My CSIRO diet is off to a shaky start!

Don’t you hate it when you follow a diet plan to the letter and you put on weight? Well, me too!

Week One of my CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet 12-week journey is done and I’m 0.3kg heavier than when I started on 3 November 2022 at 68.5kg.

However, rather than give up on the popular diet that has attracted more than a million book sales in Australia and overseas, I’m keen to “trust the science” and jump right in for more!

I’ve been impressed with the overall program which includes not only meal and exercise plans but also comprehensive guides, tutorials, a digital weight tracker, forums, and coaching.

The extra 0.3kg I gained in the first week, I expect, is because I was eating too little before!

For example, previously an average breakfast for me was two Weet-bix (no added sugar) with 250ml low-fat milk and two tablespoons of either sultanas or a few fresh blueberries.

Whereas the Mango Ginger Smoothie for breakfast in Week 1 of the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet has 1 cup frozen or fresh mango, 25g rolled oats, a 170g tub of low-fat Greek yogurt, 250ml low-fat milk, two teaspoons fresh ginger, and a heaped teaspoon of peanut butter (no added sugar).

Without counting the kilojoules for each breakfast, I can easily see the latter has more than the former.

The quantity of most other meals on the menu has also been more than I’d normally consume.

However, my decision to join the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet program online wasn’t based solely on losing weight and toning my body.

It was also about improving my overall health and well-being with a more consistent eating plan that allows me to spend more time doing what I love than worrying about what’s next for dinner.

And, I’m pleased to say that even within the first week, my quality of sleep has improved somewhat!

**I’m a proud affiliate of the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, so if you sign up for the program by clicking on one of the CSIRO links on this website, then I’ll receive a little something in return. It’s how this awesome affiliate program works – win-win!**

Mango Ginger Smoothie: a taste of childhood nostalgia

The Mango Ginger Smoothie for breakfast was a great way to start my CSIRO Total journey, evoking a foodie memory.

My Mango Ginger Smoothie.

The recipe included Peanut Butter—my favourite childhood treat!

It’s a good thing I’m not allergic to peanuts. However, I’m sure my parents would have saved a lot on the weekly shopping bill had that been so.

I recall at one stage Mum lamenting that my excessive consumption of Peanut Paste (as we knew it then) was blowing out the shopping budget!

In my defense, it was all the fault of a simple recipe we called Peanut Candy–equal quantities (usually two tablespoons) of Peanut Paste, powdered milk, and honey, mixed to a consistency similar to Playdough.

We’d either roll the mixture into balls or press it into a flat tray and cut it into squares.

As a mother, serving “Candy Balls” to my three children most days after school as a special treat. More recently, I’ve introduced it to my grandchildren and they love it too.

I understand Mum found the Peanut Candy recipe in a book written by Phyllis Dorothy Cilento, Lady Cilento, an Australian medical practitioner, prominent medical journalist, and pioneering advocate of family planning in Queensland.

Mum was a home economics teacher with a passion for nutrition. She was, and at 91 years of age still is, a proud devotee of Lady Cilento. Mum recommended several of her books to me in high school and as I raised my own children.

According to Medical News Today, peanut butter contains nutrients that may boost a person’s heart health and improve blood sugar levels. However, it is high in calories or kilojoules and fat, so people should enjoy it in moderation.

Peanuts are also a good source of protein and a small quantity of Candy Balls goes a long way toward satisfying the hungry bellies of children.

Learning from the experts at CSIRO

On Day One of my CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, I woke to an email from the CSIRO diet team welcoming me to the program and giving me an overview of the tools I’d be using in the coming weeks.

There was also a Start Strong Interactive Guide to set me on the right path.

I’m to receive a similar email with more information at the start of each week, and reminders to weigh myself and record the result in the weight tracker.

I can also watch new videos each week on different health and well-being topics.

The easiest meal planner I’ve ever used

This CSIRO meal planner has to be the easiest I’ve ever used. It has everything I need to make my cooking and shopping experiences easy.

With the meal swap function, I can easily customize my plan to suit any dietary preferences. The CSIRO diet provides me with alternatives that closely match the nutrient levels for each dish.

There are also some great features like viewing nutrition information or food groups, which helps me keep track of what exactly goes into my body.

A shopping list is also on the meal plan page that displays all foods I require for my chosen period. I can choose quantities for one, three, or seven days, and multiply the list if I’m catering for just me or a family visit.

If I’ve swapped meals, the system automatically changes food items on this shopping list.

The handy tool also comes with downloadable PDFs too, making my life easier. If I’m going away or don’t like using my computer or mobile phone in the kitchen while cooking, I can simply print my PDF plan instead.

And, that’s not all…

A recipe finder makes it easy to search for new meals based on simple keywords by name (brownies), ingredient (raspberries), or category (desserts).

The finder also shows me the nutritional information about each dish listed, so there’s no guesswork involved when trying something different.

Monitoring food, exercise, and mood

CSIRO’s food, exercise, and weight trackers are great ways to monitor what I eat, how much exercise I’m doing, and how my mood improves.

To the food and exercise tracker, I can add meals the meals I’ve chosen, my exercise sessions, steps for the day, and how many glasses of water I’ve had.

There’s also a weekly indulgence graph so I can keep track of my treats across the week.

The weight tracker is more than just a scale. It tracks my moods and allows me to upload photos so I can watch the progress I’m making.

I can also track my measurements with every weigh-in if I want to.

Get fit anywhere

Getting fit in my lounge room.

The CSIRO diet exercise plans are designed to be performed anywhere, whether at home, in the park, or gym.

Big photos and easy-play videos make it quick for me to add the workouts to my tracker.

I can also view the calories or kilojoules burned for each session and get a complete transcript of instructions for the entire workout.

Improving nutrition knowledge

CSIRO diet has comprehensive, interactive program tutorials that help members learn the basics of the diet and improve their knowledge of nutrition.

I have access to every week of material from the first week of my program – all in one place!

Click here to follow my journey from Day 1.

Want to sample CSIRO recipes before joining?

If you’d like to try recipes from the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet before joining the online program, a selection of free recipes is available at:

https://www.totalwellbeingdiet.com/au/recipes/our-recipe-collections/

You can also join the Three-Day Taster program, which includes samples of the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet menu and exercise plans, and an overview of their tools that will help you lose weight and feel better.

https://totalwellbeingdiet.com/au/health-tools/resources/get-the-3-day-taster/