Your Portion Perfection Healthy Snack Bible Interview

Your Portion Perfection Healthy Snack Bible Interview

With more and more Australians becoming overweight, obese and now more than ever, morbidly obese, as a nation we need to be focussed on ways to combat this growing problem. While there are literally hundred of diets out there, the evidence is clear that diets, especially fad diets, don't work.

What does work, and it has been proven, is portion controlled meals and sensible snacking.

Yes, snacking could very well be the key to successful weight loss and most importantly, being able to keep that weight loss maintained.
"Research has found that sensible snacking in the correct serving size and frequency can help to shed those extra kilos while better managing blood glucose and cholesterol levels," explains dietitian Amanda Clark.

"Most dieters report that the more diets they have been on the harder it is to lose weight. When you think about if from an evolutionary point of view, it makes sense. Think of it this way: the more famines we live through the more important it is for survival that our bodies become energy efficient - which means holding onto body fat as long as possible. This is a good reason to avoid cutting your energy intake too low without some expert advice.

"Snacking helps to manage hunger and helps us avoid overeating at meal times. Choosing healthy, nutritious snacks is an easy way to improve your diet and overall health."

Amanda's new book, Your Portion Perfection Healthy Snack Bible, an updated extract from Portion Perfection - A visual weight control plan, is a must for helping you choose sensible snacks. Easy to slip into your handbag, the 52 page pocked-sized book features pictures and nutritional information for over 250 snacks.

Snack choices have been split into everyday and occasional choices. The distinction between everyday and occasional snacks factors in the glycemic index (GI) of each food as well as its nutritional content. While foods in the everyday category are fine to eat every day for weight loss, the occasional foods may not provide enough nutritional value, may have a higher GI, higher levels of sugar, salt or more saturated fat and therefore not contribute positively to a healthy balance on a restricted intake.

The snack guide is divided into 100 Cal / 420kJ (for slimming) and 200 Cal / 840kJ (for maintenance) options which makes it easy to choose the right snack for you at the right time.

The Portion Perfection Health Snack Bible is also available as a FREE download from www.greatideas.net.au

Your Portion Perfection Healthy Snack Bible
www.greatideas.net.au
Author: Amanda Clark
Price: $7.95

Interview with Amanda Clark

Question: Why did you decide to write Your Portion Perfection Healthy Snack Bible?

Amanda Clark: My book Portion Perfection is a full pictorial weight management program for men women and children, but I realised that there was valuable content in there on the nutritional suitability of snacks that could help people who were just interested in their health and not necessarily focused on weight. Parents wondering what to put in a child's lunchbox or have on hand at work for themselves will find hundreds of healthy ideas to choose from. There are so many products on the supermarket shelves, I could see value in offering my expertise to read all those tiny little food labels and categorising those with nutritional credibility. Showing photographs of the actual products helps to find them in the supermarket.


Question: What is your favourite snack?

Amanda Clark: My favourite would have to be the ten dried apricots in the 100 Calorie weight loss category. They're easy to slip into a small container or snap lock bag, they don't require refrigeration, and they have an intense sweetness that can be appealing mid afternoon. They are high in fibre and have a low glycemic index, which makes them satisfying, they're packed with vitamin C and folate and you can spend time savouring the flavour which is just heavenly.


Question: How does Your Portion Perfection Healthy Snack Bible help manage hunger and help us avoid overeating at meal times?

Amanda Clark: Planned snacking between meals can take the edge of your appetite, control cravings and improve concentration, not to mention keep your metabolism firing. The size of a serve or a food package heavily influences how much we eat. I've chosen only snack options served or packaged in the appropriate portion size for either weight loss or weight maintenance for men women and children. All the hard work is done!


Question: How are the snack choices split up throughout Your Portion Perfection Healthy Snack Bible?

Amanda Clark: The snack choices are divided into weight loss portions of approximately 100 Calories (420kJ) per serve and weight maintenance portions of 200 Calories (840kJ) per serve. Within these categories, I have used nutritional criteria to determine whether a snack food is appropriate to eat every day or only occasionally. I've shown photographs of the right portion size and / or packaging so it's easier to remember and find in the supermarket.


Question: Why did you decide to offer Your Portion Perfection Healthy Snack Bible as a FREE download?

Amanda Clark: Portion Perfection has been so successful and the feedback has indicated that it is so simple and practical. We've sold 10,000 copies which makes Portion Perfection an Australian best seller, but the population we're not reaching is so much bigger. I feel that giving away some valuable information can lead people to the full resource and I hope people will forward the link to their friends. I really believe that portion size is the cause of the obesity epidemic and the higher the demand for the right sized portion the more likely we are to change the situation. It also is a free gift to those who have purchased my book, portion plate and bowl, as it serves as an update to the snack section of the 1st edition of the book. We'll also be highlighting new products that meet our criteria on an ongoing basis on our facebook page www.facebook.com/portionperfection. The feedback that came when we first made it available online indicated that people wanted to buy a pocket sized full colour version to take to the supermarket, so we've now created that and it is available via our website www.greatideas.net.au, as is the free download.


Interview by Brooke Hunter