Table of contents for Vol 33 - Jan 2020 in LOSE IT! The Handbook

1. You must not use the content in LOSE IT! as a substitute for medical advice from a healthcare professional. You should seek medical advice from a qualified professional before starting any weight-loss programme. 2. LOSE IT! magazine (which we sometimes refer to as LOSE IT!) provides educational information on weight loss management and is intended to assist users in weight loss. LOSE IT! is not a medical organisation and cannot give medical advice or a diagnosis. 3. The information and material in LOSE IT! are intended as a general guide to assist weight loss and do not take into account individual circumstances. LOSE IT! will not provide any form of assistance or support in individual cases, nor feedback on any information you submit to the magazine. 4. You use…

The short answer is yes. Our metabolism is affected by what and when we eat, and if you’ve been following a low-calorie diet for years, chances are yours has been affected. What’s key is keeping your insulin levels low, says Dr Jason Fung, and to stop reducing calories. Effectively this means following a low-carb, healthy fat diet (excellent… you’re in the right place!). If calories are relatively high and insulin low, he says, your body tends to use those ingested calories for energy – and that increases your metabolic rate.…

We’ve all fallen off the low-carb wagon… a slice of toast here, a round of beers there – it happens to the best of us! (The festive season presents a whole new set of challenges; you don’t want to be the Grinch, turning down a portion of gran’s prize trifle.) Or maybe you’ve noticed that you’ve stopped losing weight, even though you’re doing everything by the book? Well, it’s the start of a new year, so time to get back on track. The key to this may be rebooting your metabolism with a brief stint of strict keto. Mark Sisson, author of The Keto Reset Diet: Reboot Your Metabolism in 21 Days and Burn Fat Forever, noted that even though he’d cut down on sugar and carbs over the past…

Buchu is only found in a small area of the Western Cape – mainly the Cederberg region. Lucky for us, because this indigenous herb has been used for over 300 years for its health-giving properties. ‘We grew up learning about the wonderful medicinal properties of buchu,’ says Karin McCann, MD of Cape Kingdom Nutraceuticals, a family-owned business that is educating SA and the world about the benefits of buchu. ‘Our parents would take us hiking in the Cederberg mountains, and as kids, we’d pick a leaf and chew on it, and our parents would tell us how the San and the Khoi people discovered this plant first and used it for most of their medicine. When the opportunity came to develop health products from buchu, we jumped at it.’ The…

‘For most of my adult life, I had gone to see dieticians, and I focused on eating what I thought were healthy, fat-free foods’ ‘My weight has been up and down for most of my life,’ says Emma Johnson. After giving birth to her youngest at 31, she managed to shed all the baby weight. But when she and her husband split up, Emma’s stress levels skyrocketed and she rapidly gained weight. ‘When I’m stressed, I don’t eat well. I went through six years of hell, having to start my life from scratch with three kids and two jobs.’ At the peak of her weight gain, Emma weighed 84kg. She was barely eating and couldn’t understand why she kept gaining weight. In February 2019, she was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease…

Wouldn’t it be amazing if just by feeding our brains with a healthier diet we could make a difference to how we feel and function each day? While more studies are needed to fully understand all the ways in which a low-carb lifestyle helps, it is definitely a strategy worth implementing if you struggle with poor concentration, lack of motivation, low moods, anxiety, a tendency to procrastinate and/or low energy levels. STABILISES MOOD When you eat high concentrations of sugar, your blood sugar spikes significantly within 30 minutes. This triggers a surge in insulin, whose job it is to bring blood glucose back down. As your blood sugar drops and starts to become too low, you may experience a ‘sugar crash’ and feel tired, unfocused, irritable and/or hungry. The fight…

LOW-CARB CHOCOLATE AND SESAME SEED BISCUITS MAKES 20 KEEP ON TRACK per serving FAT 14G CARBS 6G PROTEIN 3G FOR THE BISCUITS ½ cup almond flour½ cup hazelnut flour (finely ground hazelnuts)1 cup desiccated coconut½ cup white sesame seeds, toasted¼ cup xylitol1 egg120g butter, melted1 tsp vanilla extract FOR THE CHOCOLATE DIPPING GLAZE 100g 85% dark chocolate, roughly chopped1 tsp coconut oil 1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. 2. Line a baking tray with baking paper and grease with butter. 3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Make a well in the centre and add the egg, melted butter and vanilla extract. 4. Mix together until it forms a workable dough. 5. Roll the mixture out between two pieces of baking paper – it should be…

EGGS BAKED IN CREAM SERVES 4 KEEP ON TRACK per serving FAT 31G | CARBS 7G | PROTEIN 25G 15g butter, for greasing400ml creamhandful baby spinach leaves12 asparagus spears, blanched250g smoked trout ribbons4 large free range eggs, at room temperature1 tbsp chopped dill1 tbsp finely chopped chivessalt and freshly ground black pepper 1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Butter 4 ovenproof dishes with a capacity of 250ml each. Place the dishes into a large, deep roasting pan. 2. Spoon 50ml of the cream into each dish then top with the spinach leaves and asparagus spears. Add another 50ml cream to each dish. Add the trout and break an egg into the cream. Scatter the herbs over and season with salt and black pepper. 3. Pour hot water into the roasting pan…

KEEP ON TRACK per chaffle FAT 41G | CARBS 5G | PROTEIN 42G LOW-CARB CAESAR SALAD WRAPS MAKES 4 To save time buy an organic rotisserie chicken from your local supermarket and pull all the meat from the bone. Use the meat for delicious sandwich and wrap fillings. The Caesar dressing is delicious and versatile and is a good staple to have in the fridge. These wraps will keep for three days in the fridge, wrapped up in the baking paper. FOR THE CAESAR DRESSING 250g crème fraiche5 anchovy fillets1 tsp mustard2 tsp white wine vinegar½ clove garlic, minced⅓ cup olive oil FOR THE FILLING 250g bacon200g rotisserie chicken, shredded1 head iceberg lettuce50g Parmesan shavings6 small snack cucumbers, cut inthin strips lengthways 1. For the Caesar dressing: Blend all the…

MEAT • Free range, grass-fed, organic meat No processed meats EGGS • Free range organic eggs SEAFOOD • Most fish No processed or crumbed fish DAIRY • Ghee No other dairy such as milk, cream or cheese SWEET THINGS • Raw honey• Maple syrup• Dark chocolate No sugar or artificial sweeteners FRUIT • Most fresh (preferably organic) fruit in moderation FATS • Coconut oil• Olive oil• Avocado oil• Macadamia nut oil No refined vegetable oil such as sunflower or canola NUTS • Most nuts No legumes or dried beans, unless you choose to include peanuts. FLOURS • Almond flour• Macadamia nut flour• Coconut flour No wheat flours, grain, cereals, rice or oats VEGGIES • Most fresh vegetables – preferably organic Starchy vegetables such as sweet potatoes and beetroot should be…

When you think of ‘healthy food’, what image comes to mind? For most, it would probably be a large plate of colourful vegetables, or a salad with a small portion of lean meat. But, which of these is a healthier option: broccoli or chicken livers? That question is less easy to answer: Defining the term ‘healthy food’ is a matter of perspective, depending on your chosen eating plan. Here’s why nutrient density still applies if you follow a low-carb lifestyle, and the nutrient profiles of foods to include in your meal plan. WHAT IS NUTRIENT DENSITY? According to conventional practitioners, the nutrient density of a food is the ratio of beneficial ingredients to the food’s energy content for the amount that we usually eat of it. In other words, the…

Q I’ve heard that eating vegetables raw is far more nutritious than eating them cooked. Is this true? A It’s both correct and incorrect. It all depends on the vegetables! For example, cooked carrots have more beta carotene than raw carrots. This antioxidant can be converted to vitamin A, which improves bone, eye and reproductive health. Another example is tomatoes. When cooked, the amount of lycopene increases significantly, which is a real plus: this carotenoid has been associated with reduced incidence of heart disease and cancer. The potential downside to cooking vegetables is the decrease in their nutrient levels when exposed to very high temperatures for an extended period of time. Water soluble vitamins such as vitamin C and B are often lost during cooking and minerals such as potassium,…

FROM THE LOW-CARB CREED BY SALLY-ANN CREED SERVES 4 ⅓ cup coconut oil1 large onion, chopped½ tsp turmeric1 bay leaf3 small cinnamon sticks1 tbsp fennel seeds1 sprig curry leaves (or 6 dried leaves)4 tbsp leaf masala2 cloves of garlic, crushed1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated1 tomato, grated or finely chopped500g lamb knuckle or stewing mutton10ml salt2 cups sweet potato, diced10g fresh coriander, chopped KEEP ON TRACK per serving FAT 36G | CARBS 20G | PROTEIN 26G 1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and fry until almost soft. Add the spices, garlic and ginger and fry until fragrant. 2. Add the tomato and fry for a few more minutes. 3. Add the meat and salt and sauté for 2 minutes. Cover the meat at least halfway with…

SERVES 4 KEEP ON TRACK per serving FAT 21G | CARBS 9G | PROTEIN 20G 150g salmon90g kale, chopped6 large eggs, lightly beaten2 cups cherry tomatoes, chopped1 avo, chopped1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil to drizzle 1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Heat an ovenproof frying pan over high heat. Place the salmon skin-side down into the pan. Fry for 3 minutes, then turn the fish over and fry for another minute until the fish is just cooked. Set aside. Break the fish into chunks and remove the skin once cool enough. 2. Saute the kale for 1–2 minutes in the same pan. 3. Turn the heat down to medium. Season the eggs with salt and black pepper and pour into pan. Add the salmon and cook for about 5 minutes until…

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YOU NEED MORE PROTEIN THAN YOU THINK! It’s not so much that we’re overweight as under-muscled, says Dr Gabrielle Lyon, an integrative physician with a fellowship in Nutritional Sciences and Geriatrics. As we age, we need to eat more protein to maintain our lean muscle mass because muscle is the reservoir for amino acids – the more lean muscle we have, the more likely we are to increase longevity. How much you need depends on your age and your muscle mass: a broad rule of thumb is 1g of protein per kg of your ideal weight per day. Lean muscle is a vital metabolic, endocrinal organ, she says. Google ‘The Prot-age Paper’ for more!…

If your excuse for not sticking to better habits (sleeping and exercising more, eating less) is because you lack willpower, think again! Scientists say that people who do manage to make permanent changes in their lives do it by taking themselves out of temptation’s way. In other words, not being in a position to be tempted is better than resisting temptation. One of the reasons for this, they believe, is that willpower is a quality that can become depleted, and when that happens you will fall off the wagon in a big way. Basically, if you’re craving sweet things, staying out of the bakery will give you a better chance of long-term success than going in there and ‘being strong’.…

Buyfresh.co.za is our new go-to online grocery store. With the click of a mouse, the site connects customers to the highest-quality locally sourced fresh produce and food products. Think free-range meat and poultry, sustainable fish and seafood, baked goods, snacks, braai spices, nut butters, bone broth and more, delivered right to your door – or your desk! When you order a particular cut of meat or fish, it is ordered and prepared for you. Visit buyfresh.co.za and start shopping!…

Camel milk has been around for centuries as the basic milk supply in various regions in the Middle East and Africa. With its many health benefits, it’s considered to be the closest thing to milk produced by human mothers. Thankfully, its steadily increasing popularity has seen it becoming more accessible in South Africa. Camels produce less milk than cows and normally only after pregnancy, so the supply can be limited, which is why it is pricier than cow’s milk or plant-based substitutes. Because it contains natural antibiotics, camel milk has a longer shelf life. It can be frozen and is generally purchased in dried form as a ‘powdered milk’ supplement. Creamy and sweet, with a hint of saltiness, it’s the perfect addition to any dish or hot drink, or it…

SERVES 6 KEEP ON TRACK per serving FAT 34G CARBS 12G PROTEIN 5G ¼ cup ghee3 cups pumpkin cubes2 cups Brussels sprouts, halved3 cups Swiss chard, chopped FOR THE PARSLEY CHIMICHURRI 60g parsley, stems removed15g oreganum, stems removed1 large garlic clove1 red chilli, chopped⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil3–5 tbsp white wine vinegarsalt and pepper to taste 100g walnuts, toasted 1. Heat half of the ghee in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the pumpkin and about a tablespoon of water and fry, tossing frequently until browned and just cooked. You may need to do two batches. Place in a roasting dish and keep warm in the oven at 100?C. 2. Heat remaining ghee and fry Brussels sprouts until browned. Stir the Swiss chard through for the last minute or two…

SERVES 6 KEEP ON TRACK per serving FAT 8G | CARBS 9G | PROTEIN 3G 500g rainbow carrots3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil4 whole garlic cloves¼ cup Parmesan shavings 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Rinse the carrots well and trim the tops. 2. Toss the carrots, with the olive oil, in a large oven roasting dish. Add the garlic cloves to the dish and roast for 30–40 minutes or until just cooked. 3. To serve: Squeeze the garlic out of the peel and into the carrots. Toss through the Parmesan and serve warm.…

Herbs and spices have been used for culinary and medicinal purposes for centuries. Studies have shown that they have powerful healing properties and can be used as a defence against chronic diseases and conditions. Most spices are nutrient-rich, contain antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic and glucose- and cholesterol-lowering properties. In his book, Food: What the Heck Should I Eat?, US physician and author Dr Mark Hyman recommends regularly incorporating turmeric, rosemary, cumin, sage, oregano, cinnamon and coriander, among others, in your diet. ‘Some [herbs and spices], like turmeric and ginger, are anti-inflammatory; others, like oregano, are antibacterial and antifungal – and many are loaded with phytonutrients, which help our bodies naturally detoxify from everyday toxins,’ says Dr Hyman. ‘Buy organic when you can and read all of the labels to…

TOMATO CHUTNEY MAKES 10–12 SERVINGS KEEP ON TRACK per serving FAT 3G | CARBS 3G | PROTEIN 1G 2 tbsp coconut oil1 red onion, finely chopped6 ripe plum tomatoes, chopped1 small knob of ginger, peeled and quartered1 tbsp coconut sugar (or xylitol)4 tbsp apple cider vinegarsalt and black pepper to taste 1. Heat the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the onion and fry until soft. 2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until the coconut sugar has dissolved. 3. Simmer gently for 20–30 minutes or until the chutney has thickened. Spoon into a jar and cool completely. Keep refrigerated. delicious served with LCHF nacho chips LCHF NACHOS 375g almond flour • ½ cup golden flaxseeds, ground finely in a spice grinder • 2 egg whites • ½ tsp salt…

UP YOUR ALFRESCO DINING GAME WITH THESE LOW-CARB RECIPES FOR THE PERFECT SUMMER PICNIC. ASPARAGUS AND RICOTTA TARTLETS MAKES 8 TARTLETS KEEP ON TRACK per tartlet FAT 30G | CARBS 9G | PROTEIN 14G FOR THE PASTRY 1½ cups almond flour1 egg30g butter½ tsp salt¼ cup Parmesan cheese2 tbsp thyme leaves FOR THE FILLING 4 eggs200g ricotta200g cream cheesejuice of 1 lemon¼ cup cream2 sprigs of thymepinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper FOR THE TOPPING salt100g asparagus1 lemon, cut into quarters 1. Grease 8, loose-bottom, fluted tartlet tins with butter. Place them on a baking tray. 2. For the pastry: Pulse the almond flour, egg, butter, salt, Parmesan cheese and thyme in a food processor until it comes together. Turn out on a clean surface and knead the…