Tried your best to shift the pounds? It may not be your willpower at fault,
but the diet. Most men are put on diets by their wife or girlfriend and
there are good reasons why diets designed for women simply do not cut the
mustard when it comes to men.
Men need more calories than women to get through their daily lives. While
women can make do on 1,900 calories a day, men need 2,500. If, as a man, you
follow a typical woman’s weight-loss plan that contains 1,200 calories a
day, it will be too little food and you will head for a burger or a Snickers
bar. If you’ve been wolfing down 3,500 calories a day, you need to cut down
to only 2,500 to lose 2lb a week.
Secondly, while cottage cheese, crisp breads and tuna are classic “diet foods”
that suit women, they don’t suit men. Research in the Journal of
the American Dietetic Association reveals that the sexes have innate
preferences for different foods, with men preferring red meat and women
opting for salads, veg and fruit. This means there is little point in men
picking up standard slimming books since 99 per cent of those on the market
are aimed at women. Instead you need to tailor weight-loss plans to the
foods you enjoy, which fill you up and fit your lifestyle. AMANDA
URSELL The Times nutritionist (www.amandaursell.com)
Friday night
CUT-OUT-AND-KEEP GUIDE TO HEALTHY TAKEAWAYS
If you usually mark the end of a long week with a Friday-night takeaway, then
carry on; you don’t have to give them up to lose weight. Just follow the
advice below
CHINESE
Avoid Crispy pancake roll Sesame prawn toast Barbecue spare ribs (x 6)
Chicken chow mein Egg fried rice
Go for Crab and sweetcorn soup Beef in black bean sauce Beef in oyster
sauce Chicken chop suey Boiled rice (5 tbsp)
KEBAB HOUSE
Avoid Doner kebab
Go for Chicken shish kebab
INDIAN
Avoid Onion bhaji Lamb vindaloo Chicken tikka masala Naan bread
Go for Mulligatawny soup Beef madras Tandoori chicken Basmati rice
PIZZAS
Avoid Thick-crust pepperoni pizza Garlic bread
Go for Pizza Express Margherita Pizza Express Napolitana
Saturday
BREAKFAST
Getting up late on a Saturday has a big advantage, you can limit yourself to
two meals without feeling like you’re on a diet. Kickstart the day with an
orange and beetroot juice to help detox. Oranges are full of the
supernutrient hesperetin, known to help lower cholesterol levels, and
betain, in the beetroot, is known for its blood-cleansing properties. Then
tuck in to a substantial egg brunch. Studies suggest that eating eggs for
breakfast can help to keep you full, naturally curbing your appetite so that
you eat 400 fewer calories over the day. Served with a slice of low-GI
sourdough bread, this meal will keep you full until dinner.
SATURDAY BRUNCH
Orange and beetroot blood detoxer
Serves 1 (170 calories, 0.5g fat)
1 orange
1 beetroot, raw or cooked
50ml orange juice
Peel orange and put in blender with the juice and the beetroot, peeled and cut
into quarters. Blend to create a breakfast drink.
Chilli scrambled eggs Serves 2 (436 calories, 19g fat per
serving)
4 large eggs
2 medium red onions, finely sliced
1 small chopped green chilli
2tbsp of olive oil
1tbsp freshly chopped parsley
2 slices of sourdough bread
In a frying pan heat the olive oil and add the onions. Five minutes later add
the chopped chilli and fry over a low to medium heat for another 10 minutes,
until the onions go golden. Take the pan off the heat and crack the eggs
directly into your pan. Return to the heat and using a wooden spoon break up
the eggs; continue stirring until the eggs are cooked through. It is a good
idea occasionally to remove the pan from the heat while mixing together.
Garnish with parsley and serve with toasted sourdough bread.
DINNER
You don’t have to be abstemious on Saturday night. Men can tuck in to the
chickpea and aubergine dip with toasted pitta bread with a clear conscience.
A main course of slow-cooked lamb with anise sounds fatty, but after the
long cooking time you are left with lean meat, loaded with iron for energy
and selenium for a healthy heart. The raspberry, red grape and mint granita
is a rich-tasting pudding yet, like a traditional sorbet, it’s light on
calories. Raspberries are great for immune-boosting vitamin C and soluble
fibre to help keep cholesterol levels down.
Chickpea and aubergine dip
Serves 6 (157 calories, 6g fat per serving)
2 medium aubergines rubbed with oil
80g cooked (or tinned) chickpeas
2 crushed garlic cloves
½tsp of hot paprika
2tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of half lemon
75g low-fat crème fraîche
1 finely chopped largish shallot
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 large pitta breads
In an oven preheated to 180C/360F, roast the aubergines for an hour. Cut in
half and scoop out the inside and put in a dish; it should be almost like
purée. In a frying pan sauté the onions and garlic in half the oil on a
medium to low heat until they start to turn golden brown. At this point add
the chickpeas and sauté for 5 minutes. Then add the aubergine mixture and
sauté for a further 5 minutes stirring almost continuously. Remove from heat
and let cool. Put all ingredients into a blender and blitz until you have a
purée. Serve with toasted pitta bread cut into strips.
Slow-cooked shoulder of lamb
Serves 6 (384 calories, 19g fat per serving)
A lean shoulder of lamb, with fat removed
3 large onions, peeled and sliced
3 star anise
3tbsp of olive oil
150ml of water
2 King Edward potatoes, sliced ½cm thick
Heat oil in a nonstick frying pan on a medium heat. Brown the lamb on all
sides for 15-20min. (Or you can brown the lamb with a blow-torch, if you
have one.) Place onions and star anise in the bottom of a casserole dish.
Add the water. Put the lamb on top of onions and put the lid on. Place the
casserole dish on the smallest hob ring and cook at the lowest heat for 4-5
hours. Take out the lamb one hour before serving, add the potatoes in layers
over the onions, put the lamb back on top and replace the lid. Cook for
another hour. Remove lamb and the potatoes and set aside while you pour the
juices from the casserole dish into a frying pan and bubble briskly to
reduce the volume to about a third. Carve the lamb and serve with the sauce
and potatoes.
Raspberry, red grape and mint granita
Serves 6 (191 calories, 0.2g fat per serving)
750ml red grape juice
400g fresh raspberries
180g sugar
8 fresh mint leaves
Put juice, sugar and mint into a medium-sized saucepan and bring to the boil.
Make sure that the sugar has completely dissolved. Add the raspberries and
turn off the heat. Leave for 1 hour and then remove the mint leaves and pour
into a blender and blitz until the mix is consistent in texture. If you want
a finer texture, sieve the mixture. Empty in to a shallow freezer-proof
container and place in freezer. Remove after 30 min and stir the granita
thoroughly to stop too many ice crystals forming. Repeat every 30min for 3
hours. Serve in a wine glass, garnished with mint.
Sunday
BREAKFAST
There’s no need to give up a traditional big breakfast. Just switch from a
fry-up to a “grill-up”, and you can cut your Sunday breakfast – bacon, eggs,
tomato, beans, mushrooms, toast – from 1,000 calories and 70g of fat to 563
calories and 27g of fat.
Grill-up
Serves 1 (533 calories, 24g fat)
2 eggs
1 rasher lean back bacon
1 tomato
2 large mushrooms
1tbsp baked beans
2 slices multigrain toast
Slice the tomato in half, lightly season and grill with the bacon. Chop the
mushrooms and put in a pan with a teaspoon of oil and a little water. Put on
a tight-fitting lid and sauté mushrooms for five minutes until soft.
Poach the eggs and serve with multigrain toast and warmed-up beans on the
side.
LUNCH
Beef with tons of vegetables is great for body-building protein and packs
loads of betacarotene, the orange antioxidant pigment that protects the
lungs and heart, and is found in vegetables such as carrots and sweet
potatoes; the onions and garlic boost blood flow. There’s even room for a
light pud.
Roast rib of beef
Serves 4 (418 calories, 15g fat per serving)
3tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4-5lb beef rib, bone in
3 shallots, peeled, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, halved
300ml red wine
300ml chicken stock
Preheat the oven to 160C/320F. Heat a roasting pan with the olive oil. Season
the beef rib with salt and pepper and place in the hot pan. Seal the rib on
all sides over a high heat; this will take 5-7 minutes. Then roast in oven,
allowing 15min per lb for medium rare, basting occasionally. Turn the joint
halfway through the cooking, and sprinkle the shallots and garlic around the
tray. Once cooked, remove the beef from the oven and roasting tray. Cover
with foil and leave to rest for 30min before carving. Pour away any excess
fat from the roasting tray, leaving in shallots and garlic. Heat the tray on
the hob and add a third of the wine. Cook to reduce until almost dry. Repeat
this process with the remaining wine. Then add the stock and return to a
simmer. Cook for 5-10min before pushing through a sieve, extracting the
juices from the shallots, garlic, thyme. Adjust the seasoning with salt and
pepper. Carve the beef and serve with gravy.
Roasted vegetables
Serves 4 (193 calories, 9g fat per serving)
2 peeled sliced parsnips
2 peeled sliced carrots
2 red onions peeled and cut in half
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in half
1 Maris Piper potato peeled and quartered
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 whole, unpeeled garlic cloves
3tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place all of the ingredients in a roasting tray, pour over olive oil, mix and
season. Roast in a preheated oven at 180C/360F for about 45min and serve
with the beef.
Strawberries and ice-cream
Serves 4 (316 calories, 15g fat per serving)
400g strawberries, hulled and quartered
Sprinkling of caster sugar
140g (2 scoops) of ice cream per person Serve together.
SUPPER
This soup is high in fibre and vitamin C from the peas and onions and contains
the minerals iron, zinc and calcium.
Pea and chorizo soup
Serves 6 (555 calories, 22g of fat per serving)
1kg frozen peas
4l chicken stock
3 finely chopped onions
200g chorizo
30ml extra-virgin olive oil
2 slices sourdough bread
Peel the skin off the chorizo and place it on a tray in the oven for about 15
min at 120C/ 250F. Then dice and place in a serving bowl. Heat oil in a
saucepan and add the onions. Allow to sweat until they are translucent, add
the stock and bring to the boil. Once the stock is boiling add the frozen
peas, cover, and cook for 4min. Remove from heat and blend half the mix
until smooth. Recombine, season and pour over the chorizo in the bowl. Serve
with sourdough bread, toasted, brushed with olive oil and rubbed with
garlic. TOTAL CALORIES: 2,015; TOTAL FAT: 85g
