CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet launches online program

AUSTRALIANS are fatter than ever, so Australia’s leading scientific body has launched an online version of their popular diet to tackle our big weight problem.

‘It’s amazing the difference in how I feel’

IN 20 years, Australians have gained more than 60 million kilos.

That’s the equivalent of 150 jumbo jets. Or 30 space shuttles. And the amount of fat we’ve stacked on is enough to feed more than 650,000 people for an entire year.

The average Aussie male weighs 85.9kg and the average female clocks up 71.1kg on the scales, according to the ABS. We’re fatter and heavier than we’ve ever been.

With these eye-watering statistics in mind, Australia’s leading scientific body — the CSIRO — has joined forces with the GI Foundation to tackle Australia’s weight problem. They’re taking their popular Total Wellbeing Diet book, which has sold over a million copies, and launching the diet program online.

The co-author of the Total Wellbeing Diet, Professor Manny Noakes, says the program is based on oodles of international research that says a high protein and low-GI diet is best for weight loss.

“The diet ensures that people get the right amount of different food groups each day — fruit, vegetables, dairy, protein, grain foods, low-gi carbs and healthy fats,” Professor Noakes said. “And importantly, we don’t forget the fact that people eat food not just for nutrition, so we allow one indulgent food per day.”

The 12-week online program generates user-specific weekly meal plans and has a database of more than 30,000 foods. “If you’re not sure about what a particular food or meal contains, then you can enter that in and it will tell you how much of each food group it contains, how many calories and how many indulgent units it has,” said Professor Noakes.

The photo that motivated Amanda Bosch to change.

Many Aussies wanting to make a change in the new year have already signed up.

Amanda Bosch, from Sydney, knew she wanted to lose weight after seeing photos of herself at a friend’s wedding.

“I was recently a bridesmaid at a wedding in Bali. I looked at the photos and I’ve got about eight chins! I was like, ‘Oh my god, come on’. I’ve got a lot a lot to offer as an individual, I’m an attractive female but I’m not doing myself any favours simply by remaining in that state and being complacent. I’m still single. I want to get out there and find me a man. I’m going to be a bridesmaid in June in San Francisco and I refuse to be the fat bridesmaid.”

The 36-year-old signed up to Total Wellbeing online program at the beginning of December.

“I know it’s right in the middle of silly season but I’m just making much wiser choices with what I’m eating. I’ve still been able to eat out, but I’m choosing a lot better. I’m trying to keep my champagne intake to a minimum. You can still have little treats on the diet. It’s not like you’re being completely starved of all sugar and alcohol. It fits with my lifestyle.”

The 36-year-old has already lost a few kilos and has adjusted some of her “rich food recipes” to suit her new diet.

Andrew McIntyre, from Newcastle, used the original CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet book to lose 24kg and get off his cholesterol blood medication a few years ago. He’s also no longer pre-diabetic.

“It’s amazing the difference in how I feel. I’m physically more comfortable. Carrying around 20 extra kilos is hard work. I feel a whole lot better about myself and I feel a whole lot more confident.”

Andrew says losing that weight gave him the confidence to try new things.

“I started doing yoga — I found that great for posture and flexibility as well as mental wellbeing. I play baseball and softball and my game improved substantially. I did my first mountain bike race which was 50km, and I’ve complete two triathlons this year.”

But he’s gained some of that weight back and just joined the online program late last year, to try and get back on the wagon. He says trying new things and persistence are the key to maintaining weight loss.

“Try different things and different approaches. If one approach isn’t working, trying something else. And persistence. My weight loss was not continuous. There were times when I plateaued and there were times when I put on a little bit of weight. There were barriers to break through. Don’t let the setbacks put you off, just keep trying.”

Andrew: After.

Andrew: Before.

Are you about to being your weight loss journey? Here are Professor Noakes’ top tips for those just getting started:

1. Acknowledge that you need to do something.

“Sometimes we bury our heads in the sand a lot, when what we really need is a bit of a reality check and to just step on the scales. That’s painful, but I think sometimes the shock is what is needed to motivate people to do something. And then regularly track your weight, at least on a weekly basis. We know from research that people who track their weight regularly tend to keep their weight down.”

2. Keep to regular meal times.

“Sometimes this is really hard when we have busy work and social lives. But people who have regular meal times tend to be more successful. Part of the reality is that people who are better planned are less likely to be tempted by food they shouldn’t be eating.”

3. Do some form of exercise.

“Whatever you’re doing now, increase that. Even if it means just sitting down less. It’s important to move as much as you can and spend as little time as possible sitting down. Time spend sitting down is very unhealthy.”

4. It’s about healthy, balanced nutrition.

“We know that at the moment, around 35-40 per cent of the calories people eat comes from junk food. So a very important principle is to keep the serving sizes of junk food small. If you can imagine what the serving sizes of muffins are now and what the original cupcake used to be like, that’s the level of shrinkage needed. We all like to indulge, but we probably gorge rather than savour eating beautiful things.”

Do you have a weight loss story to share? Email [e-mail].