A fuss-free diet

I wanted to eat healthily but held the view that life is stressful enough without the added hassle of counting calories and banning your favourite foods. And guess what? Too much stress can make you heavier. Not only can it make you comfort-eat, but when we're under stress, we produce the hormone cortisol, which stores fat around the tummy.

I discovered that healthy weight loss doesn't have to be stressful at all - you just have to change the way you think about food. By eating a normal, healthy breakfast and dinner and grazing (nibbling small quantities of nutritious food) out of a pre-prepared lunch-box throughout the day, you can lose weight the hasslefree way. I call this "the Lunch-Box Diet" and it can help you lose up to a stone in four weeks.

The science bit

Losing weight is simple, once you get your head around two basic food principles.

(1) The bear necessities

Metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories. When you starve yourself you lower your metabolism. The best way I can explain this is to talk about bears. A bear spends all summer fattening up, so it can hibernate through the winter without eating. A bear's metabolism slows way down during hibernation, to preserve the fat. Good for the bear, not so good for us, because if we don't eat regularly enough we store more fat.

On the other hand, when you eat small amounts of food frequently throughout the day, your metabolism stays at optimum fat-burning level. It can rely on getting fuel every couple of hours and happily burns off excess calories instead of storing them as fat.

(2) The weight loss equation

To lose weight you must use more energy than you eat - it's that simple. To maintain a stable weight your calorie intake must be about the same as what your body burns off. What doesn't get used becomes fat.

If you reduce your energy intake by 500 calories or burn an additional 500 calories every day through exercise you should lose a pound a week. I don't want you to count every calorie, nor become a slave to the "calories burned" function on your treadmill. Just use your common sense.

How to do it

Start each day with a healthy breakfast - wholegrain cereal or poached eggs on toast are great - then pack your lunch box to graze from all day. End the day with a small, low-fat dinner - such as a grilled chicken salad.

On the Lunch-Box Diet, you won't be nearly as hungry at dinner time, as you have taken most of your daily nutrient requirement already. You'll need a lunch-box that has a volume of between two and five - litres. Don't go hungry - pack a little more than you think you'll need.

Eat a few mouthfuls from your box every hour or so - never to the point that you're full, only satisfied. This is grazing. Your brain takes 20 to 30 minutes to catch up with your stomach so take a few bites and if 30 minutes later you're still hungry, take a few more.

You'll feel more satisfied when you graze because you keep refuelling. What you pack is key. You can't graze on high-calorie, high-fat food and lose weight. You need foods that have a lot of nutritional punch per bite without a lot of calories.

Hidden benefits

As well as getting an amazing new body, on this diet your hair will be gorgeous, your skin radiant and your nails strong. Even more importantly, your heart will be healthier and you will reduce your risk of developing many serious diseases.

How to make your healthy lunch-box

Put together your own lunch-box filling using combinations from the following three groups:

Group A: Vegetables - 45 to 60% of your box

Choose five veggies from the list below. A rainbow of colours will create a good combination of nutrients.

• Peppers
• Carrots
• Beetroot
• Avocado
• Cucumber
• Peas
• Sweet
• potatoes
• Mushrooms
• Aubergine
• Greens

Group B: Lean protein - 15 to 30% of your box

Here's where you'll be getting your staying power. The serving of protein should be 80g - about the size of a deck of cards. Pick one:

• Beef - lean cuts: sirloin, rump steak, topside, silverside
• Lamb - shoulder, rack or cutlets
• Fish - salmon, sardines, herring, tuna, haddock, cod, sea bass or shellfish.
• Chicken or turkey breast
• Pork
• Eggs
• Beans - any sort
• Chickpeas and lentils
• Tofu
• Seeds and nuts

Group C: Sauce - 10% of your box

Be creative - sprinkle on a little of the following for flavour:

• Grated cheese
• Chutney
• Hummus, guacamole or tzatziki
• Marinades
• Oils and vinegars
• Olives and capers
• Pesto
• Salsa
• Soy sauce
• Tomato sauce

Finally - To get your box bursting with flavour, seal the lid and give it a five second shake to mix it all up.

Three lunch-box recipes

Sexy salmon

• Three celery sticks, sliced
• One cucumber, sliced
• One yellow pepper, sliced
• Six radishes
• Two handfuls spring greens
• Salmon fillets
• ½ cup apple chunks
• One tbsp sunflower seeds
• One tbsp olive oil
• Juice of one lemon

1) Put all the veggies into the lunch-box.

(2) Grill the salmon on both sides until the flesh flakes easily. Cut into chunks and add to the box.

(3) Sprinkle over sunflower seeds and apple chunks and drizzle with lemon juice to taste.

Beef bonanza

• One handful butternut squash
• Five steamed Brussels sprouts
• One handful red cabbage
• One handful portabella mushrooms
• Two handfuls baby spinach
•  80g beef top loin
• Beef marinade (whisk together ½ cup red wine vinegar, one tbsp olive oil, one minced cube of garlic, ½ a finely chopped red onion, one tbsp black pepper and one tbsp Worcestershire sauce)
• One tbsp pumpkin seeds
• Two tbsp chopped olives

(1) Put some marinade aside. Cut the beef into chunks and marinade for at least four hours.

(2) Cube the squash and roast for 30 minutes. Steam the sprouts. Shred the cabbage and slice the mushrooms. Warm through all the vegetables.

(3) Grill the beef until cooked to your taste. Throw everything into your box. Sprinkle the seeds and olives on top and add the extra marinade.

Eggstrordinaire

• One tomato, diced
• Two carrots, diced
• Two handfuls baby spinach
• One handful oyster mushrooms
• Six radishes
• Two eggs
• Sunflower seeds
• One tablespoon grated cheese
• Vinaigrette (Mix three teaspoons of oil with one of balsamic vinegar, add a little mustard or a sprinkling of fresh herbs and freshly ground black pepper to taste)

(1) Toss all the veggies in to the lunch-box.

(2) Boil the eggs for three minutes and let them sit for 20 minutes until fully cooked. Rinse them in cold water to keep the yolks yellow. Peel the shells and slice the eggs.

(3) Add the sunflower seeds, grated cheese and vinaigrette.

Adapted by caroline jones from the lunchbox diet by simon lovell, harper collins, £7.99.

Source: Daily Mirror

Pic: Rob Owen-Wahl