Morphett Vale woman lost more than half her body weight on the CSIRO online diet

Still trying to kick start your resolution to lose weight this year? Morphett Vale woman Sarah Wolter shares her secret to losing 83kg – more than half her body weight – on the CSIRO diet. See her incredible before and after photos.

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Sarah Wolter had struggled with diets all her life.

“I’ve tried every diet under the sun,” says the 50-year-old, from Morphett Vale, whose weight reached 158kg.

But it wasn’t until she turned to the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet that Ms Wolter finally achieved long-lasting success.

She has lost 83kg – more than half her body weight – over 18 months on the CSIRO’s 12-week online program.

“The weight loss is fantastic but also, it’s that feeling of achievement, that feeling is just phenomenal. I live a life now that I never dared dream was even possible,” she says.

“I’ve tried to lose weight my whole life and CSIRO was just the thing that clicked for me.”

Sarah Wolter is barely recognisable in a before photo. Picture: Supplied

Sarah Wolter after losing 83kg on the diet. Picture: CSIRO

And Ms Wolter is not alone.

A five-year study published yesterday of 59,688 Australians on the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet – including 4713 from South Australia – showed those who completed the program lost an average of 4.9kg, or 5.3 per cent of their starting weight.

Adelaide-based lead scientist Dr Gilly Hendrie credits the diet’s engaging digital tools for driving weight-loss success.

The high-protein, low-GI carbohydrate diet was originally a book but is now an online interactive platform. Dr Hendrie says it is “exciting, in a nerdy way” to see the link between use of the digital platform and increased weight loss.

At her heaviest, Sarah weighted 158kg. Picture: Supplied

Sarah with a meal from the high-protein, low-GI carbohydrate diet. Picture: CSIRO

Those who completed the 12-week online program (“stayers”) lost an average of 5.3 per cent of their body weight, which was three times more weight loss than those who started the program but didn’t reach the end (“starters”).

That might not sound like a lot, but Dr Hendrie says that degree of weight loss is clinically significant.

The Morphett Vale woman is known as a “superstar” member of the CSIRO diet. Picture: Matt Loxton

“There is a wide body of research that shows for overweight and obese adults, the greatest health benefits come from losing the first five per cent of body weight,” she says.

“Superstar” members – including Ms Wolter – on average lost 21.7kg, or 21 per cent of their body weight.

“They used the online platform about 5.3 times a day and weighed in about twice a week,” Dr Hendrie said.

“The results show that the more you use, the more you can lose.”