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Ho hum and carrot sticks. Diet books seem to be ten-to-the-fried-egg dozen right now, coming out of every fat-gobbling orifice – as usual. Sure, it’s because Australia is officially one of the fattest nations on earth, but it’s also because so many of us want to feel good again. No greater testament to this was the no sugar, wheat, dairy, alcohol, carbs-after-6pm Challenge I recently undertook right here on AWO.
Whilst my Challenge was essentially based on my findings in Body Blitz Diet by Anna Richardson, I didn’t follow it to the letter. I nonetheless had really worthwhile results. I can’t imagine, then, what I would have experienced had I really stuck with the game plan, as outlined in Richardson’s book.
So what made me sit up on my wobbly behind and take a look at Body Blitz Diet, amidst the groaning shelves of diet books? Well, firstly it’s because I absolutely love the show Richardson co-created – You Are What You Eat – which quite literally breaks down the diets of some pretty horrendous food abusers, and realigns their mortal destiny to a more healthful life.
But the real hook that got me when I first spied the book’s cover was this: ‘Five Rules’. That’s right. Just five of them. And I, for one, wanted to know what they were. What ‘rules’ could possibly make me look like that svelte red comma in heels on the front cover?
Essentially, as revealed during my 14-day Challenge, these rules encompass the avoidance of refined sugar, wheat, dairy, alcohol and any carbs after 6pm. While friends joked that all I’d have left to eat would be air, I can honestly say this ‘diet’ is not at all one of deprivation. Essentially, and most sensibly when it comes down to it – it simply means eliminating junk. No surprise that eliminating junk slims you down.
In Body Blitz Diet, I love how Richardson relates to her readers by exposing herself as a ‘fat girl struggling to be in a slim body’. The author believes she has always struggled with her weight, even since childhood, but it wasn’t until 2007, when two events occurred, that the author was finally pushed headlong into her permanent weight loss goal.
Yes, one was a changing room moment, where a sales assistant very kindly advised her (first asking her not to take offense) that she really should lose weight before attempting to ‘wear a dress like this’. The other was when Channel 4 (UK) offered her a job on their new diet series Supersize v Superskinny.
Richardson says she had tried it all to lose weight, but of course, nothing ever worked (any bells ringing, girls?), until she came to the simple premise, through her work on Supersize v Superskinny, that the secret behind permanent weight loss was simply this:
Eat less. Move more. As she clearly states – it’s really not rocket science.
Soon after, Body Blitz Diet was born – a beautifully laid out tome which presents The Rules (as stated above), then goes about telling you what you CAN eat (and it’s lots!) and how to avoid any traps. Richardson also offers weight loss tips to accelerate any achievements and clearly lays out what equipment and strategies you will need to make this challenge a success. She even provides food shopping lists to make certain you have all you need to prepare great meals, without temptation, as well as an achievable meal plan.
The bulk of the book is dedicated to recipes, starting with breakfast ideas through lunch, soups, salads, dinner, quick fixes, drinks and ‘fast food’. Indeed, most of the emails I received whilst working on this challenge were related to ideas on what to eat, and Richardson definitely provides a plethora of delectable inspiration.
Richardson admits her downfalls and failures when talking the reader, making this a book anyone can relate to and feel supported by. She is very much a ‘real woman’ and this approach is surely testament to the success of Body Blitz Diet.
What she also makes abundantly clear is that feeling good and maintaing a healthy weight are a lifestyle choice rather than a Diet per se, which is why I feel the title of this book is misdirected. I never once called my Challenge a ‘diet’ because I don’t believe diets work and that health and a slender figure are down to an emotional and mental choice that we make each and every day of our lives – not a quick fix that will get us into a bikini or wedding dress before blowing out again three weeks later.
Whatever you get from Body Blitz Diet, I hope you take from it the life-changing idea that a healthful and happy lifestyle is not about being skinny. It’s about maintaining a weight that is healthful and just feel well and feeling great. No matter your ‘size’.