At 26 years of age, with two toddlers to care for, Karen Gatt weighed in at 136kg. She'd tried diet after diet, only to find the scale tipping ever higher.
Barely able to make it to the letterbox, she willed herself to walk around the clothesline in her backyard every day. She cleaned out her cupboards and designed a healthy, easy-to-follow eating plan. And in just one year she walked off an incredible 67kg!
Here is Karen's diet plan.
For each meal, choose one of the following options.
Breakfast
- Two slices of wholegrain/low-fat bread toasted with light cream-cheese spread or low sugar jam.
- Two Weet-Bix with low-fat milk.
- One slice of wholegrain/low-fat toast with low-fat spread of your choice, and one Weet-Bix with low-fat milk.
- Small bowl of low fat cereal, such as Cornflakes or Special K with low-fat milk.
- Two 99 percent fat-free crumpets with low-fat or low-joule spread, such as light cheese spread or jam.
- One poached egg with one or two slices of wholegrain/low-fat toast.
- One slice of plain fruit toast, and a small bowl of any low-fat cereal
Morning tea
- Any pieces of fruit (limit bananas to two per week).
- Tea or coffee with two low-fat biscuits.
- Tea or coffee with one small low-fat muffin.
- Tub of small low-fat yoghurt.
- Tub of mixed fruit.
- Low-fat muesli bar
Lunch
- Cup of low-fat soup, with four low-fat crackers topped with tomato and cucumber.
- A bowl of 99 percent fat-free soup, with a small bowl of fruit salad.
- Low-fat three-minute rice.
- Two-minute 99 percent fat-free noodles.
- Pita bread with low-fat mayonnaise, tuna in spring water, lettuce and tomato.
- Salad sandwich on wholegrain/low-fat bread.
- Large fruit salad.
- Two hard-boiled eggs with low-fat crackers and low-fat mayonnaise. You can substitute wholegrain/low-fat bread for crackers if you prefer a sandwich.
- Ham and cheese salad sandwich using wholegrain/low-fat bread. Use a light-cheese spread, low-fat mayonnaise or mustard pickles instead of butter.
- Wholemeal roll with cold chicken. Add low-fat mayonnaise and salad if you like.
- A tub of yoghurt and bowl of fruit.
- Six crackers with ricotta or cottage cheese and tomato.
- One roast potato, two pieces of pumpkin and a medium slice of beef, or a skinless piece of chicken with lots of vegetables (peas, carrots, beans, broccoli, corn), with one slice of wholegrain/low-fat bread. I suggest you steam the lighter vegetables but roast the potato and pumpkin in water (not oil).
Afternoon tea
- One low-fat muesli bar.
- One health bar such as a low-fat fruit bar.
- One banana.
- Fruit salad with low-fat custard.
- Small bowl of low-sugar jelly with a portion of canned fruit.
- One chopped carrot with a celery stick and low-fat dip.
- Six water crackers with slices of low-fat cheese.
- Stewed apples with or without low-fat custard.
- Two oranges cut into pieces
Dinner
- Steamed or boiled skinless chicken fillets, one hard-boiled egg, moderate serve of steamed vegetables or salad.
- One pork chop baked in water, a cup of cooked pasta, served with vegetables.
- Fried rice (fried in water) mixed with a stir-fry of your choice (look for low-fat stir-fries) or steamed vegetables.
- Grilled fish with salad.
- Portion of skinless chicken, served with a small portion of steamed potato and vegetables. I buy chicken schnitzel because it's a thinner chicken portion and it cooks quickly, but you can use any skinless chicken fillet.
- Large pita bread with low-fat mayonnaise, tuna and salad.
- Chicken or beef stir-fry with vegetables and rice.
- Omelette, using two eggs, tomatoes and ham.
- Two medium beef, tuna or chicken patties cooked using low-fat mince, with one boiled potato and one corncob.
- Homemade pizza using a pita bread base and all the healthy ingredients you can think of. Limit cheese and make sure it's low-fat.
- Homemade minestrone, chicken or pumpkin soup. Limit potato quantity in any soup.
- Grilled T-bone steak served with gravy sauce, coleslaw mixed with low-fat mayonnaise and a tomato or a medium baked potato filled with a light stuffing of your choice.
Supper
- Small bowl of fruit salad, or individual fruits.
- Small bowl of low-fat pretzels.
- Cup of tea or coffee with two low-fat biscuits.
- Four water crackers with low-fat cheese or Vegemite, or both.
- Cup of low-fat hot chocolate, with a small low-fat muffin.
- Small bowl of low-fat cereal with low fat milk.
- Small tub of low-fat yoghurt.
This is an edited extract from The Clothesline Diet by Karen Gatt with Sue Smethurst (Macmillan Australia, $29.99).
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