The Clothesline Diet’s 10 Winter Weight Loss Tips

Posted: Tuesday 1 June 2010 07:03am

When you’ve lost half your body weight and kept it off for more than eight years, you have a fair idea about battling onerous odds – let alone a few months of cold weather – to achieve your goal.

Melbourne wife and mum Karen Gatt, 37, famously shed 65kg with an eating plan she devised herself, and an exercise regimen that began with walking around the clothesline in her backyard a few minutes a day. In 1999 Karen was so fat she couldn’t walk for more than a few minutes without exhausting herself, besides which she didn’t want to be seen doing so in public.

Her gargantuan effort resulted in not only reaching her goal weight but a best-selling book, The Clothesline Diet, which has also recently been published in th US. She runs a support website for others battling to shed kilos and is regularly invited to the US to give talks to “globesity” sufferers.

Here Karen shares 10 simple tips for winter weight watching:

Tip 1. Cold days are coming very quickly, but that’s no excuse not to exercise. Even on rainy days, you can still do a workout. Grab a jacket and go for a brisk walk – the cool winter mornings are beautiful! If it’s really too cold to go out, pop on an exercise DVD or jump on the kids Wii Fit. Twenty minutes is all you need.

Tip 2. I love winter soups! Make your own homemade soups -  minestrone soup, pumpkin, chicken. Who doesn’t love soup? If you can’t make your own there are plenty of varieties available at the supermarket – but go for the salt reduced 99% fat free. And never add cream or sour cream!

Tip 3. My favourite winter snack is so simple – two water crackers, some low-fat cheese and fresh cherry tomatoes. It’s filling but won’t add unwanted kilos.

Tip 4. Drink 1-3 cups of green tea throughout the day. It’s a great way to keep you warm and green tea is very calming and cleansing.

Tip 5. If it’s really too cold to go for a walk outside – hit the shopping mall. Walk around your nearest indoor mall for half an hour. But no cappuccinos until you’ve done two laps of the centre. Take a pedometer with you and measure how far you can do. See if you can do 1000 steps. You’ll be surprised how effective this is.

Tip 6. Water is a winter saver, great for your waistline and your skin! You must drink  6-8 glasses of water per day but if you don’t like cold water then drink it warm with a squeeze of lemon. It’s great to cleanse and rehydrate your skin.

Tip 7. I love to take my kids bowling during winter – if we can’t get outside for a bike ride or walk, we play ten pin bowls. It’s not exhaustive at all. It’s a fun  way to do an activity with your kids and it’s a good upper body workout.  Just keep your body moving!

Tip 8. I love salad but I know a lot of people don’t. If you’re not a salad eater, winter is for you. Load up on roasted vegetables. Make sure you have more vegetables than meat on your plate each day. And I don’t roast my vegetables in any sort of oil, they don’t need it. Just use baking paper to line the tray. Try beetroots zucchini, turnip. A little crumbed fetta on them as they’re coming out of the oven is beautiful.

Tip 9. Watch your portions through winter. Just because it’s cold it doesn’t mean you eat more. Think like a Sex and The City star – have you ever seen those girls eat big portions or go back for seconds? NO! Reduce your portion size and stay in control of your food.

Tip 10. The colder months generally make you feel like staying rugged up indoors, but a little extra effort in winter will pay big rewards come summer. Use winter as a tool to help you remain focused to look good for spring and summer.

FURTHER READING:
- Belly Busters
- Everything Old is New Again – The Ultimate Crash Diet
- Smooth Operators: New Cellulite Solutions

by Jenni Gilbert

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