For most of my life, I have battled an addiction that has dominated my life – food.

Food was my downfall! I suppose you notice this just by looking at my old fat photo.
This Annette was a chronic dieter who was either dieting or starving to death, or being bad, bingeing and eating with little regard to the consequences. If you have ever been on a diet you will know that there is not much good to be said about them. To be able to lose 70lbs and still remain in my healthy weight range 16 years on has been an amazing achievement.
What was my greatest weapon against being under healthy and over weight?
It was my recipes that literally saved my life.

"To this day, food is a major joy in my life and will be till the day I die".

Low Fat

The first step for me when I was 70lb overweight was to convert my favourite recipes to low fat versions. As soon as I knew that I could have pies, lasagne and chocolate cake, a whole new world opened up for me. No longer was I feeling deprived, hungry and bored with my food.

I turning my greatest weakness into my greatest strength and now have helped thousands of others to do the same. I used my kitchen to help me lose weight and be satisfied. I hope my recipes excite you so you can confidently step up, win the battle of the bulge, and cook up a storm. My life is filled with an abundance of joy and happiness, all because I decided to lose some weight and change the way I cook. So do not wait another minute, empower yourself and step up to the challenge and be the best you can be.

Here is how I was able to turn high fat recipes in to low fat healthy alternatives –

• Use cooking sprays instead of adding oil or fats to the pan
• Buy lean meats. The difference between using 4% fat ground beef instead of the full fat version is simple; when the butcher makes the full fat ground beef, the extra fat is added to the grounding machine
• Take the skin off chicken; chicken breast is the best
• Forget deep-frying or frying your food. Instead, use a grill, BBQ or bake it in an oven
• Coconut cream my way - 2% fat evaporated light canned milk and a little coconut extract will do the job and is so much lower in fat
• Use low fat mayonnaise and no oil dressings on your salads
• Choose only low fat margarines and milks
• When baking throw out egg yolks (full of fat and of no real benefit). The egg white has all the raising ability and nutrients, the yolk is just fat
• Adding baking soda will make lighter cakes or muffins
• Use apple sauce instead of oil or butter in cakes/muffins. Apple sauce gives the moisture butter would normally give; there is no fat in apples

Listen to Annette's Health and Wellbeing tips:

Health & Wellbeing Tip - Sugar (840 KB)

Annette's Health and Wellbeing tip - Losing Weight (798 KB)

Here are my 12 TOP TIPS to a healthy lifestyle –

Read the labels on products - Cholesterol free means that the product may have been fried in vegetable oil instead of animal fat

1. Go for the reduced fat dairy products such as giving up full fat milk at nearly 10g of fat compared to no fat milk at 0.2g of fat. Same with yogurts, cheeses and puddings
2. Always eat breakfast as it kicks starts your metabolism for the day, very much like turning the motor over in your car each day. If you want to burn fat then start the day right and you will lose weight much easier
3. Drink at least 8 glasses of water every day. Dehydration can be mistaken for hunger
4. Cut down, or better still omit caffeine, alcohol and salt
5. Junk food can consist of high fat, high sugar and high salt with very little fibre, best eaten occasionally
6. Reduce the amount of saturated fats you have in your diet. Mono and polyunsaturated are fine and we must have omega 3 and omega 6 to function at our peak state
7. For people with diabetes, heart problems, cholesterol and those who want to lose weight, a low saturated fat diet is a must
8. Eat the quantities of food that your body needs. When serving your meal always use the sizing guide for the perfect plate, which is one-quarter protein, one-quarter carbohydrates and half the plate filled with either vegetables or salad
9. Take control of food, do not allow food to control you
10. Think and act like a healthy person
11. Exercise at least 4-5 times a week
12. Don't be a chronic dieter, instead come into my world and enjoy low fat food the way it should be. Be satisfied, full and not deprived. Be happy, think positively and live life to the fullest every day.

Listen to Annette's Health and Wellbeing tips:

Annette's Health and Wellbeing tip - Breakfast (842 KB)

Annette's Health and Wellbeing tip - Water (841 KB)

Annette's Health and Wellbeing tip - Exercise (747 KB)

Low Sugar

Some low fat products are very high in sugar or salt so are not ideal for anyone who is diabetic or has cholesterol issues.
Should we be cutting out the sugar in our diet if we want to lose weight? The answer is NO. I believe everything in moderation is best and the worst thing you can do is stop having food that you enjoy.

Too much sugar

Life without certain foods may be too restrictive, for example if you have a sweet tooth then you need to work out ways to include moderate amounts into your eating regime. Low carb diets are very popular right now and this has made people afraid to eat too much sugar and rightly so, as having too much sugar in your diet can result in weight gain, especially when consumed in excess and not burnt off with physical activity. Over consuming sugar products can lead to many health problems such as diabetes, certain cancers, obesity, tooth decay and some hyperactivity. If you are trying to lose weight then drinking lots of soda pop, flavored mineral waters and sports drinks is also disastrous. Although fat free, these sugary drinks are far too high in calories for the average person’s daily energy requirements. Eating in moderation is ideal in all food groups especially when it comes to cakes, biscuits and desserts.

Counting Calories

What will also help you achieve weight loss is reducing the fats in your diet and having only a reasonable amount of calories. If you are on a weight loss program I would suggest that your fat and calorie intake is:

Women - 30-35g of fat a day and 1300 calories.
Men - 40-45g of fat a day and under 1800 calories.

If you count your calories you will soon find that some foods, especially those with sugar, will quickly use up your quota.
Be smart and have less sugar in your day and your weight and health will benefit.
Some people like to use artificial sweeteners but unless you are diabetic I would encourage you to avoid them as they are chemicals and I personally don’t consider them to be good for you. Just be careful that you don’t over-eat the sugar free lollies because if you eat too many you may get diarrhea. Adding sugar to coffee and teas also encourages your sweet tooth to stay strong so think next time you spoon all that sugar into your cup and maybe now is the right time to cut it out.

Listen to Annette's Health and Wellbeing tips:

Annette's Health and Wellbeing tip - Low Fat Tips (698 KB)

Annette's Health and Wellbeing tip - Saturated Fats (745 KB)