MY WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM

Step 1 For cake, preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced. Grease and line a 37.5cm slice pan. Combine flours, sugar, ginger, spice and bicarb in a bowl. Stir in butter, syrup, egg and milk. Pour into pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool. Step 2 Cut cake in half crossways. Use 2L pudding basin base and top as a guide to cut out a large and small disc of cake. Cut discs in half horizontally. Cut remaining cake in half horizontally, then into 6 triangles. Step 3 Line pudding basin with 2 layers of plastic wrap, allowing the sides to overhang. Place small disc of cake in base of basin. Place 3 cake triangles upright and up the side of the basin, trimming to fit. Step 4 Place the remaining cake triangles upside-down in the basin to fit between the upright triangles, trimming to fit. Use any remaining scraps of cake to fill in the gaps between the pieces. Step 5 Spoon the rum and raisin ice-cream into the cake-lined basin. Use the back of a spoon to make a well in the centre. Place in the freezer ...

Step 1 To make the poached cherries, combine the cherries, sugar, cinnamon, star anise and water in a saucepan. Place over low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 mins or until cherries are heated through and start to release their juices. Drain into a large bowl. Return the syrup to the saucepan. Combine the cornflour with extra water in a bowl. Add to the cherry liquid and place over high heat. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 mins or until sauce boils and thickens. Pour hot syrup over the cherries. Place in the fridge to chill. Step 2 To make the crust, place the biscuits in a food processor and process until finely crushed. Add the butter and process until well combined. Spoon into a 10cm x 34cm rectangular tart tin with removable base. Press over the base and sides of the pan. Place in the fridge for 30 mins to set. Step 3 Preheat oven to 150C. To make the filling, place cream cheese, sugar, eggs and sour cream in a food processor and process until smooth. With the motor running, add...

All of my life I’ve been overweight and started emotional eating already as a child. I have always struggled with sugar cravings, been hungry almost constantly and my weight has yo-yoed throughout most of my life. The first time I felt fat and thought that I neeed to go on a diet, I was probably no more than 8 or 9 years old. Life has been filled with a lot of feelings of shame, and I, together with so many others, was taught that fat was sinful. Fat was what made me fat, that was it. After many strenuous attempts to lose weight, I only weighed more and more. My weight increased rapidly after I stopped taking my birth control pills, and back then I had no idea that I had PCOS. I went to see doctors several times but didn’t really get any answers. My weight ended up at 309 lbs. (140 kg) and I reached a dead end, deeply depressed and everything was heavy and difficult. I had always been chubby, but I had never been this big before. Everyday life became hard and the limitations of ...

I essentially woke up one day and somehow everything clicked, and I was ready. My children were ages 1 and 3, and I wasn’t going to be here for them. I was in pain, could barely walk or breathe, had such severe mobility issues, I couldn’t even get my own socks or shoes on my right leg without assistance (and those socks are knee-high compression socks at that)! No doctor, specialist or diagnostic test was able to determine why I had the lost mobility, but on account of being on a blood thinner, I was medically unable to take over the counter or prescription strength anti-inflammatory pills, so SOMETHING had to change. Within a week, I landed in the world of keto and have never looked back. I knew in my heart it had to be the food. Having been diagnosed as celiac disease in 2012, I was well versed at the positive impact of ruling out even some, if not all grains, on inflammation, so I decided to return to the celiac diagnosis stage of eating. Within a week, I landed in the world of ke...

What worked: 1. Eating a low-carbohydrate diet with a caloric intake slightly below maintenance. This meant no bread, pasta, grains, beans, fruit, or high carb vegetables. Typical day: Breakfast: 3 eggs, two cups broccoli, 2 tbsp ghee. Lunch: 300 calories of sunflower seeds, two cups broccoli, 1 red pepper, 2 tbsp coconut oil, 1 bar of 99% Lindt dark chocolate. Supper: 7 oz salmon, 2 tbsp ghee, 2 cups broccoli, 2 cups coconut milk, 1 scoop vega protein powder. This averages out to about 1700-2000 calories. Drastic caloric restrictions would make it difficult to sleep, as would intermittent fasting. Anything somewhat sweet spikes the false hunger. 2. Cutting out natural and artificial sweeteners. These would create false hunger. This included Stevia, and Zevia (a pop made with Stevia). This was difficult as I was addicted to Stevia. 3. Maintaining a moderate work-out schedule. I used to work out hard in order to lose weight, which created a lot of hunger. I now use exercise as a body...

Mary Berry’s been making her traditional Christmas cake recipe for as long as Paul Hollywood’s been alive. She knows what she’s talking about. If you don't have the required tin size, go to her cake calculator to recalculate the ingredients and cooking time for your cake tin. Ingredients For the cake 175g/6oz raisins 350g/12oz natural glacé cherries, halved, rinsed, and thoroughly dried 500g/1lb 2oz currants 350g/12oz sultanas 150ml/¼pt brandy or sherry, plus extra for feeding 2 oranges, zest only 250g/9oz butter, softened 250g/9oz light or dark muscovado sugar 4 large free-range eggs, at room temperature 1 tbsp black treacle 75g/3oz blanched almonds, chopped 275g/10oz plain flour 1½ tsp mixed spice For the covering about 3 tbsp apricot jam, warmed and sieved icing sugar 675g/1lb 8oz marzipan For the royal icing 3 free-range eggs, whites only 675g/1½lb icing sugar, sifted 3 tsp lemon juice 1½ tsp glycerine For the cake, place all the dried fruit, including the cherries, into a ...