Eoin's weight loss secret
July 13, 2004
By:Andrea Burns
Eoin stuck to a better diet to lose
weight. Radio personality Eoin Cameron was overweight
until he came up with a diet and exercise regime that
helped him lose 20kg or 'six house bricks'.
Eoin Cameron is a big star who is getting smaller every week. The Perth ABC breakfast announcer jokes that he would put on weight just by looking at a piece of lettuce.Determined to change his life, Eoin started his own diet and he has lost more than twenty kilograms.
Friends, colleagues and listeners alike have been impressed by Eoin's efforts to slim down and control his blood pressure and cholesterol levels - but how has he done it? This is Eoin's story, in his own words:
On November 13, 2003 my doctor gave me my yearly "you're going to die" speech - only this time he was more serious. Blood pressure too high (I'd been on two types of blood pressure medication for thirteen years), cholesterol too high, blood sugar at the stage where I was on the cusp of mature onset diabetes.
When I got home I said to the 'war office' (wife Wendy): "Bugger this I'm going to do something".
Our eldest daughter is a registered nurse and she suggested Psyllium Husks for lowering cholesterol, and gave me general guidelines for everything else. I've always been overweight, and have tried various diets without success. Thirty years ago I went on the "Atkins" diet and lost a stone, but then put that stone and more back on in the following twelve months.
I can truthfully say the regime I'm on, apart from the first couple of weeks when I had to stop myself from automatically reaching into the fridge, has been a dawdle. The joy of stepping on to the scales each Saturday morning has to be experienced.
Daily food routine as follows:
• When I get up, a large glass of HI/LO milk with three heaped teaspoons of Psyllium Husks stirred in and downed quickly. You do get used to the husks eventually. They are available from health food stores and some supermarkets. Some people who have taken up my diet just sprinkle the husks over their cereal or porridge.
• When I come off air I have a small tub of low fat yoghurt, any flavour - or plain if you prefer. Then through the day I eat as much fruit as I really feel like, and I MEAN "feel like"... if you're not hungry DON'T EAT. Snack on ANY fruit... but you might as well spoil yourself and go for mangoes, nashi pears, papaya, etc.
• In the afternoon when I start to feel a bit hungry, have a platter of nibblies ... olives, semi-sundried tomatoes, various dips (avoiding the creamy ones) and a "vat" of wine.
• For dinner, heaps of veggies and salads, and try to stick with white meat and fish. If you really want a red flesh pig-out, go for it occasionally. I eat a lot of pasta with Neapolitana, Marinara, or chicken sauce. Just use your imagination - there's heaps of stuff you CAN eat. There's a new-ish "Salad as a Main Meal" book out at the moment, it's terrific.
• On weekends after being well behaved all week, I treat myself to a bang up cooked breakfast, Bacon, Eggs, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Hash Browns... the lot. I usually don't then feel hungry again until much later in the day.
• Drink a LOT of water, at least two litres a day.
I began my diet on 13th, November 2003. Since then I've come off two types of medication I was on for blood pressure - my blood pressure now is 110/71.
My coronary risk ratio has dropped from 5.5 to 3.4, the average being 4.9. I walk 45 minutes each day, slightly longer on weekends.
My total cholesterol has dropped from 6.6 to 4.7, my bad cholesterol from 4.9 to 2.8, and my good cholesterol has risen from 1.2 to 1.4. [Note: Eoin's results may have varied since publication.]
I'm taking no medication whatsoever, I've never felt better, and the 'war office' is thrilled I no longer snore.
I found the first three weeks the most difficult, then it's been a pushover. Never eat UNLESS you're hungry, and don't necessarily eat everything on your plate. If you've had enough, just stop.
I still drink wine daily - mainly red and white wine - and maybe one or two beers on the weekend.
As of May 29, 2004 I have lost 23kg (or 50.6 pounds in the old money). I keep a box in the bathroom that I put weights into, corresponding to the weight I've lost. I can't believe how much I've been lugging around - at last check approximately six-and-a-half house bricks.
Psyllium Husks can be purchased from leading health food stores and supermarkets. Ask your health professionals for usage advice.
Source:www.seven.com.au
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