The holiday’s are coming, the holiday’s are coming…

Guess we have all seen the Coca Cola TV advert by now – in our house that means time to get moving on Christmas presents, planning parties, writing cards and thinking about recipes, food and tantalising goodies.

To be true to The Diet Plate’s ethos of “portion control” as method of losing weight, we do believe a little bit of what you fancy does you good. It is when good intentions to practise moderation disappear out of the window that the downward spiral begins.

As for me, I am guilty as charged this week. I have a penchant for mince pies, the home baked variety, warm and succulent dusted slightly with fine sugar and monstrously fattening when eaten by the dozen! I normally leave buying them until Christmas Eve and then only six to share with my daughter and savour slowly over the holidays, a maximum of three eaten over the two weeks period. Pre Diet Plate days, I would have ordered 24 from the baker, telling him I had guests, such a bad liar, I am sure he guessed where the extra two inches on my hips had come from when he saw me in January.

Anyway, I have to confess to a temporary lapse of willpower while out shopping last week because before you could say Jessica Rabbit, I had purchased a supermarket branded box of six, tempted by the pretty box and pictures of yummy mince pies on the front.

With my traditional planning scuppered having bought them early, old feelings of guilt crept in, and the little red devil on my left shoulder instructed me to dispose of the evidence and where better than in my stomach?

That night I opened them in secret, prized one from its foil housing and closed my eyes in sweet expectation while I bit into it… yuk! It was the worst mince pie I’d ever tasted, totally processed mass manufactured rubbish and absolutely nothing like the ones I buy from the home bakery shop in my village. Karma Kay, karma I got my “just deserts!”

Believe me the whole packet went straight in the bin! I guess what I am trying to say is that we can enjoy Christmas fayre in moderation, but why waste calories on rubbish? Extra calories at Christmas cause rapid weight gain, so choose your treats carefully.

Why buy a huge tin of chocolate biscuits because it is in a fancy tin, when you know already only 2 of the 8 varieties offered are your favourites? You know that you will have to eat them because they’re there and you won’t enjoy them so why do it? It is much better to buy just one packet of your favourite biscuits to enjoy.

I have composed a list of tips to help you survive the worst time of the year for weight watchers.

The Diet Plate method is non-dictatorial, this means you can eat what you love to cook and all we ask is that you follow the calibrations on the plate and bowl so that you have a pre-measured amount of food, where the volume of the food gives a certain weight and the weight is equal to the calories contained within it. Simple really, but extremely effective for weight loss while still enjoying your favourite foods, you can save 500 calories on a regular Christmas dinner using your Diet Plate!

So although we don’t really recommend you partake of sugary or fatty foods on a regular basis, Christmas would be miserable for us all if you had to raise your hand and say “no” to everything, here are my tips.

• Plan your days meals over the holidays
• Buy plenty of vegetables, fruit and salads
• Make up bowls of fruit salad in advance
• Still choose fruit over fatty/sugary food the majority of the time
• Don’t binge and feel guilt – enjoy guilt free in small amounts
• Limit yourself to maybe 3-4 sweets / puddings over the holiday
• By holiday I mean Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day
• Don’t waste money or calories on poor quality food
• A “little” of what you fancy – think portion control with everything
• Share your pudding with your partner better still
• Arm yourself with a teaspoon and just beg a single taste of theirs, just a single maybe two teaspoons for a taste
• Think calorie percentages – cut something in half and you have just saved 50%, repeat it and you have saved 75%
• Keep Christmas cheer to a minimum
• Choose vodka and slimline tonic over Bailey’s on ice
• Let white wine down with tonic or soda for a long drink
• Party hard – while others indulge in the buffet you just dance, dance and dance the nights away but most of all enjoy

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY from all of us at THE DIET PLATE XXX

A word from Dr Ian Campbell

Short term approaches don’t last and rapid solutions quickly go downhill; going without your favourite foods is a sure way of building resentment and cravings. I have long recognised that one of the great difficulties my patients have is being able to enjoy their favourite foods, but not to eat too much of them; to be able to enjoy eating with their family and friends, but still control their calories. I was first drawn to the concept of The Diet Plate® as a novel way of providing my patients with an excellent method of support and filling that gap. Its simplicity of use, and the success that followed was encouraging. But what really convinced me of the fantastic potential of The Diet Plate® to help many thousands of people was the publication in 2007 of a report from researchers in Calgary University in Canada, showing The Diet Plate® was a powerful tool to help dieters with type 2 diabetes not just lose weight but also improve their control of their diabetes and decrease their reliance on medication, even insulin. This was fantastic news and final proof that The Diet Plate® could not only help with weight loss, but also help with controlling the problems that result from being overweight. And now, with the upcoming launch of Club Diet Plate® we have a fully comprehensive programme to help you regain control of your weight, your health, and your life. The key to long term weight loss might just be about still enjoying your favourite foods, but hopefully a little less of them!

Dr Ian Campbell

Dr Ian Campbell

Invites you to become a testimonial

Losing weight and keeping it off is one of the most challenging things we can do, and when you’ve achieved it you deserve to be recognised and celebrated! In my work with national TV and magazines I’m always being asked to introduce real people with real life stories of successful weight loss. If you want to help others by telling them how you lost weight with the help of The Diet Plate, and set them on the path to their own journey to success then I’d love to hear from you. The only qualifications you need are a recent history of reaching your own weight loss goal, and a willingness to share your experiences, good and bad, about your journey. My experience is that telling others your own story is not just extremely helpful to you, it will also inspire others to follow your lead. Write or email me with your story and we’ll do all the rest.

Please send your stories or information here: ian.campbell@thedietplate.com

New weight loss booklet.

The Diet Plate Complete Weight Management System comes with a booklet, with lots of helpful advice about weight loss, and how to use The Diet Plate and Cereal Bowl. We have fielded lots of enquiries about this booklet and have been working on a new one to replace it. This gives you more information about healthy choices of food, we are looking into including some recipes, and also how the calibrations on the bowl work for soups as well as cereals.
The new content is being reviewed and discussed and we hope to have the new booklet produced and ready to go out by December.

Also, Club Diet Plate is looking for a soft launch by January. This will allow people to use forum boards and diary there progress online, as well as talk to other people using The Diet Plate as there preferred method of weight management.

Also, may I ask if any of you wish to become testimonials for The Diet Plate then please contact us and let us know. We have several already, but are always on the look out for new people who have used the system.

I hope this finds you well.

Kay

Proud to Help Breast Cancer Care

Diet Plate is proud to be sponsoring the Breast Cancer Care Ball this year. They do lots of good work and have helped save many lives. Please visit there site and help in any way you can...

Diet Clever and eat right for life!!!

Having attended the National Obesity Forum’s annual conference in London last October, statistics were divulged that were very worrying indeed, we know that obesity is on the increase, but childhood obesity is rising faster than ever before.

The statistics in the USA are frightening, figures, which have just been published in the New York Times this January, tell of 1 in 8 New Yorkers who now have diabetes. Our own National Health Service is bracing itself against a predicted onslaught of diabetes type two and all the medical problems with which it brings, such as blindness, kidney failure and amputation of limbs, If we don’t take heed now and change our eating and food buying behaviour at source, another generation will be lost to this odious disease and for the first time, it is predicted that we may lose our children to these illnesses before we die.

Not only that, PCT’s are starting to admit that they will not treat people with hip and knee replacements if it is caused by obesity through over indulgence. They simply do not have the funds for problems they see as self inflicted, at the same time many GP’s do not have the time or resources to treat obesity in their clinics, and often can only refer to outside agencies or provide diet sheets.

This all sounds very scary, but it is fact. The good news is that we can do something about it, if we take our care into our own hands and do not place responsibility in the cure, which the doctor (if we’re lucky) can provide.

To the nutritionist’s and dietician’s among us who’s esoteric knowledge about food groups, low GI index, and how vitamins and minerals affect our well being, eating a balanced diet is second nature, like taking a bath or enjoying a long walk.

The average person though does not have the benefit of this valuable knowledge, as our lives are driven by the demands of work and home. Meal times and planning around a balanced healthy diet can, more often than not, fall foul of the processed TV dinner or fast food joints. To appease tired mums and hungry children’s stomachs, we get seduced with the promise of two for the price of one in the supermarket, huge portions of food, and takeaways sold for one that would feed three! Not to mention restaurants competing for trade on providing quantity instead of quality, with the plate made up mostly of caterer’s chips!

Cooking at home can be a pleasure, you can control the ingredients in a dish, you can choose healthy options and you can give your family the gift of good health by doing this. Planning the week’s mealtimes in advance and making a list for the supermarket are ‘diet clever’ things to do, as in ‘diet as in the food we choose to eat!’ Controlling your portion sizes can give you the benefit of a healthy nutritionally balanced plate, which will allow you to ’diet clever’ as in ‘diet to lose weight.’

The Diet Plate® does both, you can choose to lose weight, or maintain your weight while following a balanced diet, you can cook the food you love and maintain balance simply by controlling your portions of carbohydrate and protein. Proven to work, and control diabetes type 2, if you follow the visual boundaries on the plate you can expect to lose 1-3lbs a week and the really great thing about this is that you do it all just using your eyes! No guesswork, no degree in nutrition, no counting of anything, just a simple re-balancing act, which enables you to eat right every day, using the right version of a dinner plate designed for your gender and weight.

To order, or for more information contact www.thedietplate.com or +44 01457 862446 / 860779 Made in England by Royal Stafford Tableware Ltd, from fine earthenware, dishwasher and microwave proof. The Diet Plate comes in male, female and children’s versions and costs £19.99 p&p £3.99 please allow 7 days delivery.
© 2008 TDP

Plates with Food

Many people ask us how to use the plate, I have posted this so that you can see how the lines work on the plate and how you can lay your food out.

Firstly, you lay out the protein and carbohydrate based foods, etc Meat, Fish, Potatoes etc, within the lines on the plate. Then you can add all your free foods and fill the plate right up.

The pictures below will hopefully help.

As you can see the plate is full, these are not small plates either, however if you follow the instructions that accompany the plates then you will lose about 2-4lbs per week constantly. These plates help educate you as well. As you use them over and over you get used to seeing what a portion of food should look like.

For example the average portion of Chicken Korma and rice from a take away restaurant contains over 3000 calories... that's 2 days worth of calories in one meal. If however you followed the guidelines on the plate and laid that meal out, you would only be consuming about 800 calories. I have used this as an example as it is the most calorific meal we found during our research.

“Look good naked” with The Diet Plate®

“Look good naked” with The Diet Plate®

The Diet Plate, a great British invention, has been hugely successful in helping thousands of men and women from the United Kingdom and all around the world, lose weight, and keep it off, for good. We receive new enquiries everyday through word-of-mouth recommendation from clients who have bought The Diet Plate® weight management systems for themselves and have gone on to lose weight and improve their health.

Two of these success stories are appearing in our 2008 advertising campaign. Full of confidence and proud of their achievement, Liz and Claire are showing the world how good they feel about themselves – and how they “look good naked” !

Our new campaign for 2008 is to find as many people, of all ages, who have lost weight using The Diet Plate, and feel so good about themselves that they too want to “Look good naked” and are prepared to bare all behind a plate for the cameras! Are you a Diet Plate success? Do you want to go naked with the Diet Plate and surprise all your friends? We’d love to hear from you. Write to The Diet Plate Ltd, Unit 17a. Dinting Lane Industrial Estate, Glossop, SK13 7NU or email us at enquiries@thedietplate.com, and we’ll do all the rest.

Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes, already a huge health problem, is increasingly rapidly. More than 1.4 million people in the UK are known to have diabetes and even more people in the UK have diabetes but don't even know it!

In Diabetes the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood is abnormally high because the body's method of converting glucose into energy is not functioning correctly. A hormone called insulin, made by the pancreas gland, controls the amount of glucose in our blood. Insulin helps glucose enter body cells where it is used as fuel for all the body’s metabolic processes.
After we eat, blood glucose levels rise and insulin is released into the blood, allowing glucose to enter the cells where it is needed. When the blood glucose level falls (e.g. during exercise), the level of insulin falls. Glucose levels in the blood that are too high or too low can cause health complications. Insulin, therefore, plays a vital role in regulating the level of blood glucose and, in particular, stopping blood glucose from rising too high.
There are two main types of diabetes:
Type 1 diabetes (insulin dependant diabetes) develops when there is a lack of insulin in the body because most or all of the cells in the pancreas that produce it have been destroyed. The most likely cause of this is an abnormal reaction of the body to the cells that may be triggered by a viral or other infection. This type of diabetes usually appears in people of both sexes under the age of 40, often in childhood. Type 1 diabetes develops quickly, usually over a few weeks, and the unwitting patient presents acutely unwell, with a short history increased thirst (polydypsia), excessive urine production (polyuria) and sudden weight loss. People with Type 1 diabetes need injections of insulin for the rest of their lives and also need to eat a healthy diet that contains the right balance of foods. Usually, between two and four injections of insulin are required each day to stop symptoms, enable a healthy life, and avoid complications.
Type 2 diabetes (non insulin dependant diabetes) develops when the body can still produce some insulin, though not enough for its needs, or when the body no longer responds normally to its own insulin. The most common cause of this is overweight and obesity. Type 2 diabetes usually appears in people over the age of 40, although it is increasingly appearing in younger, obese, people. The best form of treatment of type 2 diabetes is to achieve 5-10% of body weight loss. Many can thereafter be successfully treated by diet alone. But for the others a combination of diet and medication, or a combination of diet and insulin injections may be required. Type 2 diabetes develops slowly and the symptoms are usually less severe than in type 1; in fact the most common symptom is simply “tiredness” and the diagnosis can go unnoticed for months or even years. Some people may not notice any symptoms at all and others put the symptoms down to 'getting older' or 'overwork', their diabetes only being discovered at a routine medical check up.
People who are overweight are particularly likely to develop type 2 diabetes and 90% of new type 2 diabetics are overweight. Just as importantly though, reducing body weight by only 10% can reduce the chance of developing diabetes by up to 44%. It tends to run in families and is more common in Asian and African-Caribbean communities.
In attempting to lose weight, people with type 2 diabetes need to eat a healthy diet that contains the right balance of foods, in the right portions. If this is not enough to keep blood glucose levels normal, medication may also be required of which there are several types. The first drug your doctor may choose should be “metformin” which can reduce blood sugar without the problem of weight gain encountered with other diabetic drugs. However some patients have difficulty with this medication. Alternatives include some which help the pancreas to produce more insulin (eg. sulphonylureas) while others help the body to make better use of the insulin that the pancreas does produce (eg. glitazones). Another type of tablet slows down the speed at which the body absorbs glucose from the intestine (ascarbose).
The main symptoms of diabetes are:

· Increased thirst
· Frequent trips to the toilet – especially at night
· Extreme tiredness
· Weight loss
· Genital itching or regular episodes of thrush
· Blurred vision.

In both types of diabetes, the symptoms are quickly relieved once the diabetes is treated. Early treatment will also reduce the chances of developing serious health problems.

Health Consequences of diabetes
Diabetes is an illness that needs to be taken very seriously and treated accordingly. Diabetics have a higher chance of developing certain serious health problems, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, circulation problems, nerve damage, and damage to the kidneys and eyes. The risk is particularly high for people with diabetes who are also very overweight, have high blood pressure, who smoke or who are not physically active. The risk of developing any of these complications can be reduced by controlling blood glucose, blood pressure and by eating healthily and regular physical activity. Some changes to lifestyles are required but by sticking to prescribed treatment, monitoring the condition and following a generally healthy diet, allows most diabetics to be able to continue a normal day-to-day life and take part in the activities they have always enjoyed. Here are is some general advice:
Have regular medical check-ups - In the last 10 to 20 years, the care for people with diabetes has improved dramatically. One of the most important developments has been improved methods of screening, which helps doctors to pick up any health problems at an early stage so they can be treated more successfully.
Eat healthy – regular portion controlled meals based on starchy foods such as bread, pasta, potatoes, rice and cereals helps control blood glucose levels. Cut down on fat, particularly saturated (animal) fats, as this type of fat is linked to heart disease. Choose monounsaturated fats, e.g. olive oil. Grill, steam or oven bake instead of frying or cooking with oil or other fats. Eat more fruit and vegetables, aiming for at least five portions a day to provide you with vitamins and fibre as well as to help you balance your overall diet. Cut down on sugar and sugary foods and use less salt, because a high intake of salt can raise your blood pressure. Alcohol should be drunk in moderation only, two units of alcohol per day for a woman and three units per day for a man. Alcohol can make hypoglycemia (low blood glucose levels) more likely to occur.
Stop smoking - Smoking, harmful in any circumstances, is particularly dangerous for people with diabetes as it greatly increases the chance of developing a serious health problem. If you smoke, it is very important that you quit now.
Physical activity - It is a good idea to take up some form of regular physical activity, such as walking, swimming, dancing or cycling. Not only will it reduce your risk of developing diabetes, if you already have the condition it can improve your overall control. You may need to consult your doctor or diabetes nurse before taking up any regular exercise, particularly if you are overweight.
The Diet Plate and Diabetes – Doctors on both sides of the Atlantic and in other parts of the world are increasingly recognising the importance of portion control in the treatment of diabetes are recommending their patients use The Diet Plate. The Diet Plate is not only proven to help users lose weight, it remains the only portion control plate clinically proven to help in the management of diabetics. This ground-breaking work was done by Dr Sue Pederson of the University of Calgary, Canada and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in June 2007. Dr Pederson showed that one third of people with diabetes who used The Diet Plate over a period of six months decreased their reliance on diabetes medication, including insulin. They also showed documented weight loss 80% greater than her control subjects and they saw decreases in cholesterol level. Dr Pederson concluded that “portion control” was a vital tool for people with diabetes to control their condition and that The Diet Plate was a safe, and highly effective way of achieving that.
Dr Pederson reporting on her findings said “the weight loss results are all the more impressive considering that people with diabetes in general do not respond well in weight loss programmes. Our overall results are comparable to similar studies undertaken using expensive weight loss drugs, but with no need for close medical supervision or risk of unpleasant side effects.”. The creator of The Diet Plate Mrs Kay Illingworth reacted positively to the study. “For years we’ve been helping men and women lose weight and helping them live normal lives. Now we can prove what we’ve always known, that The Diet Plate is extremely effective and can greatly help people with diabetes regain control. It’s very exciting and rewarding to have developed such a simple and effective way to help people control their weight” Dr Ian Campbell, a leading UK expert on obesity and weight management welcomed the findings. “Losing weight is never easy, and even harder for diabetics. To achieve these results over a six month period is excellent, and with no more side effects than an occasional decrease in blood glucose, easily corrected by a reduction in medication, is very impressive indeed. The Diet Plate puts control back in the hands of the individual and makes it much easier for everyone who wants to lose weight and reap the health benefits.

Article written by Dr Ian Campbell

The Diet Plate's first commreical

Message from Dr Ian Campbell

This is an excerpt that Dr Ian Campbell (UK's leading obesity specialist) wrote about The Diet Plate®

"In my clinical practice I know Just how difficult it can be to lose weight, and keep it off. Everyone needs a little extra help to stay focused and make the process easier, a more natural way of living. The Diet Plate® has proven to be a really effective way to regain control over portion size and lose weight. It's easy to use, and it works. My patients tell me it's so important to feel in control and this is where this system comes in. The booklet accompanying the system takes you through some simple principles and applying them directly to The Diet Plate® and your eating habits, you get to take back control of your lifestyle, and your weight. By patiently applying the techniques learned everyone has a great opportunity to lose weight gradually and long term. The real benefits to how you feel and your future health are only just beginning."

Dr Ian W Campbell, Leading Obesity Specialist

Plate, Bowl and Complete Weight Management set

Female Diet Plate.

Breakfast Bowl

Complete Weight Management System

The Diet Plate

Hello, The Diet Plate Limited is my company. We have been trading now for 8 years and it is going well for us. I am going to use this blog to record my general ramblings, thoughts and share some success stories and product information with you.

I hope that you come back again soon and you like what we have to share.