The Sirt Diet Cookbook

rice or new potatoes

Plenty of green vegetables

SIRT DIET DAYS (#ulink_c51f2dc6-bcfe-5a72-9997-72c27bef3337)

1500 CALORIES PER DAY WITH SIRT FOODS

Your primary concern on a ‘normal’ SIRT diet day is to make sure you get lots and lots of lovely SIRTs.

By now you should know what to choose and what to expect. Add in a few red berries, have a delicious chocolate snack, enjoy a glass of red wine in the evening. Is this the perfect diet? I certainly think so.

There are a few simple rules to follow:

• Avoid empty calories from, for example, white bread, excessive carbs, sugary and refined treats.

• Make sure you get a good balance of protein, carbohydrate and fat in every meal. The meal planners and recipes will help with this if needed.

• Only have SIRT-rich snacks and get most of your energy requirements from your regular meals.

WHAT ABOUT CALORIE COUNTING?

This is up to you. The 1500 calories per day is a guideline daily amount for a woman. A man could eat up to 2000 calories per day and still see similar results. Likewise, if you are currently severely overweight you should cut back to 1800 calories (woman) or 2300 calories (man). Why? Because this calorie restriction will still result in steady and strong weight-loss and will be easier to follow. If a diet is too extreme for your body, then the likelihood of breaking the diet or falling off the wagon is much higher.

If you can manage to accurately calorie count each day, then this is a very good way to follow the diet. It means you are most likely to follow the diet and not tip over into excessive calorie consumption. It’s not that hard to count your calories, particularly if you eat similar foods each day and/or use some of the recipes in the book (which are calorie counted per serving). You will quickly find that you know the calorie counts for all regular SIRT foods.

Even if you don’t calorie count each day, then it’s a good idea to count calories for the first few days so you get a good idea of the amount you should be eating. Now I’m used to the diet, I genuinely find that as long as I resist stupid snacks and stick to three main meals, I easily stay under the target figure.

One of the huge (and I mean huge) advantages of eating SIRT foods is that they indisputably curb your appetite, making it much easier to resist snacking between meals.

THE DIET THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FAIL …

It’s true. You don’t ‘fail’ a diet day if you eat a few too many calories; just get straight back on track the next day. We all know that sometimes we find the cravings impossible to resist. I’m thinking impossible hormones or sharing a bottle of wine with a good friend. Don’t let it happen too often and you will be fine.

By far the most important part of the SIRT Diet is eating SIRT foods. Not eaten enough SIRTs today? Then take a look at the list of SIRT boosters and add a few extras in. It’s better to have a few extra calories, if they are good SIRT-filled calories, than it is to end the day lacking in SIRTs.

EXAMPLE SIRT DIET DAY

As a rough guide, you should aim to consume up to 300 calories for breakfast, 400 for lunch and 500 for dinner. This leaves 300 calories for snacks, drinks and miscellaneous.

EXAMPLE SIRT DIET DAY MENU

Breakfast:

300 calories • 3 portions of SIRTS

Cup of green tea

Fresh SIRT fruit or smoothie

Healthy cereal or omelette

Mid-morning:

Cup of green tea

Lunch:

400 calories • 3 portions of SIRTS

Salad or soup or lunchbox containing greens and other SIRT-rich vegetables, onions and olive oil

Mid-afternoon:

optional 100 calorie snack • 1 portion of SIRTS

Dark chocolate or apple

Dinner:

500 calories • 3 portions of SIRTS

Lean meat such as chicken or fish or tofu/beans

Good carbs such as brown rice or new potatoes

Plenty of green vegetables

Evening:

optional 100 calorie snack • 1 portion of SIRTS

Small glass of red wine or red grapes or dark chocolate

LIVING THE DIET (#ulink_dfc06ec1-595d-5fa8-84a9-ae8f16be6e8d)

The SIRT Diet is one of the easiest diets to follow. Adjust your mind-set to seek out and enjoy SIRT-rich foods, stock up on your favourites and you are ready to go. An awareness of the best foods to eat, portion size and a dash of willpower are all you need to start losing weight and feel revitalised.

Jump-start days are great for dropping the pounds quickly, but if they don’t work for you then just follow the standard SIRT diet (1500 calories) days. You won’t lose weight quite as quickly, but you will still lose weight steadily and feel great too!

CHANGE THREE THINGS

The best advice I can give you is to change the way you approach food in just three different ways. By adjusting your mind-set and letting the extra SIRT foods curb your appetite, you will find hunger pangs are reduced and you can follow the SIRT Diet without letting it take over your life.

Firstly, you should think about what are your worst habits. What are the foods, beliefs or bad habits that get in the way of a successful diet? Perhaps like me you’re a late-night snacker? A weekend binger? A kids’ tea scoffer? Or even a biscuit non-resister?

Change one – break your worst habit

The first thing you need to find is your biggest diet-breaking bad habit. When it comes to over-eating, when are you most likely to buckle? You must work hard to stop this behaviour. This is where willpower comes into play, but also you will find the diet-friendly SIRT foods and proper balanced healthy meals will help enormously.