London-based Kerry girl Aisling Clifford shows you how to dip your toe into the Slow-Carb Diet and be in with a chance of losing a stone in 30 days....
I DECIDED that I needed to go on a diet before a family wedding. I needed to lose a few pounds to fit into a dress, this I knew, but which diet should I go on?
As anyone who’s ever opened the door to a diet knows, there are literally hundreds to choose from. From Atkins to Cabbage, all promise the same thing – that you will lose weight fast and it will be easy.
My boyfriend, also keen to get in shape for the wedding, suggested we try the Slow Carb Diet. He had read about it in The 4 Hour Body by Tim Ferriss and it seemed relatively simple to follow.
The basic principles are you eat clean lean meats, veggies, beans and eggs, avoiding fruit, white foods such as potatoes, pasta and bread or sugar for 6 days a week and then on the seventh have a cheat day, where you can eat and drink whatever you want.
The diet suggests that you have 30g of protein within half an hour of waking to boost your metabolism during the day and avoid diary products, with the exception of cottage cheese, so I thought it all sounded relatively easy.
Being a vegetarian, after about week two I was bored out of my mind with salad after salad. I was online trying to find recipes to spice up my meals and when it became clear there weren’t that many options available to me so my boyfriend suggested I make my own and from here my Ash Cooks Slow Carb website was born.
The diet can be mundane for the six days, having the same meals everyday may seem impossible to some people but the results are what make it worth it.
A study was run last year of 3500 people in America on the diet for 30 days and 84 per cent of people lost nearly 8.6 pounds on the diet (over half a stone) – 14 per cent of the people tested lost 14 pounds (one stone).
I myself lost 14 pounds in 23 days on the diet and now even after the wedding I am still on the diet and see it more as a lifestyle now.
My website and my YouTube channel are set up to for people on the diet or people who are thinking of starting with tips and recipes to help them along.
I put up new videos every Monday with a new recipe and I also have a blog on the site which tracks my progress and offers tips on maintaining the Slow Carb Diet.
I hope I can help people following the diet to stay motivated during the week and to try new recipes.
