Heat wok, add one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Stir fry seafood then put aside
Add beaten egg to wok, followed by vegetables and garlic
Rinse shirataki noodles thoroughly add to boiling water and boil for two minutes
Reheat seafood
Add shiritaki noodles and seafood to the wok, followed by curry powder. Flip or stir fry to combine
Season with salt, Garnish with scallions (spring onion) and serve.

Need more shirataki noodles? Visit Miracle Noodle Or simply click the banner below

5 oz (150g) sliced mushrooms
5 oz (150g) mixed olives sliced in half

For the sauce:
1lb (450g) fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped (see video below)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons of finely chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste

(Alternatively, use 1 Jar of classic Italian pasta sauce)

Place two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a large pan
Add crushed garlic and fry to infuse the oil
Add onion and cook till transparent
Add tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper
Simmer over a low heat stirring every few minutes until all the ingredients have softened and combined to make a nice sauce

Rinse shirataki noodles thoroughly add to boiling water and boil for two minutes

Lightly fry mushrooms until softened then add olives and tomato sauce
Stir in shirataki noodles and serve

Need more shirataki noodles? Visit Miracle Noodle Or simply click the banner below

5 oz (150g) shiritaki noodles per serve (packaged weight)

1 lb (450g) Skinless chicken breast fillet (diced)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn kernels
7 oz (210g) baby carrots sliced in half
1 clove crushed garlic
1 scallion (spring onion) chopped
4 teaspoons of sweet soy

Pre heat wok and add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
Stir fry chicken until cooked then put aside
Add peas, corn and carrots to boiling water and boil for 3 minutes
Rinse shirataki noodles thoroughly add to boiling water and boil for two minutes
Combine chicken and vegetables in wok and reheat. Add sweet soy and shiritaki then serve garnished with scallion (spring onion).

Need more shirataki noodles? Visit Miracle Noodle Or simply click the banner below

Rinse shirataki noodles thoroughly add to boiling water and boil for two minutes.
Blanche vegetables (i.e. place in pan of water, bring to boil then turn off immediately).
Place blanched vegetables in bowl with noodles add pork & chicken.
Pour in boiling miso and garnish with scallions.

These ingredients are sufficient for one serving so simply multiply by the number of servings desired.

For the dressing:

1 teaspoon Thai chilli lime dressing
1 teaspoon sweet chilli sauce
Squeeze of fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons fish sauce

Rinse shirataki noodles thoroughly add to boiling water and boil for two minutes.
Combine chicken, cabbage, bean sprouts, lettuce, basil, mint coriander, scallion, red onion, pine nuts and sesame seeds in a large bowl.
Add dressing and serve on a bed of shiritaki noodles.

Need more shiritaki noodles? Visit Miracle Noodle Or simply click the banner below.

That is probably oversimplifying but the basic concept is sound. Before you can put something like that into practice you need to know what foods to eat and which to cut back on. With that in mind, here are some guidelines.

Reduce consumption of carbohydrates and fat

Sources of carbohydrate include:

• Sugar is the primary source of carbohydrate. All types of sugar including glucose, lactose (from dairy) and fructose from fruits etc.
• Baked goods: Processed wheat flour is another primary source of carbohydrate so cookies, cakes, pastries, bread etc should be cut back.
• Potato
• Pasta (once again made with flour)
• Rice
• Vegetables: These are a source of complex carbohydrates which require more processing by the body so are therefore less of an issue.

Carbohydrates are the most readily converted to energy by our bodies. Fat, protein and fiber all require much more energy to digest, process or just move it along the digestive tract as in the case with fiber. An excess of energy from carbohydrates in the body leads to the fastest addition of fat cells. The most important carbohydrates to cut back on are simple carbohydrates like those derived from pasta, and baked products and also staple complex carbohydrates like potato and rice. The fact of the matter is that we consume too much carbohydrate in so-called western society.

Sources of fat include

• Meat
• Poultry
• Fish: Contains a relatively low saturated fat content and has more healthy fats (unsaturated and omega 3).
• Dairy products like cheese, cream, milk, yogurt etc
• Eggs: Only the yolk contains fat.
• Cooking oils: Vegetable based oils like olive oil etc are healthy fats but consumption should still be monitored.
• Fruit and vegetables: Generally low concentrations of healthy fats. But avocado is very high in fat, containing around 300 calories compared to pears with around 75 calories
• Coconut: Did you know that coconut is the only known plant source of saturated fat?

Fat has the highest calorie concentration, containing 9 calories per gram compared to 4 calories per gram of protein and carbohydrate. When it comes to fat, there are two things to keep in mind. Firstly, to decrease consumption of saturated fats from meat, poultry, dairy products and animal fats like lard. You should always trim excess fat from meat whether you are dieting or not and chicken should always be cooked without the skin as most of the fat on a chicken is directly under the skin. Cooking with the skin on melts that fat and allows it to soak into the meat. Secondly, you can actually increase consumption of vegetable based oils as these provide healthy oils that the body requires.

Increase consumption of protein and fiber

Protein and fiber are the two food components that satisfy hunger for the longest. For this reason, when dieting we should increase our consumption of them since they help prevent hunger pains when calorie consumption is reduced.

Sources of protein include;

• Meat and poultry
• Fish
• Eggs: the purest form of protein known to man comes from egg whites.
• Dairy products: Milk, cream, cheese, yogurt etc
• Nuts and seeds: Flax seed, sesame seeds, all nuts. Be careful though as nuts are high in fat.
• Legumes: Lentils, fava beans, Edamame (baby soy beans), chick peas etc.
• Tofu: Very high in protein while being low in calories and fat

You’ll note that this list contains several sources that are also high in fat. As mentioned before, trim the fat from meat to decrease fat consumption. With dairy products, select low fat options. Cut down fat consumption by spreading low fat cream cheese spread or ricotta cheese on bread in place of margarine or butter. Add an egg or egg white to shakes and smoothies to increase protein consumption.

Sources of fiber

• Whole grains like brown rice, barley, lentils and oats
• Brown and multi grain bread
• Flaxseed, sesame seeds
• Psyllium
• Fiber supplements: See this post for How to make your own fiber supplement
• Glucommanan (Konjac root): The Japanese make calorie free noodles with this. For more information visit our Miracle noodle review

Of course, the last aspect of how to lose weight is to get active. It doesn’t have to be overly strenuous though of course the more energy it requires the faster you will lose weight. Even just taking a 15-20 minute walk each day will help. Take the dog for a walk, take the stairs instead of the lift at work, walk the kids to school or the shops instead of driving, walk to the park for lunch instead of eating at work. Lots of simple ways to get active and help you with how to lose weight.

When looking for easy weight loss tips it’s not always easy to find a simple list of tips that can make a big difference. That is what this article is about.

So here are my 10 Easy weight loss tips:

1. Always eat breakfast!: Eating breakfast kick starts your metabolism which has slowed down overnight. It also prevents your blood sugar levels from dropping and causing cravings for high energy, high sugar content foods like candy, doughnuts etc. While you may think that skipping breakfast will reduce your daily calorie intake, the opposite is actually true. Skipping breakfast leads to being over hungry later which leads to increased calorie intake. From personal experience, if I eat breakfast within an hour of waking my daily calorie intake is around 200 calories less than when I skip breakfast.
2. Reduce your plate size: Did you know that in the last 20 years plate sizes have increased from 8″ (20cm) to 10″ (25cm) and scientists believe this has contributed to overeating and obesity. It’s purely psychological, but we ‘eat with our eyes’ and if our serving LOOKS bigger (i.e. the plate is fuller) it makes our brain think we should feel more satisfied after eating it. Weird but true!
3. Eat several small meals per day: Instead of just eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, add some between meal snacks like morning tea, afternoon tea and supper. Reduce your portion sizes for lunch and dinner slightly. Snacks should consist of something light like a 3 oz can of tuna or salmon, a piece of fruit, a handful of sultanas or nuts or a couple of water crackers with light cream cheese or tzatziki dip. Try to keep snacks under 100 calories. Eating regularly like this keeps your metabolism buzzing along at peak rates as your body tries to digest the food (and digestion itself burns calories). The longer you go without food the slower your metabolism becomes. Try to avoid heavy meals for dinner and avoid eating in the last two hours before bed.
4. Skip the butter or margarine on your sandwich: Did you know that skipping butter/margarine on sandwiches reduces your calorie intake by 70 calories? (Based on the average of one teaspoon of butter per slice). If you don’t like dry bread, try spreading some low fat ricotta cheese or other light cream cheese on the bread before adding fillings, this adds around 16 calories compared to 70 with butter.
5. Increase protein intake: Protein is one of the main food components that satisfy appetite (the second being fiber), it’s also much harder to digest than carbohydrates which means the digestion process burns more calories. Protein comes from red meat, fish, poultry (including eggs), legumes like lentils, edamame (soy beans) and mushrooms. Try to avoid mass produced sausages as they contain around 40% fat content. Make sure you trim excess fat from your meat. Another great way to boost protein intake is to have a smoothie and add an egg, or an egg white if you want to avoid the fat content of the yolk.
6. Increase fiber intake: Fiber satisfies appetite by slowing digestion, this makes food stay in the stomach for longer thus avoiding the empty feeling. Your body is incapable of digesting fiber so it exits the body in much the same form as it entered. Fiber also absorbs water and maintains regular bowel movements. Increase fiber intake by eating high fiber cereal, brown or multigrain bread, wholemeal pasta or fiber supplements. Check out this post titled Best fiber supplement for weight loss to discover how to make your own fiber supplement for less than half the price of commercial brands.
7. Decrease carbohydrate consumption: Carbohydrates supply the vast majority of our energy requirements because they are the most easily converted to energy. However, many of us consume far too much carbohydrate which leads to fat storage. Reducing consumption of potatoes, pasta, rice and baked products made with white flour at meal times by about half will assist with weight loss. Check out this video about Shirataki noodles for an alternative to pasta made from 100% soluble fiber that contains NO carbohydrates and NO calories.
8. Reduce sugar intake: Did you know that every time you add two level teaspoons of sugar to a cup of coffee or tea you’re adding at least 30 calories to your daily intake? Cut back consumption of sweet baked products, candy and sweet snacks. Use artificial sweeteners if you like, though these tend to confuse the body and lead to fluid retention. Another alternative is Stevia, it’s around 250 times sweeter than regular table sugar. A small pinch is enough to sweeten your coffee or tea and contains about 2% of the calories. It’s a little harder to get but is available at most health foods stores and also on Ebay. You may look at the price and think it’s expensive but when you take into consideration that 1 oz of Stevia is equivalent to almost 16 lbs of regular sugar you will realize that the prices are comparable if not cheaper. Don’t purchase stevia leaf powder, you want the extract which is a white powder and look for 90% stevioside concentration or higher.
9. Watch what you are drinking: If you are a fan of soda like coca cola etc you need to take the calorie content of those drinks into account. Did you know that a can of non diet soda contains around 160 calories? That means that if you drink four cans of soda per day you are adding around 640 calories to your daily intake, that is almost one third of the average daily energy requirement and they’re empty calories at that, they do nothing to satisfy hunger. If you must drink soda, at least drink diet soda!
10. Get active: No, that is not a suggestion to run out and spend a fortune on a gym membership or personal trainer. The expense is not required. Simply taking a 30 minute leisurely walk per day is sufficient exercise. Take the dog for a walk. Walk to the store for bread and milk instead of driving. Take the stairs instead of the lift at the office. Walk to the park for lunch instead of eating in the lunch room. Get outside and jump rope, skipping burns up to 1200 calories per hour depending on your weight (average male weight of 180lbs burns 1018 and average female weight of 155lbs burns 880). If you have a Nintendo Wii, have some fun with the Wii sportz or Wii Fit packages. Like dancing? Get a Zumba package! There are lots of ways to get active in fun ways without huge expense or time commitments.

So how much effect can this have in ONE DAY? Take a look at these figures:

That’s an average of 3626 calories per week. Scientists have calculated that it requires 3,500 excess calories to create one pound of fat so these simple measures could cause weight loss of over a pound per week. And that is just the quantifiable tips. It should be noted that each individuals results will vary since we each have a unique metabolism. These figures are only intended as a guide.

So there you have it, my 10 easy weight loss tips… can’t get easier than that can you?

We’ve all heard the old expression that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But have you ever wondered why breakfast is the most important meal of the day? I always used to wonder myself until I went on a diet to lose the weight I gained when I quit smoking.

As the name suggests, breakfast is when we ‘break our fast’, in other words, it’s the time when we first consume food after a long period of not eating.

Our metabolism slows down the longer we go without food. If we starve ourselves it doesn’t help with weight loss because our body starts conserving energy and burning calories slower to preserve itself. During periods of sleep our calorie consumption reduces to around one calorie per minute compared to the minimum ‘at rest’ consumption during the day of around 1.5 calories per minute.

Eating breakfast kick starts our metabolism and gets it burning calories at a faster rate. If we don’t eat till two or three hours after we get up then our metabolism is running at the lower rate for longer.

In addition, as weird as it sounds I have discovered from personal experience that eating breakfast actually REDUCES my overall calorie intake for the day. I suppose it is logical when I think about it. If I skip breakfast, when I get hungry several hours later I am REALLY hungry and I tend to either overeat or eat the wrong types of food because my body starts craving high energy foods to combat the dwindling blood sugar levels. However, if I eat a banana or a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, then my blood sugar levels don’t drop, I don’t crave the wrong foods and I don’t overeat.

Let’s take a look at the math:

If I skip breakfast then it reduces my early calorie consumption by 120 calories. However, then I have around 80 calories for morning tea (a piece of fruit or snack bar) and when lunch time arrives I am super hungry and I will consume my normal lunch of around 350 calories plus a couple of donuts or chocolate which increases my calorie consumption up to around 600 calories.

On the other hand, if I eat a breakfast of oatmeal with 120 calories followed a couple of hours later by morning tea of around 80 calories, when I have lunch I am satisfied with 350 calories.

Breakfast: 120+80+ 350=550 calories.
No breakfast: 80+ 600=680 calories

If you were on a diet, which calorie intake would you prefer? 550 or 680? Which would help you lose more weight?

So in summary, eating breakfast;

• Increases your metabolism
• Helps stop cravings for high energy foods
• Reduces overeating

So have a healthy breakfast every day to increase your metabolism and improve your weight loss results now you understand why breakfast is the most important meal of the day!