Karen Gatt halved her body size by following her own simple diet and exercise plan. Here is her story.
Ten years ago, Melbourne mum Karen Gatt was so obese she could barely leave her own home. At just 26 years old, with two toddler sons, she had spent most of her life on the diet rollercoaster and had tried and failed with every diet imagineable. At her heaviest, she weighed 136 kilos and was unable to do the basic activities of day-to-day life. Depressed and contemplating taking her own life, she decided to give weight loss one last go for the sake of her boys.
This time, though, she went right back to basics and devised a simple, no-fuss diet plan and began walking tiny laps of the clothesline in her suburban backyard. Why the clothesline? It was all she could manage. She was too large and too embarrassed to walk in public and she was able to hang on to the clothesline when she ran out of breath. At first it was five laps, then six, and each day she added a minute more.
Thirteen months after she began she halved her body size, shedding 67 kilos without pills or potions and without stepping into the gym once! Today, Gatt has been lovingly dubbed "Australia's favourite diet mum". The inspirational story of how she lost her weight, and her simple seven-day diet plan, became an instant bestseller when The Clothesline Diet was first released in 2002 and it has become one of Australia's most successful weight loss books.
Here is her seven-day diet plan.
Breakfast: High-fibre, low-fat cereal with low-fat milk, cup of tea with low-fat milk (no sugar).
Morning tea: Piece of fruit, cup of tea (no sugar)
Lunch: Two or three glasses of water. Low-fat soup, two to four plain low-fat crackers with tomato, cucumber or low-fat cheese
Afternoon tea: Small tub of low-fat yoghurt
Dinner: Two or three glasses of water. Steamed skinless chicken breast and steamed vegetables
Supper: Cup of tea (no sugar), bowl of fresh fruit salad
Breakfast: Two pieces of wholegrain/low-fat toast with light cream cheese spread, cup of tea (no sugar)
Morning tea: Piece of fruit, cup of tea (no sugar)
Lunch: Two or three glasses of water. Wholemeal pita bread wrap with tuna, lettuce, cucumber, celery and tomato
Afternoon: Small tub of low-fat yoghurt
Dinner: Two or three glasses of water. Small bowl of pasta with low-fat meat sauce
Supper: Cup of tea (no sugar), two or three crackers with light cream cheese spread or Vegemite
Breakfast: Low-fat cereal with low-fat milk, cup of coffee with low-fat milk (no sugar)
Morning tea: Small tub of mixed fruit, cup of tea (no sugar)
Lunch: Two or three glasses of water. Big bowl of fresh fruit salad, or low-fat soup
Afternoon: Banana
Dinner: Two or three glasses of water. Grilled fish with rice and steamed vegetables
Supper: Three crackers with low-sugar jam
Breakfast: Two pieces of wholegrain/low-fat toast with low-fat spread, cup of coffee (no sugar)
Morning tea: Piece of fruit, cup of tea (no sugar)
Lunch: Two or three glasses of water. Two hard-boiled eggs on crackers or rice cakes with low-fat mayonnaise
Afternoon: Small tub of low-fat yoghurt
Dinner: Two or three glasses of water. Small portion of macaroni cheese (using low-fat ingredients), served with large green salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, low-fat cheese
Supper: Small bowl of cereal with low-fat milk
Breakfast: Two Weet-Bix with low-fat milk, cup of tea with low-fat milk (no sugar)
Morning tea: Piece of fruit, cup of tea (no sugar)
Lunch: Two or three glasses of water. Tuna sandwich with salad
Afternoon tea: Low-fat muesli bar
Dinner: Two or three glasses of water. Chicken stir-fry with vegetables and rice
Supper: Two or three crackers with light cream cheese spread
Breakfast: Two pieces of soy and linseed toast with Vegemite, cup of tea (no sugar)
Morning tea: Piece of fruit, cup of tea (no sugar)
Lunch: Two or three glasses of water. Two rice cakes topped with tuna and salad
Afternoon: Piece of fruit or a small tub of low-fat yoghurt
Dinner: Two or three glasses of water. Wholemeal pita bread with two hard-boiled eggs, tuna, carrot, celery, lettuce, low-fat cheese
Supper: Fresh fruit salad
Breakfast: Two pieces of soy and linseed toast with Vegemite, cup of tea (no sugar)
Morning tea: Piece of fruit or small tub of fresh fruit salad, cup of tea (no sugar)
Lunch: Two or three glasses of water. Roast chicken or beef, with roast potatoes and pumpkin, steamed vegetables
Dinner: Two or three glasses of water. Sandwich made from lunch leftovers, with green leafy salad and tomatoes
Supper: Fresh fruit salad
This is an edited extract from The Clothesline Diet by Karen Gatt.