’ll miss it
at first, but stock up on Laurent-Perrier Ultra Brut champagne is my advice
– practically carb-free (only 65 calories per glass), though not cheap. So,
use your brain – the aforementioned toasties, for instance, should be a
treat rather than a daily staple. Nevertheless, you can eat them, and the
bhajis, and the thai beef salad, and the paella, and lose as much weight as
you like. We did. If that isn’t a result, I don’t know what is.
HOW IT WORKS
This diet just does – follow it properly, no cheating, and you will see. For
the full details, we strongly advise you to buy the original diet book. And
yes, we would say that.
Basically, this is a high-protein, low-carb diet. Eating like this means your
body uses its own stores of fat for fuel. Our diet is unashamedly similar to
the initial stages of Atkins, South Beach and other high-protein diets. So,
in the first phase, as laid out this week, which lasts 14 days, you are
eating very few carbs. When you start, it will be tough to break the
addictions you have to stodgy carbs, sugar, alcohol and caffeine. But if we
can do it, you can, too. In Phase 2, you introduce low-GI carbs and,
carefully, chocolate and alcohol. Throughout, you can eat meat, fish, eggs
and seafood in unlimited amounts, plenty of nuts and generous portions of
green vegetables.
A word of warning – and this is important. If you eat the recipes in this book
with a side of carbs, you will get fat. As for portion sizes, you need to
use common sense. If you eat a block of cheese a day, you’re not going to
lose weight. Other than meat and fish, everything – including green
vegetables – has a carb content. Eat off a normal dinner plate, not off a
tray. Base your meal on protein and leafy green veg. Have a handful of nuts
a day and a couple of pieces of cheese, each roughly half the size of your
palm. Cream is absolutely fine used as a condiment, ditto with butter. It’s
all pretty obvious. Eat until you are full, not until you’re absolutely
stuffed. Think about what you’re putting in your mouth. Don’t confuse thirst
with hunger. And don’t eat like a fat person, cramming everything you can
lay your hands on down your gullet, even if it’s all low-carb.
Finally, I can’t say this enough – if you’re going to drink, train yourself to
drink clear spirits. If you must have wine, understand that you’re trading
faster weight loss for a night in with a bottle of white. Half of that
bottle is sugar, so it’s going to have an impact. Whatever you do, do not
skip meals, not even breakfast.
These recipes cater to families, single people, or just knackered ones, who
don’t have the time or energy to make themselves a supper that involves 45
minutes’ work and three different pans.
FOODS ALLOWED IN PHASE ONE
Organic free-range eggs
Any meat you like, but ideally good quality and not too much of processed pork
products such as salami
Fish – any kind you like, from fresh sea bass to canned tuna
Olive oil and groundnut oil
Vinegar – any kind except balsamic
Sea salt and black pepper
Butter
Double cream
Herbs and spices
Organic peanut butter (sugar free)
Any vegetables you like, except potatoes, carrots, peas and sweetcorn (too
much carb for phase one – the first fortnight). The best vegetables for this
diet, in general, are green, so spinach, cabbage, spring greens and so on
Avocados
Lemons and limes
Tomatoes
Unseasoned nuts and seeds
Olives
All sorts of cheese
Tofu
Herbal teas
Unsweetened organic soya milk
Well, Andrea, first of all, your warning about enjoying our kidneys while we still have them. There may be a problem for people who suffer from kidney disease - not others. That's a fact.
Second, you point to John Macdougall, MD. I've read his statement about low carb - high protein diets.
First, he said "We are designed to run on carbohydrates". Well, I think he needs to read up on evolution again. Actually, when you look at what mankind used to eat and what man's digestive metabolic and digestive system was intended for - is meat.
Second, this man tries to sell his own diet - he did not condemn other diets out of the goodness of his heart - he wants to make money. Any other questions?
Rena, Edinburgh,
Hope you enjoy your kidneys... While you still have them. Google "high protein diet" and "kidney failure".
While your at it, google what John Mcdougall, MD has to say about such a ridiculous diet.
Andrea, Derbyshire,
I have no particular view on this diet, not having read the book, but congratulate those who report success using it. Bravo to India and Neris for addressing the psychological issues around overeating
However, some of the scientific "facts" that have been posted on this board are quite mistaken.
Diane, from Sutton, it is not correct to say that a diet of protein and fat with no carbs blocks insulin, and thus the storage of fat in the body. Insulin is a hormone that regulates amounts of glucose (a sugar) in the bloodstream. The uptake, carriage and storage of fats is not reliant on insulin: it requires lipases and lipoproteins, all of which occur naturally in your body and have no relation at all to the amount of carbs you ingest.
To all of the low-carb diet fans on the board: ketosis and ketoacidosis are exactly the same, bad, thing. A state of ketosis indicates that toxic ketones, which cause neural damage and even coma, are being metabolised in place of natural glucose.
Emelina, London,
In todays day and age I do not think that this diet would be approved by any medical group BUTTER AND EGGS in a diet, butter is saturated fat which is poison for cholestrol and the same is true regarding eggs.
Gerald, New York, USA
There is considerable research showing that natural fat is only bad for you in conjunction with carbs: only carbs require insulin to metabolise them, and insulin is also the mechanism for storing unused intake as fat. Eating fat and protein without carbs means you cannot store any excess, as there is no mechanism for storing it. I and some of my friends lost weight on a similar diet (Somersizing) a couple of years ago and I would recommend it to anyone. It is indisputable that we did not evolve to eat flour or sugar, since they require processing that humans invented.
Diane, Sutton,
l am no expert in diets/nutrition but this l know that dairy is the worst thing to consume. As a human infant, we feed on our mothers' milk (yes human milk for human baies and cows' milk for calves etc) and after we have been weaned usually by about 2 years of age, we than drink water and get our nutrition from real food. Dont be fooled by the dairy industries into thinking that you obtain calcium from drinking cow's milk. Have you ever asked yourself why oestroperosis is so common in the western world where dairy is consumed in a big way. Do you really think that all these overweight people who can hardly walk and are plague with all kinds of diseases oestro being one of them dont have enough serve of cream, butter, ice cream, cakes, cheese, custard, chocolates and all the other goodies? l have stopped consuming dairy products and have never felt better in my life and my knee pain is gone for good. My skin, scalp and gums are in top conditon plus my weight is now ideal.
Virginia, Brisbane, Australia
I haven't tried this 'diet' nor do I intend to (or any others like it) . It seems complicated (onion muffins for breakfast - who has the time?) and expensive. The best foods are the simplest ones, cooked from scratch and eaten not out of a mega-plate but a medium sized one. Exercise, cardio combined with weight training most days of the week, a spot of tennis a couple of times a week and yoga once a week is what keeps the weight down for me. Not intending to be mean or anything, but if this diet works why are India and Neris still on the porky side in this Sunday's Style photo?
Tamara Capes, Hamilton, Bermuda
How can you possibly call butter 'good fat'? It's saturated animal fat. New generation margarines, spreads, olive oil, nuts and avocado are good fats. Shame on you for prolonging the bucolic myth that somehow because it comes from a cow it must be good.
michele o'neill, Paris, France
This has all been done before. Get a copy of "Eat Yourself Slim" by Michel Montignac who was the original and the best for this type of diet, avoiding the extremes of Atkins.
Jim Kennedy, Haywards Heath, UK
Now I'm all in favour of recycling, but this diet was foisted on us all by the Sunday Times last year!
F.Muldoon, London,
"Oh and dave it's "Ketosis" which is what happens to diabetic people when they get ill. "
Actually D from coventry, that's ketoacidosis. Ketosis is not dangerous for non-diabetics.
I completely agree that this is a very effective way to lose weight - I lost over 3 stone on a ketogenic diet. I'm less convinced that never eating carbs again is good for you though.
J, London,
It's extraordinarily irritating to read people's negative comments here. Frankly if it works for you, if it makes you healthier and happier, if it improves your self esteem, if it introduces you to a network of wonderfully supportive people, if it improves your quality of life, then DO IT.
I've been on this diet for a year and have lost 4 stone and I intend to keep doing so. If you don't want to buy a book then don't but please don't disqualify the huge amount of support people feel from knowing that others have experienced the same journey as them. If it works, then who are you to criticise? Criticise the faddy, frighteningly unhealthy diets that are proffered by celebrities, but please don't insult our intelligence and our commitment to get healthier by reducing our efforts to being lazy and unimaginative by not being able to do this for ourselves.
Read the book, try the diet, then judge. Huge congrats to anyone who has found success this way. It's an astonishing achievement!
Katie Hartwill, London,
I've had a look at the recipes. It looks like a scrumptious diet. Pity it's only available to those who can afford it. And it's not rehashed Atkins, it's rehashed Montignac.
So, I eat lots of pasta (the horror, the horror!) with tomato and veggie sauce and cycle around a bit. Cheap, but it works.
starling, Lancaster,
I started this way of eating after, firstly reading the article in "Style" magazine in January 2007, and then buying the book. It has totally revolutionised my life: I have lost over 5 and a half stones in weight and dropped several dress sizes. It is so easy to follow and, if you do need advice and encouragement, the people on the Forum are there for you. If you haven't tried it, don't knock it!
Gillian Bunting, Ponteland, England
My memory of the death of Dr Atkins was that he slipped on an icy pavement and suffered brain damage from which he subsequently died.
The suggestion that he died from a heart attack was put out by his detractors, who clearly still have members on site today.
Shame on you to continue to perpetrate lies.
Last April, my scales suddenly alerted me to the fact that I was the heaviest I had ever been - and weighed two stone more than I wanted.
I had read the articles about India and Neris book and so bought it, read it, and decided that it was a way of eating that I would try,
It was wonderful. In 4 delightful months I lost the two stone and months later and after Christmas, I am stable at my desired weight.
There is no doubt from my experience that the Idiot Proof Diet works. Follow the book and you will loose weight.
The online forum is a great source of support, help and friendship.
I have experience of this way of eating that many of the detractors above do not. It works. Give it a try,
Stephen, Gozo, Malta
This reminds me of an aquaintance who went to our mutual family doctor(a man of plain common sense)When he asked how he could lose weight,Dr.D... promptly replied,"Don't eat"!
HD, WsM,
George, clearly you have not actually read the book or you would know that your basic principles are almost identicle to Neris & India's. Their book, as stated in the article, focuses more on identifying why we overeat and how to combat these issues, which is really the crux of the issue.
Anna, London, UK
I noted 3 things when adjusting our heating habits to eating more protein
1. Initially, i found my body craving for carbs even more, and it made me realize that I am addicted to carbs in a similar way that smokers get addicted to cigarettes , because the desire just bypasses the brain all together. The only way to win is to bring the challenge out in the open, i.e. realize that this is a battle of brain vs body. Although not easy, the brain is really stronger and should win.
2. Proteins fill you up more and it takes much longer to get hungry when compared to eating carbs.
3. Weight training coupled with cardio burns the most calories.
Andre Bianchi, Lija, Malta
Congratulations George Johnson. Absolutely spot on. Every word.
Recently I was watching a TV programme that showed people at a London lido in the immediate post war period. Every one of them looked lean, lithe and healthy. No excess weight to be seen and certainly no obesity. The only conclusion that can be drawn is that the nation ate better during rationing than it does now.
What hope is there when people consider crisps and coke as part of their staple diet? I recently paced out 22 yards of snacks at my local Tesco, and it's not even a big one. They now sell crisps in what are effectively sacks. The fizzy drinks section was even longer but more convoluted, so I couldn't easily measure it.
Just use your local greengrocers, butchers and fish mongers - even if they are in a supermarket. Cook your own food rather than eating something that was concocted in a far away factory. And if you don't have time make it! It's about your health and wellbeing. You will discover it's easy.
John C, Helston, Cornwall
What on EARTH is the picture accompanying this website article depicting?
It looks pornographic to me. Delete it.
Annie, Bath, UK
Sarah is right - why knock this if you haven't tried it or you evidently don't want to? This is not so much a diet as a whole new way of eating (and cooking!) and I've lost 3.5stone in the past year following it. Last Christmas I was a size 18, now I'm a size 10. Not sure if I'm any more interesting George, but am definitely fitter and healthier and far more informed.
Bryony, Ipswich,
What a diabolical liberty ! This exactly my diet that I evolved after trying Atkins and finding what worked (losing weight) and what didn't work (feeling ill all the time). I can agree that it works and has one feeling extraodinarily fit and well. One piece of advice, don't forget the lightly cooked sprouts, natures high power laxative. I lost 12KG in 4 months to get down to 14% body fat, and I am a man in my mid 50s. One caution, don't think you will go out and cycle 100 miles over hills on this diet, you won't have the energy, but you will have the energy for a brisk 3 mile walk.
My GP hates it, tells me its unhealthy, dangerous, but has no explanation for my lower cholesterol levels, low uric acid and blood sugar counts, reduced night sweats. There is also no loss of libido, a never reported side effect of low calorie diets that men particulalry dislike.
Emrys, Swansea, UK
As has been said this is the Atkins diet with the odd treat.
Nice to know another "wonder diet" is being sold...oh and please don't forget that the creator of the origional version of this diet died from heart disease as replacing carbs with fat may help you loose weight but will ruin your arteries.
Enjoy the stroke of heart attack.
Oh and dave it's "Ketosis" which is what happens to diabetic people when they get ill. These people would rather induce illness by changing food than do some exercise
D, Coventry, England
The point is,George, as is clear from the article- this isnt Yet Another Diet Book- perhaps thats why its still here and still selling a year later.it explores why we overeat, why the scales arent your best friends and breaks the yoyo dieting trap.It is far from presecriptive- sets paramemters and encourages the indivdual to manage their own eating within it-Bees recipes sprung from that and many others have been inspired to take control of their own nutrition and enjoy food/cooking again.Read the book,or even the article, before you criticise it- you might actually find you agree with what it says- Horror of horrors!
Annie, Haywards heath, west sussex
Who cooks today anyways ??
What a dummy. I see as your name is Dave, you are unlikely to do so, as no doubt a woman did it for you.
Here on mainland Europe, most men and women can and do cook. Most take some form of exercise daily, even if its walking the kids to school. The key here is that instead of talking about diets and how bad some foods are, we tend to know about food more, eat it in a balanced way, staying off junk and fast foods, and eating it slowly. Alcohol is a part of it, but one usually stops drinking when the eating is done.
Simple really. Eat less, eat slow, move more.
Hugh, Evian, France
As a homeopath, I get the "How do I lose weight?" question a lot. As someone, who was brought up with atrocious eating, hygiene and health care habits, I know how hard it can be to control your eating. Or, better put, to eat properly and; to learn to eat properly.
I always recommend 2 sources:
Dr. Bernard Jensen, D.C., R.I.P. His works are still available at www.bernardjensen.com and;
Geneen Roth. She has a website, www.geneenroth.com She herself, being a recovered compulsive eater.
Make no mistake, nutrition is not something simple and easy to be covered in just one hygiene class for a half hour. It requires serious, intense study, over the years. And, each person is an individual. So, what foods each person should eat or avoid, are individual which must be figured out personally. [Using the pulse measuring test is the best way.]
You have to stop dieting. You have to learn how to eat right. And eat less.
Givon Zirkind, D.Hom., Teaneck, NJ, USA
I lost 26 lbs on this diet and highly recommend it. I'm now size 10, fit, happy, energetic and feel very healthy. The forum is fantastic - a wonderful way to keep the momentum going after the initial high of reading the book, and people are very supportive of each other - hauling each other back onto the wagon if need be. After years of battling with my weight the traditional low fat low calorie way, this diet finally got things moving, addressing why we overeat in the first place and how to break that cycle. It helps that the food is delicious and 'real food' - you know exactly what you're putting into your body - food that hasn't been messed around with. Can't wait to buy the cookery book!
Victoria Sayar, Bursa, Turkey
This works.
I've lost 30lbs following this way of eating so far. I exercise daily now (unheard of before!) and my BP, cholesterol levels and BMI are the healthiest they've ever been as an adult. Same goes for my emotional attitude to food and my self-esteem.
This way of eating promotes healthy home-cooked food with the emphasis on lots of green leafy vegetables and lean protein. India and Neris positively demand that exercise is incorporated into your day, every day. Not only that but the book talks frankly about the emotional reasons for overeating and encourages readers to address these issues in themselves as part of the overall process.
This works - don't doubt for a second that it does. It's easy to do, followers don't feel like food pariahs with their families or friends and it's sustainable. The authors are real women who know what it is to have been fat, not science-blinding idealists with pretensions to doctorates they don't have.
This works.
mavis, Cheltenham,
What a stupid question - "who cooks today, anyway ?". The answer is that the vast majority of hosueholds still cook. Look at any supermarket, the raw meat, fish, veg, dairy etc that they are selling is to people who cook with it. Don't tell me you don't have the time - you can cook from fresh in the time it takes a ready meal to heat up, you can cook while you exercise at home, you can cook while you surf the net and answer your domestic emails. Our grandparents managed to cook without any of the "time saving" gadgets we have, they just had different priorities to the person who probably has time to waste on tv, the gym and self-indulgence, and they weren't as fat as we are.
Chloe, London, England,
I agree with Sarah. As for Dave's comment, "Who cooks today anyways? Who's got the time. " I completely disagree and I guess numbers and statistics prove me right. When you consider the number of men and women signed up to this diet, as obvious from the diet forum, then I can reply to Dave: Sensible men and women cook, people who are health conscious, who live full busy lives like myself, but DO find the time to cook. I work from about 8 in the morning till 6 at night most days, being in academia, and quite a few weekends when deadlines are looming. And I still find the time to cook healthy meals from the diet. As for really busy weeks? I take a few hours on Sunday and precook meals for the week, which I then freeze. Hey presto, pre-made food!
Rena, Edinburgh,
Interesting that the people criticising have not tried it. A major part of this way of eating is about dealing with the 'headstuff', the deeply engrained habits and relationships with food that led to us getting fat in the first place. This, along with a truly delicious range of foods and a banishing of the 'hunger feeling' that all us sugar addicts carry round with us (because you are no longer in a 'slump and spike' vicious circle) is what makes this way of eating sustainable and life-changing. I lost 30 pounds on it last year and am already losing more this year. I avoided low carb for years because it seemed faddy, but the soft skin, sparkly eyes, wide-awake feeling and no 4pm sugar craving has made me a total convert. That and dropping three dress sizes and keeping it off, of course.
sarah, London,
How deeply disappointing that one of the only women journalists writing sensibly about food and dieting should finally come out with Yet Another Diet Book, thus becoming firmly part of the women/food problem and not part of the solution.
Advice to anyone reading this: throw away the scale, don't buy this or any other diet book, do not go on any diet. Just eat real food. No fast food, prepared food or sweet snacks. Have no sugar in the house. Olive oil and butter the only fats. Just cook everything you eat from raw ingredients. Well, the simplest sort of tinned or frozen basic foods are also ok, like tinned beans or fish or frozen vegetables. Drink in great moderation if at all. Exercise moderately.
That's it. Over the course of the next year, you will gradually find your clothes getting looser. Do not weigh yourself. Do not think about weight. Just focus on eating well and enjoying what you eat. You'll end up a happier, healthier, thinner and more interesting person.
George Johnson, London, England
Big Snarking Deal...This is Atkins repackaged. I lost 30 pounds this year in 4 months by just eating protein with veggies and hardly any carbs. But using urine test strips is imperative to making sure you are in a state of "kitosis". Not there? Eat more protein. As far as recipes go. Who cooks today anyways? Who's got the time. Most folks heat up prepackaged food which is carb based. Just switch to all your favorite protein and keep at it. And yes...I did no exercise and my body burned off the excess fat as fuel...even in my sleep.
Dave, Darien,