Is Losing Weight Possible in a Gourmet Paradise Like Sydney?
Photos by Stewart Dawes
Unrepentant foodie JO-ANNE McLEOD looks at weight loss from a gastronomic perspective - as Australia has become a gourmet wonderland like never before ...
There are things in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Tasmania, that you simply should not eat.
But ... they are everywhere.
As Australia's foodie count has climbed the richter scale, we've become earth-tremoring in our indulgences.
Entire divisions of cup-cake worshippers have sprung up on Twitter, strangely enough usually introverted Asian female foodies who never attract a droplet of fat to their hips even if they consume pastries day and night (which they proudly suggest, they do).
A recently opened weight loss clinic and retreat that's opened in Sydney's Blue Mountains has, apart from still giving exercise a run, invested a lot of focus in the gourmet food aspect of weight loss - they're promising very delicious cuisine and even more bluntly, "no rabbit food". Now there's a company who knows the tastes of Sydneysiders and in fact all Australians looking to lose weight.
Cheese enthusiasts proclaim the diversity of flavours that such a medium affords. And yet, once past the palate, they are the equivalent of a pound of lard.
Not only that, but I had to stop buying cheese for the home.
I'd put the circle of camembert in the fridge, and it would start singing to me.
Like the sirens of yore, luring me to the rocks of my own libidinal appetite.
Just one incision, I'd think, one deft and delicate wedge to satiate the chorus in my ears.
Five minutes later, oh just another one.
At this point, my consciousness would start swimming in an ocean of cheese-fetishness - bring on the next slice - half the block would be gone.
An hour later, the entire thing would be out of sight, out of mind - simply because I had made the evidence vanish. The wrapper would be safely in the bin, the contents nowhere to be seen.
Full consumption = complete disaster.
So my huge apologies to all those dedicated Australia cheese-meisters out there.
Your products truly are sublime. I would happily eat cheese all day.
The Best Place for Cheese is on TV
I don't watch TV often, but I did happen to catch a British weight loss show which in one episode featured a happy-go-lucky computer programer who simple loved cheese. He was addicted.
They laid out on a table just how much cheese he would consume every week - the dining table was full of the most delicious assortments.
I related to this guy. The only difference between him and me was that he followed his dreams, I repressed mine.
But that changed my life forever as I then knew that cheese had to go - he improved by show's end, and so did I.
Muffing Up a Diet Plan
Mixed in with that is the subjective issue of the low-carb diet. The Atkins Diet, whatever you want to call it. This diet is the doyen of Sydney's Eastern Suburbs set.
And yet ...... how is it that there are so many pastry shops in Sydney's eastern suburbs?
Well here's the reality from subjective experience.
Most days, I begin with a low-carb frame of mind.
But by excluding carbs from the diet, a subtle, very subtle craving can quietly muster forces deep within the core of one's being.
Hence sooner or later, a snap.
Not a violent snap - in fact it looks very respectable. Yes I will have that lamb and rosemary pie, thankyou very much. And just one chocolate croissant. Merci ...
Mmm a beef noodle soup in Marrickville. Wow only $9. Dredged to the last sliver of noodle.
Oh I've heard the spaghetti bolognese is fabulous at this restaurant. I'll have that thanks ...... wow, it's the size of Queensland!! All is consumed in 15 minutes of ravenous animal bliss.
Or after two very good weeks, it's pizza night - gourmet pizzas of course - but pretty much the last thing in the world I should be eating - 8 slices later ...
And so much for the Health Myth of Juices
As I ordered my extra-large juice in one of those noisy juice bars that have given shopping centres the volume level of a building site, I often wondered whether the liquid bloating was filling a space in my stomach with healthy stuff that negated my urge for an afternoon beef burger or chocolate bar, or whether the security was temporary - in fact when I was eventually true to myself, I concluded that the massive bloating stretched my stomach to its limit, but then with the quick passing of the liquid, I'd end up with a cavernous hole in my gut that would cry out for a big dinner.
Furthermore, after all the healthy hype, some of which has merit, it's now been widely reported that juice fixes are the equivalent of giving the body a massive dose of sugar.
The answer of course is to go for a vegetable juice: carrot, beetroot and celery, with ginger (which heats the metabolism as well as being bloody good for the liver). Even that combination, going under some brilliantly marketing-engineered name such as "immune booster", has sugar in it, but all those greens - hmmm excellent - and add some spirulina to it also - spirulina, being such a nutrient rich "superfood", does quell the appetite. And the high incidence of protein helps in that regard too.
Finally some inspirational quotes and links to help us all negotiate the gourmet landmines which have proliferated across our urban weight-battlefield.
As you choose the way you'll live this day, remember this. Accomplishment is a joy worth experiencing over and over again.
Become bold and courageous. Timid and indecisive people are neither admired or respected by anyone but themselves.
"We live in an age when pizza gets to your home before the police." ~ Jeff Mander (well maybe this last one ain't so inspirational - it's more just fact).
Helpful Links
For a new cutting edge weight loss retreat near Sydney check out Ontrack Retreats.
For a holistic weight loss program check out Lucy Morris's article on Freshmag.com.au
For weight loss tips on Twitter check out the Weight Loss Australia tweeps - and for more links see:
Weight Loss Retreats in Australia
Weight Loss Retreat in the Blue Mountains
Weight Loss Boot Camps in Australia
Weight Loss Camps
Weight Loss Centres in Sydney
Weight Loss Luxury Clinics Sydney Melbourne Australia
Weight Loss Holidays in Australia
Weight Loss Hotels
Weight Loss Near Sydney
Weight Loss Retreats NSW New South Wales
Weight Loss Programs
Weight Loss Resorts Queensland Blue Mountains Australia
Weight Loss Retreats Sydney Australia
Weight Loss Retreats in Sydney
Weight Loss in Sydney Cafe & Gourmet Culture
Weight Loss Trainers and Training Styles in Australia
Weight Loss Vacations in Queensland
