The Monday diet

The Monday diet

Remind yourself what you want to look like

Keep pictures of yourself at your ideal weight at home, at work, even in your purse. Look at them whenever you’re coming up with excuses not to exercise or considering a trip to the cafeteria or ice cream parlour. Eventually you’ll stop and think each time you’re about to undermine your diet. In the meantime, the pictures will help you to hesitate.

Give yourself a reward

Don’t belittle the small successes -they’re the key to keeping yourself motivated. Give yourself an additional boost by deciding in advance what you’U gets if you stick to the diet this week (a pedicure, perhaps?). Soon you’ll be able to invest in the ultimate reward: a new wardrobe in a new, smaller size!

Back-on-the-wagon diets

DIET 1: breakfast: Oat/wheat flakes with 1 cup non-fat milk; omelets of 2 egg whites; 1 apple; herb tea with 1 tsp sugar

Lunch - 1 stuffed roti (potato, onion, or other leftover vegetables); 1 bowl boondi raita/skimmed milk yoghurt (flavoured/plain); 1 bowl cucumber, carrot, tomato salad (fresh lime dressing, pinch of salt)

Snacks- 2-3 medium pears

Dinner - 1 bowl clear mushroom-tomato soup (without cornflour); a simple salad (2 cups salad greens, cucumber thinly sliced, 1 small tomato cut into wedges, 2 spring onions thinly sliced; drizzle with dressing of 1 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp vinegar); tandoori chicken (one

leg/breast piece) or 3 small tikkis (made with 3 tsp low-fat paneer -made at home with low-fat milk-and plenty of boiled/blanched spinach); 1 cup chopped steamed broccoli, sprinkled with 1 tbsp cheese; 1 medium custard apple or 10 small strawberries

Whole meal plan: 1,250 Calories; 25g (at; 900mg calcium; 35g fibre.

DIET 2: breakfast: 1 cup Cheerios; 1 cup fat-free milk; 1 medium peach, sliced, or 2 medium plums/apples; cheese toast (sprinkle 2 tbsp shredded part-skim mo/.za-rella on slice of light bread; broil until cheese melts)

Lunch - 1 cup gazpacho
(blend tomatoes, capsicum, cucumbers, garlic into soup; heat with 1 tsp olive oil); veggie burger (melt 2 tbsp shredded low-fat Cheddar on a mini whole-wheat pita; add heated veggie burger, lettuce, tomato, onion, 1 tsp ketchup)

Snacks - 150g light yoghurt

Dinner - Simple salad (see Diet 1); Chicken breast (1OOg skinless, boneless chicken breast, roasted/ grilled); 1 cup chopped steamed broccoli, sprinkled with 1 tbsp grated Parmesan; 1 small ear of corn; 10 small strawberries

Whole meal plan: 1,200 Calories; 26g fat (20 percent calories); 8g saturated fat (6 percent calories); 1200mg calcium; 29g fibre.