Food and Health: Denise Austin's 'The Power of 12' Eating Plan

Denise Austin's 'The Power of 12' Eating Plan

Who is Denise Austin? She is one of America's leading promoter of health and fitness. At the age of 52, she has approximately 82 work-out videos/DVD's attached to her name.

I browsed a Woman's Day magazine, January 2010 issue, one afternoon at Book Sale and I read through the contents page the line 'Lose That Weight for Good' and that was enough for me to buy the magazine.What really got me interested was the author of the article, Denise Austin, and her eating plan which was based on her new book, 'Denise's Daily Dozen:The Easy, Every Day Program to Lose Up to 12 Pounds in 2 Weeks'. Wow! Is this possible? The Power of 12 Eating Plan is also the Daily Dozen. It is not about eating 12 kinds of food but rather refers to food categories which are listed below.

- 3 Veggies (V)

- 3 Fruit (Fr)

- 3 Protein (P)

- 2 Healthy Grain (G)

- 1 Healthy Fat (F)

Here's one sample menu for a day from her article which you can also read at Woman's Day web http://www.womansday.com/.

Breakfast: 1 slice sprouted-grain bread, toasted with butter spray (1 G)

Yogurt Parfait (1 P, 1 Fr, 1 F ) --

1 cup non-fat vanilla yogurt, 1/2 cup sliced strawberries, 1/2 cup sliced

mango, 2 tbsps. sliced almonds, grated lime zest

To prepare: In a tall glass, alternate layers of yogurt and fruit. Top with

almonds and sprinkle with lemon zest.

Lunch : Tuna Salad Wrap (1 P, 1 1/2 V, 1 G) --

3 oz. canned water-packed tuna, drained, 1 tsp. light mayonnaise, 1 tsp.

Dijon mustard, 1/2 cup chopped celery, 1 whole-grain wrap, 1 handful

mixed greens

To prepare: In a small bowl, combine the tuna, mayo, mustard and

celery. Place tuna mixture on wrap and top with greens.

1 medium apple (1 Fr)

Afternoon Snack: 1 cup cantaloupe chunks (1 Fr)

Dinner : Chicken with Cilantro and Lime (1 P) --

1 tbsp. olive or canola oil, 1 tbsp. honey, juices of 1 lime, 1/4 cup

chopped cilantro, 4 oz. chicken breasts

To prepare: In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, honey, lime juice

and cilantro. Pour this mixture over chicken breast and

marinate in the fridge for 20 minutes. Discard marinade and

grill or broil for 6 to 8 minutes per side until cooked through.

1 cup steamed spinach (1 V)

You'd notice that some of the food categories exceed the number of servings required but it is still okay for as long as you don't go below the number 12.

Denise Austin said in her article at Woman's Day that people can't figure out how she stays fit when they see her eating all the time which she added is her first secret. "When you eat, your metabolism revs up and burns calories simply to digest your food. Munching at regular intervals throughout the day--rather than starving yourself or skipping meals--keeps the calorie burn running", she said. Her second secret is the food that she eats which is her Daily Dozen above.

I think this eating plan is doable. Denise Austin says that for the first two weeks, you should follow the plan as closely as possible. If you eat out, order something similar. I think that we could also make something similar at home following this eating plan.

Thursday, April 15, 2010