Elmari’s weekly Banting diary: Week 8

 

Elmari’s weekly Banting diary: Week 8

Follow Good Housekeeping’s senior Afrikaans editor, Elmari Potgieter, as she shares her Banting weight-loss diary: the highs, the lows and everything in between

Good vs great

I can say in all honesty that I have had a good week. Not great, but good. What probably IS great is the fact that I finally made it to 10kg of weight loss – yay! – but I only lost 0,8kg this week. I would really like to lose at least 1kg a week – especially after last week’s 1,7kg loss – but I suppose that’s being unrealistic.

Alcohol or not?

Another good thing about this week is that I’ve had no alcohol, not even over the weekend! I didn’t even miss my glass of red wine or tot of whisky. As all of us probably know, alcohol lowers our inhibitions and can easily lead us to eat things we otherwise wouldn’t. This week I really wasn’t tempted to eat the wrong things, and I am so pleased with myself. (Sorry for blowing my own trumpet!)

I have always wondered what precisely about alcohol is so bad when you are on a diet, but I got the answer in The Banting Pocket Guide (Penguin Books) by Prof Tim Noakes, Bernadine Douglas and Bridgette Allan. They say alcohol is a toxin that the body can’t use and that the liver then has to process. While it’s being processed, your body can’t burn fat. That’s why alcohol should only be consumed now and then, and preferably not in the weight-loss phase. Now that I know that, it makes it easier to say no to a glass of wine.

In the meantime, I’ve started making my own ice tea with citrus-and-ginger-flavoured rooibos tea. I sweeten it a little with xylitol and add some fresh lemon slices and a few ice cubes. It’s refreshing and guilt-free – and, of course, a lot cheaper than the shop-bought sugary or artificially sweetened versions.

Occasional treats

I have, however, discovered Banting Revolution’s chocolate brownies at Checkers, and they are delish! They are not as chewy as regular brownies, but they taste just as good and are a fantastic treat. You get them in a pack of five. It’s a good thing they can be frozen so that you can take out one at a time and wait for it to defrost, rather than devouring all five in one go!

A good feeling

Something nice that happened this week was that people started noticing that I have lost weight. I am extremely happy that I have dropped two sizes, and to celebrate, I went and bought myself a new pair of jeans and a beautiful top. It feels amazing when you try something on in a shop, wondering if it will fit, and then it does! I am also now fitting into clothes that I haven’t worn in a long, long time. It feels like I have a whole new wardrobe!

Food

This past week I haven’t really tried any new lunch or dinner recipes, but in the spirit of National Milk Tart Day on Monday 27 February and Shrove Tuesday on 28 February, I am sharing Banting-friendly milk tart and pancake recipes with you.

Banting coconut milk tart

This recipe comes from Euodia Samson, one of Good Housekeeping’s Celebrity Bake Stars in 2016. She is a film, TV and stage actress. In 2015 she teamed up with Prof Tim Noakes to take the low-carb, high-fat Real Food movement to communities across the Cape Flats. She is currently the coordinator of Eat Better South Africa! and is an ambassador for The Noakes Foundation.

PHOTO: Nigel Deary

 

Serves 6

Ingredients

160ml coconut flour

450ml full-cream milk

50ml cream

100ml xylitol

200ml desiccated coconut

50g melted butter

4 large eggs

5ml vanilla essence

10ml baking powder

1ml Himalayan salt

 

To sprinkle

cinnamon

 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Place all the ingredients except the cinnamon in a bowl and mix until well blended.
3. Pour into a greased ovenproof dish.
4. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top and bake for 40 minutes.

Banting pancakes

Makes 10

This tasty recipe is very easy and comes from the website The Banting Chef, which has a whole lot of other interesting recipes that I still want to try. They call this one ‘Pancake Bliss’.

PHOTO: Wild&Grace

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter

1 cup almond flour

1 tbsp psyllium husks

¼ cup cream

3 eggs

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup water

a squeeze of lemon juice

coconut oil, for frying

To sprinkle

2 tbsp xylitol

7ml cinnamon

Method

1. Rub the butter into the almond flour.
2. Add the psyllium husks, cream, eggs, baking powder, water and lemon juice to the flour and blend swiftly with a stick blender.
3. Allow the batter to sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Use coconut oil to lightly coat a frying pan, add a thin layer of batter to the pan and cook on a medium-high heat.
5. Sprinkle with xylitol cinnamon sugar. Roll and eat immediately.

 

Diet start date:

1 January 2017

Weight loss this week:

0,8kg

Weight loss so far:

10,5kg

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