The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet - Fast & Fresh Recipes

Introduction

Cooking nourishing, delicious food provides immense rewards – not least the pleasure it brings to others, and the health and wellbeing benefits we see and feel. But, try as we might, time always seems too short to prepare healthy meals night after night. Many people have shared their successes and challenges in following the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet (or 'TWD', as we have come to call it) on busy weekdays. They found they needed more inspiration for simple recipes that fit the diet plan and could be put together quickly. This book is written with them in mind.

The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet Fast & Fresh Recipes brings you a whole new repertoire of wonderfully easy recipes that take precious little time to prepare. The recipes are based on the same principles of the TWD, which has been so successful for many thousands of Australians who have wanted to eat better and watch their waistlines. Every year, more and more international research confirms that a diet higher in protein has many benefits – from helping to control hunger to reducing the amount of muscle and bone loss that can occur when dieting, as well as providing a rich concentration of nutrients when kilojoules are being counted.

At the CSIRO, we have also been busy continuing our research on higher-protein eating patterns. We have conducted studies exclusively on men, as we know that they are underrepresented in research on lifestyle programs. Our results have confirmed that the TWD is more effective in helping men to lose abdominal fat and retain muscle than traditional high-carbohydrate diets.

We have also investigated the effects of higher-protein diets on those with Type 2 diabetes, both in conjunction with liquid meal replacement as well as whole food eating patterns, with different exercise programs including resistance training. The TWD with resistance exercise was the most effective combination for fat loss.

We have looked at higher-protein diets featuring more beef, or pork, or eggs, and examined the health effects of each pattern. The results show that eating a variety of protein foods is beneficial.

Importantly, in the results of each of these studies, we see very similar benefits borne out in individuals compared with those in our earlier studies, with no suggestion that there may be disadvantages from the TWD dietary pattern.

We recently surveyed over 5000 people who lost a combined total of over 3000 kilograms, to learn how we can use the internet to help provide additional support to the TWD community. Our aim is to produce a comprehensive and informative website in order to reach as many people as possible, regardless of location.

If you have previously experienced success with the TWD, we hope this new set of recipes will keep you motivated to continue. If this is your first encounter with TWD, we hope you will find the eating plan simple and the recipes fast, fresh and fantastic!

Dr Manny Noakes