5 Minutes A Day

Since I first began working in the fitness industry many years ago, I've had day-to-day contact with all kinds of people: from super-fit instructors, to overweight teenagers, to mums trying to shift the baby weight. And if there's one thing I've learnt from all this experience it's that when it comes to weight management and better health, food is more important than exercise. Don't get me wrong. Exercise is the fountain of youth. Drink from it daily and you will reap the most amazing benefits physically and mentally. Plus, if you are out to lose some weight, exercise will vastly accelerate the process. However, if you are exercising daily but still eating poorly or simply eating too much (whether it's nutritious or not), you could be taking one step forward and two steps back. You may have heard people say that weight loss is 70 per cent diet and 30 per cent exercise, and they're not wrong.

After another incredible season as a trainer on The Biggest Loser, I am even more convinced of how crucial it is to take charge of what you eat. Exercise is brilliant for building muscle tone, which pumps your metabolism and helps you burn calories even faster, but ultimately it's what you chew and swallow that gets you where you are – and to where you want to be. We all saw that the real successes on the show came from eating more nutritious food and less of it.

If I had two clients, one of whom refused to eat well and ate whatever she liked whenever she liked, but I trained her like a demon every day, and another who did no exercise but tidied up her diet so that she had a weekly calorie deficit, the non-exerciser would lose the most weight.

I'm guessing that like many people you want to be fitter and lighter than you are right now. I'm here to tell you that the only way you are going to accelerate yourself to lean and mean is if you put in some time in the kitchen. Taking responsibility for your own nutrition is an important step towards taking responsibility for your own body and breaking the old habits that keep you stuck in a holding pattern. For those of you who already cook, you know how easy it can be. For those of you with 'L' plates, I want you to know that I am only interested in simple recipes with fresh ingredients that are quick to prepare and don't burn a hole in your budget.

At this point I have to be honest and say that if I can cook, anyone can! Let me give you an example. A couple of years ago some good friends of ours invited us to spend Easter with them at their gorgeous farm in Sydney's Southern Highlands. It gets pretty cold down there in the autumn, so on a chilly Sunday morning I decided to get up early and cook porridge for everyone.

One of the other guests there that weekend was my friend's mother, the renowned chef Suzanne Gibbs, herself the daughter of Australia's most celebrated cook, Margaret Fulton.

Thinking I had done a pretty good job of the porridge, I was looking forward to receiving some complimentary feedback when I noticed Suzanne peering into the saucepan on the stove.

'Is this supposed to be porridge?' she queried with a smile.

Her husband, Rob, who had been tucking into his bowl, looked up questioningly.

'No, Suzanne. It's Bircher muesli,' he replied. 'At least I think it is.'

Some people would be mortified by having a famous chef unable to recognise their preparation of such a simple dish, but I took it in my stride (with the help of extensive therapy!). After all, I knew that I'd had many more successes than failures. It's like anything in life: the more you do it, the better you get. And the quicker you get at it, too.

The major factor in our country's burgeoning waistlines, and the accompanying decline in our nation's health, is the lack of confidence in the kitchen and the negative headspace we have when it comes to cooking. And I'm talking about real cooking. Not taking some chicken nuggets out of the freezer and sticking them in the oven for ten minutes. I'm talking about taking a piece of fresh chicken, scattering it with herbs and chilli and putting it in the steamer for ten minutes. The cost and preparation time are about the same. The similarity ends when you taste them – one has all the flavour of the cardboard box it came in, and the other one melts in your mouth and tastes, well, like chicken!

I hear a lot of people tell me that they think it's all too hard. 'Who can be bothered?' they say, which is pretty understandable when we've convinced ourselves that takeaway is quicker, cheaper, and even at times healthier than cooking at home. This couldn't be further from the truth.

People selling food want it to taste good to keep you coming back, and they don't think twice about adding ingredients that will make their dishes oily, salty, sweet or fatty. By the time you've waited for takeaway or home delivery you could easily have made something nutritious and eaten it. And as for the dollars and cents, I've done the numbers and it really is cheaper to eat at home than to eat out – especially when you factor in the cost of petrol, the alcoholic drinks you'll probably buy and that you won't get any leftovers for lunch or another meal.

We're so busy doing other things – working, socialising, following hobbies and interests – that we've allowed food companies to take responsibility for what we eat. And that's where it goes wrong. As soon as you let someone else be in charge of what you eat you're in trouble!

Once upon a time we would only ever eat what we grew in our own gardens or bought from the local market. It would be seasonal and fresh. Our choices were governed by where we lived, the time of year, and what was readily available. Sure, we had to preserve like mad every year so that we could have summer fruits in winter, but for the most part, that was it.

Nowadays, we have an overwhelming abundance of choice, much of which we don't actually need, all driven by the overpowering volume of advertising that smothers us every day. It's got to the point where many people just don't know what good, simple, healthy eating is any more. You wouldn't believe how many of my clients say, 'Just tell me what to eat!'

So here they are: the recipes you need to help you lose weight. In Part 3, I give you 100 tried-and-true recipes, including all of my favourites, and every one of them is low in calories and high in flavour. Because I'm incredibly busy, and I know you are too, my recipes are always simple to prepare and easy to follow. Please don't be overwhelmed by how many there are – I just wanted to give you lots and lots of choices. Once you have mastered two or three of them, you'll feel your confidence blossom, and you'll be bursting to try the others. Also, I encourage you to experiment: get a few recipes under your belt, change a couple of key ingredients and 'voila!' you have yourself a new meal!

But of course, knowing what to cook is only part of the story, you also need to know how to set yourself up for successful weight management, and in Part 1 I give you practical tips on counting calories and getting organised in the kitchen. In Part 2 I've designed a 12-Week Menu Plan, plus there are detox and exercise tips to get you started on your journey to a leaner, healthier you.

I have written this book to show you how much easier, how much cheaper and how much quicker it is to prepare your own meals. Confidence in the kitchen is the key to weight management, so I'm giving you recipes that will help you not only lose the kilos that you want to lose, but also maintain control of your weight. In doing so you'll regain your health, vitality and energy. But do you know what the best thing will be? You will lose weight by eating really good food. And believe me, by following these recipes you will learn to love good food – really love it. You will feel excited about cooking healthy food rather than be scared of it or think of it as the enemy.

Be ready, though. Once you begin to eat the delicious, fresh wholefoods in my recipes and understand more about food and nutrition, junk food will never look or taste the same.

One of the most amazing transformations I see in my work with The Biggest Loser contestants is their attitude to food. Many of the contestants at the beginning of the show don't have a clue about how to prepare a meal: for some, 'cooking' means putting frozen pies in the oven. There is also plenty of confusion about what constitutes 'healthy' food, plus lots of turned-up noses to fresh vegetables. By the end of the show they are cooking up a storm in the kitchen, have an informed grasp of nutrition, and love the taste of fresh wholefood. They tell me that their tastebuds have changed and that they've not only lost the desire to eat salty, fatty, processed foods, but also feel bloated and sluggish when they do.

You are about to take charge of your kitchen, and in the process take charge of your weight and your life. You are about to take back control. What you learn will last you a lifetime and will be passed on to your own children. How exciting is that?

Let's get cooking!