I used to be a ‘serial dieter’. I tried them all, from Weight Watchers, Atkins, Jenny Craig to self-created versions of what I thought would make me lose 15lbs or so.

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None of them ever worked – at least not after a few weeks of feeling incredibly deprived. You see, the thing is, I LOVE food – which is just as well, as now I teach about it, write about it, play with it, and basically think about it most of the time.

In addition, as a mom to two young boys, I’m up at 6am preparing breakfast and school lunches, thinking about what I’ll prepare for my own lunch, and planning our family dinner…so, like you, I’m continually surrounded by food as well.

Although never really obese, my nickname when growing up, thanks to one of my older brothers, was ‘Fatty’ or ‘Fudge’ as I always had a stone or so to lose. (FYI, a stone equates to 14lbs and is the common unit of weight in the UK and Ireland.)

Years later, the moment I started to focus on being healthy rather than thin, is when my dieting woes became a thing of the past. As I was in my late 30s trying to conceive, I started my ‘pre-pregnancy campaign’ by really cleaning up my diet, and that of my husband. I took any opportunity to slip zinc-rich pumpkin seeds into him – zinc being great for male fertility.

I soon noticed that I felt so energized, and I easily attained, and maintained, my target weight. I was lucky to experience two great pregnancies and, much to my surprise, went back to my pre-pregnancy weight with little effort. I was enjoying my food for the right reasons – trying to keep my unborn babies healthy, or ensuring that when I was lactating they were getting the best quality breast milk.


I realized that I was eating more, but better quality food – I wanted to continue to feel this great, so I’ve been ‘eating clean’ (if I can use that cliché) ever since. Now, don’t get me wrong; I’m an Irish, fun-loving gal, so I was never going to deprive myself – I just made a few smart, healthy adjustments here and there.

Typically, when we want to lose weight, we know we face a period of ‘deprivation’ – we struggle to come to terms with all the things we will have to give up. From all my dieting experience, there is nothing worse that denying ourselves something we really want to enjoy. Isn’t life far too short for that?

We also know that diets don’t work, and some of the many reasons why I no longer entertain them are:

• They are always short term.

• We become obsessive and can’t stop thinking about the food we really want to have.

• Often, it means being unsociable, and there’s NO fun in that!

• We risk not getting the nutrients we need for good health.

• They result in yo-yo dieting and weight fluctuations over the years (or decades).

• They can slow down your metabolism – age does that for us anyway, so why throw dieting into the mix!

• They bring about feelings of guilt, failure and lack of confidence – as women, we often suffer from this anyway, so we definitely don’t need another dose from dieting.

• We become self-absorbed about how we look, rather than how healthy we want to be, and how good we want to feel.

So rather than thinking about what you CAN’T have, focus on what you CAN have. And this does not entail giving up your favorite foods, or your favorite glass of vino.There’s a healthier version of everything!

Look out for Part 2, which covers healthier versions of all the things we love to eat, so you can look good and feel great without having to deprive yourself of anything!

Visit the Health & Vitality page to find out more about Liza's business.

_{Edited by Nedda Chaplin}

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