watch the video on YouTube
For more details about the class or to sign up CLICK HERE
No recipe today folks.
Just wanted to share a little video I’ve pulled together to give you a preview of Reclaim Your Waistline – my upcoming 4 week class at The Stonesoup Virtual Cookery School.
and announce …
the competition!
If you love your food AND would also like to lose weight, now’s your chance.
Win one of 10 FREE places in the Reclaim Your Waistline class!
Just leave a comment below or email me jules@thestonesoup.com and tell me why you should win a free place in the class. I’m looking for creativity and enthusiasm!
Entries close midnight Tuesday 15th February 2011.
the fine print:
The winners will be announced on Stonesoup Wednesday 16th Feb.
The winning entrant will be notified by email and the results published on Stonesoup – unless the winners wish to remain anonymous.
The judge’s decision will be final and no other correspondence shall be entered into.
ps. If you know of someone who might be interested, please share this page with them. I’d really appreciate it.
I’d love to win! We have started eating this way wince November and my husband has already lost 24 pounds
Jana
Awesome Jana
Glad to hear your husband has already had some brilliant results! Thanks for being the first in too – you were quick!
It started off with moving countries, Christmas tipped the scales – my clothes are getting tighter and my will power often fails!
I love my eggs and toast, salami is so fine….. Jules I really need your help to reclaim my lost waistline!
Hi Jules! Looks good :). I’m newly vegetarian and figuring out more creative ways to cook and also keep fit… And maybe lose 10 lbs ;). Thank you for offering this!
I would love to win a spot, Christmas did me in! Somewhere under all this winter padding is a waistline. Love the cookbook by the way, bought it last week and have already made several yummy recipes, thanks!
Hi Jules! I would love to win a spot! I’m a college student, and, uh, let’s just say I’ve gained a bit of weight since high school. I also have the specific challenges that come with being a student of extremely limited time (work, school, internship, etc.), and not a ton of cash to spend on food. Clearly, I could use some guidance!!
-Patti
Oohhh! Pick me! Pick me! I’m a graduate student(and thus strapped for cash) and have been enjoying getting the Stone Soup newsletter in my email for a couple of months! I was really excited to read about this class, but alas, I can’t find the money in my budget for it :( Someday, when I’m a real adult and have a job, which will hopefully happen in May, I’ll actually be able to afford paying for a class like this, but for now I must beg on my hands and knees for you to choose me! I also could really use help with learning to eat well and loosing the Freshman 15 + the 20 pounds I gained when I turned 21 and learned to drink good beer! Also, I don’t want to sound like brown-noser, but this video was the first one I’ve watched, and I kinda want to take the class just to hear your pretty accent!
In 2003, I am at my highest – 115kg. Suffered from chronic back pain and someday, I just can’t bring myself to get out of bed. Then, I got involved in a terrible accident and that really jolted me up! I changed my lifestyle and eating habit, successfully lost 20kg in two years. However, the weight gradually came back and now I am stuck at 95kg. Can’t fit into some of my old dress now…
For the past few years, school works and classes took up most of our free time. Our daily staple food consist of take-outs and more carbs! Recently, my husband and I just finished grad school and we are ready to begin the next phase of our life – healthier & happier US!
We recently celebrated Chinese New Year and I think we have both put on some extra weights… Difficult to resist delicious baked cookies and home-cook food right?
So, Jules, looking forward to your wonderful recipes and we are ready reclaim our lost waistlines.
Ta!
I’m really wanting to lose about 20 lbs. My husband just lost some weight and is very focused on fitness right now, and I’d like it to be a common interest for us. Plus, if I can learn these methods and convince him and the kids to follow along as well, it will be a great, healthy, fun way to eat together! (Also, I’m a baker, and I find the idea of giving up carbs very difficult, but keeping it in check would be great!)
I would love to win! I have 30kg to lose and 2 kids who take up all my time. I love that you use 5 ingredients. I am always a bit freaked out by recipes with too many ingredients and so I end up sticking with the same old boring food. It would be great to add some new healthy recipes to our home menu. I’d also like to be able to teach my kids to cook healthy meals so they don’t end up with the same weight problems that I have.
:)
I’m an Army wife (who’s husband is gone) and have 2 preschoolers to keep up with. I’m a decent cook but don’t have a ton of time and in general am under a lot of stress. For the first time in my life I don’t just want to loose weight but I want to be healthy and make healthier choices for my family. I’d love to be able to keep up with my soldier for once!
Hi Jules, I have been following your blog since the summer and I am not ashamed to come out only now to enter the giveaway!
I have always been on the chubby side but I always loved my curves, then I met my husband, a chef, and things wend downhill. You see, the man can really cook, but he is totally clueless about light cooking! I already showed him your 5 ingredients recipes and he loved it, so I’d love to win a spot to make him cook better meals for me… yes I am that selfish :-)
Hi Jules
I love your recipes and style of cooking. I am mum of 3, love cooking and am very creative in the kitchen. Our family eats wonderful healthy meals together each night which I thoroughly enjoy cooking. I am fairly fit but struggle to loose weight around my middle and I know its from CARBS CARBS CARBS. I also purchased the 4 hour body a few weeks ago and have been following it okish but my problem is I run out of recipe ideas …i get so over the meat meat meat stuff and would love some help with new ideas for slow carb cooking where quality fresh ingredients are used to develop simple slow carb meals. The only part I struggle with in the 4 hour body is repeating the same meals over and over…I get so bored so quickly! The class sounds great and just the type of help I need to keep my motivation for cooking delicious food with a healthy slow carb influence. Bring it on!
I discovered your good’n’simple cooking philosophy and got your e-book when I moved into a new house with a brand new modern kitchen and have been making breakfast and lunches for work in a jiffy ever since. I still tend to potter around and get a bit experimental – my herbs’n’spices cupboard caters to every cuisine on the planet – but have been encouraged to make the most of good quality produce and am learning to enjoy the minimalist approach. I’m ready to try one of your classes now. My laptop computer is already covered in food from living on the kitchen bench. Let’s see if it can survive an online cooking class! :-)
Please pick us!
Love from me, my partner and my two girls will ensue
Eating should help our bodies, not hinder them
And we need all the help we can get
Surely our lives can be healthier?
Even small changes will make a huge difference
Perhaps you can be the change we’re seeking?
If we can participate, it’ll really help at least four people
Can you please help me to teach my daughters to have a healthy attitude to food?
Kicking my attitude to food will ensure they don’t face the same demons as me
Useful information is what we really need
So we can we healthy and happy
Thank-you for considering our application!
I would really like to lose the 20 lbs I have gained. I am trying to restructure my eating habits and would love to participate in the class. Thanks!
I am a grandmother with diabetes who has been following your blog since you did the 5 ingredients in 10 minutes minimalist cooking. Our menu has changed a lot because of your recipes. We eat fresh and organic as much as possible but still need to reduce carbs and our weight. Please help.
This would be a gift for my beautiful wife. She enjoys cooking and works out like a maniac. However, she struggles with actually losing weight. She is by no means heavy, but would like to lose an extra 20 lbs. I would absolutely love her to have an opportunity to take this class. We have both recently made commitments to eat cleaner and focus on a healthy lifestyle. She cooks, so this would benefit us both! One problem she has is making the time to feed herself…she is always focused on serving the family first. Five ingredients might just help :) . Thanks for all you do!
Hi Jules! I’d love to win a spot in the class! You look great and I enjoyed the video of the class preview. 2 years ago I lost 30 pounds by counting calories and exercising. I’ve gained back 10 and I want to stop the gaining back process. Thanks!
I will turn 35 on the week the course starts and would love to do something for myself for once! I love cooking and am blessed with two food loving kids (Lucy who turned 5 on Monday and baby Colin who’s 7 months and whose favourites are pureed avocado, papaya and parsnip).
I’m delighted that my two kids are on their way to being real foodies, but I’m a bit sad that even with regular exercise, my waistline still shows no sign of returning to its original self. The course would be a perfect kick and an extra-motivation to make the right changes and stop finishing the kids plates ;-) Thanks for the giveaway!
Jules,
I am a long time cruiser and volunteer writer for an organization of 600,000 boaters in the US and Canada, many of whom love to cruise and cook aboard. I write about easy ways to cook great food aboard a boat (usually with galleys much smaller than a kitchen) and your approach, 5 ingredients cooking, is just the kind of thing they would enjoy. However, as the demographic tends to be a bit older 45+, I often find that boaters are looking for ways to eat well while losing weight and I’d like to help them do so. Winning your 4 week class will enable me to write knowledgeably about this, refer them to your website and classes, and ultimately help thousands of boaters “reclaim their waistlines” using 5 ingredient cooking! If you want to see the site, go to http://www.boatus.com/cooking/default.asp
Hello there! I would love to win a spot in this class! Since discovering your blog and your genius 5 ingredient recipes I actually don’t groan (as much!) about cooking supper. Plus, your little broccoli cartoon and the font you used for the promo are precious. Thanks for the opportunity!
I was first attracted to your website because “simplify” is my middle name. I love your 5 ingredient recipes. I would love to win a spot in your Reclaim Your Waistline Class because early menopause has made me heavy, weak, and sluggish. I’m an older mom to a nine-year-old boy and I work in a preschool. I want to feel light and energetic to keep up with these great children. I also want to set a good example for my son and show him how you can eat a healthy, delicious, and SIMPLE diet. I lost 20 pounds on South Beach and then gained them all back plus 20 more! I think the Cheat Day is a BRILLIANT idea. That is what I needed to keep from getting bored on South Beach and feeling like I would be deprived for the rest of my life. I am sure you will provide many more wonderful ideas and information in your class.
Since I turned 60, I have had a personal trainer and have been working on strength and cardio. Trying to eat right but still, even with weight loss, have the Valentine’s Day love handles which are good for only one day and then never be seen again. Would love to try your program. I will never be too old to improve my health. Planning to run half marathon to celebrate 70 without love handles.
Need to lose some weight
My waistline has gone missing
Really miss my toes.
Jules – hope there are points for creativity (or lack there of) in the contest! I’ve submitted my entry in haiku format! ;)
Good morning to all! I have been having health problems after going through early menopause at 37. I am now 100 lbs overweight and can’t seem to get back on track for more than a day or two. I am killing myself and I am desperate for some help. I don’t know where my self discipline went, but I haven’t seen it in years. I know what to do, I just can’t keep it up and I would like some accountability. Thank you! Have a great day!
Dear Jules,
For me this class wouldn’t be about reclaiming my waistline ( as I don’t recall ever having one). But I would love to go on this adventurous treasure hunt. You have the map :-)
jules, first thank you for your blog. i love it. i am very interested in this class, since although i am extremely health conscious about eating, i have slowly gained weight. and now i finally understand why. carbs and sugar! i never ate refined sugar, but baking enough healthy treats will also do the job. i could really use your help to learn more about slow carb eating. a busy mom of 3, winning this class would make it happen for me. all the best to you. i think you are doing something important!
I joined a gym. (for the first time ever) I’ve tried the healthy eating (Obviously helpful but tedious meals aren’t always easy after work) My work always has pizza lying around. (I have a problem saying no) I work with kids, and they are the most honest people ever. In the last few months I’ve been asked when I’m having my baby (not pregnant) and when begged to go to the gym by the kids, my stomach has been grabbed and told, “You could go to.” I need a lifestyle change, I’m working on the moving around part, now I need some nutrition counseling. Help!
I’ve been struggling with years to lose some weight, but it is incredibly difficult when you are a poor student, or now a poor graduate with only a contract job who will be unemployed in a couple months with student loans to pay, and when you can’t eat wheat. I’m running and weightlifting, but eating right is the most difficult part! I’d love to participate in the class.
Literally have stones in my cabinets.. or, let’s be honest, dust bunnies. My bf hates canned tuna. AND, I discovered your blog yesterday and read every post (yes, I have a job, just a lot of afternoon down time !!)
I would love to participate– for sake of fun and education :)
Hi! I’m 15 pounds in to a 35 pound weight loss journey and I’m running out of ideas! I’ve been eating the same thing every day for breakfast and lunch and could really benefit from mixing it up a little!
I’m an aspiring holistic nutritionist who has a hunger (oh god bad pun) to learn about various schools of thought regarding food. I am a long-time admirer of your simple and elegant recipes and I would love to participate in this class so that I can learn more about your philosophies of food and how I can apply them to my own nutritional beliefs. Thank you!
I would love to win a spot in your class because one, I need to lose weight. I’m approximately 20 lbs overweight and will be running my third half marathon in May. The more weight I can lose the faster I can run and I’d love to run a sub 3-hour half marathon :) Two, I’m a klutz in the kitchen. You can ask my dear boyfriend who dutifully samples everything I try to cook. Your simple 5 ingredient recipes are AMAZING and I only wish I had found your blog sooner. I made the chickpea, greens, parm, and lemon juice salad from your free e-book for lunch today and it was delicious (and filling!).
Please give me a spot in your class so I can lose weight, feel better, run faster, and cook better! <3
My husband and I just got married this year, and as newlyweds, we’ve done a ton of cooking, hosting, and generally experiencing and talking about food. Yes, we are foodies! But, I am a much “health-conscious” and minimalist cook, and while my husband wants to be in better shape and health, he still struggles with how to do that in the grocery store, at restaurants, and, especially, in the kitchen!
Wow, thanks for the chance to win! I would love to regain my waistline! I have just started a learn to run programme in the hope of losing some weight. So I just the food side of it now to really get on top of things! Thanks again.
Hi Jules,
My goals for this year are to modify and maintain healthy eating and stress management. I am a full time social worker, and my partner is a recent cancer survivor.I need to lose 40 lbs,and rehab a knee. We are both pursuing second careers at the same time.Taking the class would allow us to have some support and new horizons in healthy eating and living. Thank You!!!!
I would LOVE Reclaim Your Waistline because I’ve recently started eating cleaner, more simple meals, and I would love to see your take on that approach to eating.
Hi Jules,
Firstly, thank you for your commitment to food in all aspects of life…as a cook who has always worked in the industry,I admire your philosophy behind cooking, eating and at the same time holding firm to your commitment to helping others share in your ideals. As for my waistline…well I would love to know where it’s gone!!!My daughter is to be married at the end of March, and being a part of your virtual “weight-loss to waist discovery” programme would be perfect timing for me!!!
In any case, as I approach my last year in the 50’s, I really need to adapt to a style of eating that I can take with me as I age healthily!
Keep up your fantastic work…we are all the better for having you in our lives.
I would LOVE to be in the class! I’m a college student, and I’m trying to learn how to cook. It can be difficult because I’m pressed for time a lot. I LOVE your blog, because 5 ingredients is perfect. I usually don’t have a ton of stuff at my apartment, and I don’t like to have to buy 20 ingredients for one little meal. The short ingredient lists are one reason I keep coming back to your website, on top of the amazing food! I’m also trying to get my bikini-bod back before bathing suit season. My boyfriend is a personal trainer (but he lives an hour away, so sadly I rarely get to take advantage), and I would love to show him up and shock him with my new slim stomach in a few months. Also, being in college means I have NO money, ever, so the chance to take one of your classes for free would be amazing. I recently became a vegetarian, and learning to cook has been fun, but I’m still not very good at it. So please, pick me! I need all the instruction I can get!
Hi Jules. I admire what you are doing and I wish you well with the class. It’s certainly a worthwhile cause given the society and the eating patterns of today. A couple of years ago, I ran a course with our local TAFE called “Eat, Live and Be Mediterranean”. I was very passionate about trying to help people to explore a different “mindset” towards eating, shopping and living in general. I noticed that only about two people in every class (12 generally) were actually interested in doing this. Most people simply wanted to cook and eat the recipes. I found this aspect somewhat disappointing. It’s a hard thing asking people to essentially change the way they are so used to eating and living. Even little changes. People get excited and may stick with it for a little while, but old patterns seem had to break. I wish you all the luck in the world and I hope you achieve your goals.
I’ve been doing the low carb/high-protein CSIRO style diet thing for 4 weeks now and lost 5kg. I know it works and I don’t get that hungry…
BUT!
…I really need some good recipe inspiration… i’m getting sick of boiled eggs for breakfast and steak or fish and salad for dinner.
Hopefully I’ll learn something in your course. so I’m throwing my hat in the ring!
I am a busy mum of two busy boys and partner to one very hardworking chap. I’d love to know more about how to feed ourselves in a nutritious but healthy way. I’d love to be more in control of my weight and my eating and I’d like to pass on good habits to my boys so that they don’t face the same difficulties as adults. Plus I’d like some yummy recipes to make for my family!
Hi Jules,
I’m 51 and approaching menopause and find that weight is beginning to appear around my middle as never before. I don’t have a lot to loose, but I need a kick start to get me focused and motivated to make those changes (and not to cheat so much). I’d love to win a spot in your new class and to be the token 50 year old with all the changes that comes with this stage of life (it’s a great stage by the way, but a lot of changes).
Love your blog and so enjoying simplifying my cooking with your fun ideas and recipies!
G’day Jules,
Thanks for a wonderful opportunity for 10 people. My wish is to be one of the 10. In spite of walking
10-11 miles a day at work (retail, home improvement), I’ve grown from 165 lbs., to 235. My waist
went from 32″ to 50″ on a thin 5’9″ frame . The hours are so varied that one day I can work 6am-3pm
and the next 2pm-11pm., and all manner of different hours day after day. Without a consistent wake
up and go to sleep time, I’m losing the battle. Fast food has replaced sensible food, and I’d love to learn
how to prepare better meals that actually taste good and don’t require hours to prepare. Help, 57 years
old and falling apart! Thanks for your consideration.
Hello, there! It would be such a great experience to win this online course. I am in my mid-20s and am trying to end my fast food diet to live more healthfully. Also, I am getting married in a few months. While I don’t believe that people should starve themselves to look good for one day, I would like to begin my marriage with a commitment to each other and our health. We have decided to make health a priority in our lives and I could use the direction this course will provide to lose weight and get healthy. Thank you for considering my entry! -Angela
I love the sound of this new class, and I would love to win a free place. Because I have to tell you, I am CONFUSED! I am currently in training for a long distance swimming race (20km from Cottesloe to Rottnest in just two weeks time). With the huge amounts of swimming I’ve been doing for about 8 months I really thought I would be struggling to keep the weight on. Instead, I am not really all that much different i.e. a little padded around the edges!! I agree with your point about your running training that your body compensates by giving you a huge appetite, but I haven’t let my appetite go crazy. I would have thought that on a strict energy-in / energy-out equation, I would have lost at least 10kg over this time. I’ve definitely been eating heaps of carbs… but my attempts at eating low carb while doing lots of exercise haven’t worked out for me in the past. So I need your help!
Anyway, the swim is happening two weeks tomorrow, and after that I’m going to have to adjust my diet for less training, and it would be the ideal time to learn how I can lose the pesky 5kg that always seems to be hanging around!
Oh and the free bit – doing the Rotto swim is really expensive, and I don’t have the spare cash right now to join up. : )
Cheers, Nicole
Reclaim my waist line. I need to find it again before it can be reclaimed. I have trouble finding it now as I work 5 days and have 2 kids and a hubby cook for. I turn to food in happy times, sad times and times of trouble. I need someone to help me turn to good food during these times. I think that someone is you Jules.
A cooking class freebie would be a big boost for the mission that I’m on – reclaiming my waistline and generally be more ME with less OF me.
It all started 5 years ago with THE most amazing diving experience in Manta Ray Bay in the Whitsundays (yes – Australia. The trip of my life!). The next was an amazing Christmas present from my dad & brother – a diving course. Having completed that about two years ago, I was ready to buy my own diving gear. Because I live in Norway, I have to ‘dress up’ properly before jumping in – otherwise it’s a short and cold experience!! Now, imagine this paradox: the buoyancy of the gear (and ME!) makes it necessary for me to have 14 kilos of LEAD round my waist in addition to the heavy gas flasks etc. on my back. ARRGHH! I can hardly move (above water that is. Once I’m in, I’m fine.)
It would be so much better to reduce my buyoancy than have to buy more lead!!
I’ve been following your blog for some time now, and I seriously like what you’re doing. It basically makes sense!
Keep up the good work!!
I love this poem of gratitude about the simple pleasures of life.
Good and healthy food is no doubt one of them.
“Otherwise” (by Jane Kenyon)
I got out of bed
on two strong legs.
It might have been
otherwise. I ate
cereal, sweet
milk, ripe, flawless
peach. It might
have been otherwise.
I took the dog uphill
to the birch wood.
All morning I did
the work I love.
At noon I lay down
with my mate. It might
have been otherwise.
We ate dinner together
at a table with silver
candlesticks. It might
have been otherwise.
I slept in a bed
in a room with paintings
on the walls, and
planned another day
just like this day.
But one day, I know,
it will be otherwise.
from “Otherwise”, 1996
Really really wanna be part of this class!
Since your post about the books, I´ve read Tim´s and started his diet a week ago.
Really need some inspiration to recipes that will make it all more interesting… It´s hard to keep eating exactly the same things when you love food and cooking!
I NEED help! Aliens have taken my body so I no longer recognize myself. I used to have firm body, now I have dropping parts and wrinkles. Alone with this came a some extra weight and a bigger waist. This can not be me!
I used to be able to say no to food, but the aliens turned off my NO switch. I could skip a meal and drop a pound. They took that when they changed my metabolism button.
I believe these aliens go by the name of AGING. I feel they can be beaten which is why I am writing to ask your help! Any and all help so appreciated and I will happily do my part in defeating The Aliens!
Blessings Ritchie
I would love to win a place in your course! I have lost controll of my eating, managing to stay on a diet and loosing weight 5 years ago left me feeling so good (I managed to get to 59 kg from 80,5), but now I have regained more than half of it. Working full time in a rather frustrating situation, most of my eating is emotional eating or buying fast food because I am exhausted. I love the idea of just 5 ingredients and have already tried some of your receipes.
Uschi
this is a ps to my comment. Slight spelling error. my body parts are drooping not dropping. Sorry for the opps……
this is a ps to my comment. Slight spelling error. my body parts are drooping not dropping. Sorry for the opps……
I proclaimed 2011 to be my year of Winning the War Against Obesity! I have been battling my weight all of my life and I’m tired of being on the losing end. One way or another I’m going to win this battle. Hopefully this class will help!!
I would love love love to win.
At the beginning of 2010 (eek… a year ago!) I found myself 30lbs heavier than I had ever been in my life. Only three months earlier I was celebrating the happiest period of my life; I ended a terrible relationship, quit smoking, met the love of my life and started two medications to help me deal with ailments that had been tearing me apart for years. Things were, and are, great.
But now I’m thirty pounds heavier. I feel like my body and I don’t know one another. My clothes don’t fit, I struggle to do simple tasks and my once active life style is becoming harder and harder to maintain.
I’d love to win to help me kick start the end to this terrible routine.
xoxo
Would love to be a part of this course for two reasons, one practical and predictable, and one hopelessly nerdy. First, the practical and predictable one: I am part of a gluten-free household; this transition has meant a crash course in cooking in general as well as in cooking clean, simple, healthy meals. We’ve been GF for about 3 years now and I’m sick of our “tried and true” recipes. I need new ideas and techniques!
And now for the hopelessly nerdy part: I’m also a researcher and educator thinking about how digital media and technology can reach and teach in ways we’ve never imagined before. This course (and your work in general) seems like a great example of a new kind of adult learning mechanism, and I’d love to see it in action!
I’ve been struggling with my weight for years. I’ve finally battled and defeated an eating disorder but am still struggling with finding a balance between eating (and not bingeing/purging), losing the extra weight but not getting obsessed and sick again.
While many people like to blame their evil twin, I actually have one. She’s crawled into my body with me which is why I need pants that are big enough to fit two people. I really do hate her and wish she would get the hell out of my pants so I could get some smaller, tighter ones to be sure she won’t come back. What’s worse is that she likes chips (crisps) and tacos and McDonald’s and fries and doesn’t really like fruit or veggies because they’re not salty or starchy. Needless to say, she’s really cramping my style which is naturally more low-cut than muu-muu.
I would really love to win because I don’t feel like I’m my best self right now. Gaining weight has not only made me feel a little pudgy but it has really thrown off my self esteem and positivity. When those two things go out the window it’s really hard to try to function. With the added stress of my new job, and the fact that I am currently trying to renovate my house with almost no money, I really need a pick me up, and some motivation that I can regain my waste line.
I think that I would be a great candidate for your program. I’m totally behind your ideas, the 5 ingredient cooking has saved my life! It’s so much fun to see the new things you have on your blog and watching you cook is like a little cooking show I can watch right here at my desk. I especially loved your ice cream tutorial, how fun! (and mine was sooo yummy) Anyways, pick me, a fellow artist, cook, and simple person.
I could really use a class like this. Being 30ish with a 3 year old I’ve looked for simplicity when it comes to cooking but all of that simplicity came in the form of boxes, bags, drive-thru’s, and freezer cartons. I used to be able to eat like that and maintain somewhat of a waistline but as I’ve aged and birthed a big baby my waistline hasn’t done anything but round out to what I now understand to be a spare tire. I’d love to reclaim my waistline in a way that’s good for not only me but for my family as well! And simple recipies are that much better since I’m the only cook and my kid still likes to eat simple, single items.
On a side note, I was just turned on to your blog today when I had your warm chickpea salad at my sisters house and it was so simple and so delicious!
I don’t even know if I have a waistline anymore… I’m 36 and my last “weigh in” was on sunday about a week ago – it was 144 kg.
I’ve tried diets that are similar to the ones you are describing – basically reducing fat and switching from (slow) carbohydrates to protein during the day. With the result that in the evening you try to go for high protein and no carbohydrates. And of course add some sport to that ;-).
The problem is that I keep falling of the wagon, because after a while finding interesting recipes get’s difficult and somehow the time I want to spend cooking a dish after coming home from work decreases week by week after the initial “yay, weightloss time”. Your cooking class seems to provide a solution for this :-).
What other reasons might I have to get chosen as one of the winners? I’m a man! And if I go through the comments it seems that only a few of those are interested.
So I’d be happy to prove that men not only like to follow recipes and cook, but that we are in fact able to admit the need to lose weight, maintain a diet and cook for ourselves.
I just discovered your blog via the Zen Habits website and today I’m going to try your broccoli tuna recipe.
I love your concept of healthy meals with only 5 ingredients. I once had a cookbook that used only 3 or 4 ingredients but the meals weren’t very healthy and there was too much prep involved.
You have a recipe on the Zen Habits blog – the oatmeal with blueberries and brazil nuts – had that today and loved it. No sweetener needed with the addition of the blueberries. Just realized I forgot the cinnamon though – will add that tomorrow!
Jules, I’d love to win a place in your ‘reclaim your waistline’ cookery class because the concepts and ideas that you have spoken about in the video share a lot of similarities to the Primal way of eating, which is something I have become really interested in. The problem is that I don’t know where to begin, and I think that your class would be a great starting point. Thanks!
Wow, there are some pretty powerful messages here!
I would love to win a spot in your virtual cooking class for many reasons: Recently, I split with my partner of seven years. This lead to moving house (twice), deferring uni and basically not coping too well with life. Being depressed and anxious about my new situation also contributed to adrenal fatigue.
Now living on my own I am getting used to life again as well as being on a single, part-time wage. I am also juggling uni / student placement / volunteer work and my part-time day job. All this whilst trying to conserve my energy and manage my stress!
A free place on your course would be financially fantastic and emotionally rewarding: I am a foodie at heart and my recent health concerns have reminded me of the importance of eating right and getting back to basics. This includes going back to my minimalist principles, which funnily enough I had never applied to cooking! Thanks. xx
I’d love to win a place in your class. I think that I really need advice and guidance on the way I eat. I know at least half of it is mental and emotional. I lost my sister to cancer in 2009 and have been comfort eating on and off since then to try and avoid my grief. But its not fair on her or myself to stop being healthy and fit just because of that. I think your class would give me the guidance and education about my eating habits and would help me to become a healthier person.
Hi Jules,
I´d really like to take part in your online class, as I feel like intuitively and schience-wise knowing that the slow carb diet is THE way to go for myself, especially as I´m a vegetarian and obesely overweight.
Being obese ever since early childhood, i managed to lose just about 40 kgs over the last years, just to gain half of it back in the last year, mainly due to emotional eating, with life being extremely complicated for me overall right now.
Studying medicine myself, I very well know scientifically that this way of eating is great, especially for people having been obese for so long, insulin-resistence-, satiety- and also just nutrisious quality- wise. But besides knowing all of this I still need to put this into real life – actions, which I hope your class is going to help me with, a lot.
Additionally, I just LOVE cooking and would be really looking forward to trying out your 5 ingredient recipes, which sound intriguingly simple and fun to me.
If all this isn´t going to convince you, maybe the fact, that February the 16th, the day you announce the 10 winners, is my 28th birthday, is.
It would be a really cool and hopefully also life-changing birthday-present to get, to be part of your class.
Thanks a lot, Diana :-)
Hi Jules,
I’d love to win a spot in your Reclaim Your Waistline class. I am an opera singer, as is my boyfriend, and even in this business, once thought to be the only acceptable place to be fat, looks are a huge part of winning auditions – and thereby feeding oneself! I really love your 5 ingredient system, as when I am on the road traveling for auditions and performances, it’s wonderful to not have to stock a huge pantry in order to prepare a healthy meal for yourself in a strange kitchen, often in a foreign country.
My boyfriend and I are both in our twenties, and looking to establish healthy, manageable eating habits for the rest of our lives. I hope to learn from you in the near future!
All the best,
Alexandra and Peter
I would love, love to be a part of your class!! My husband and I have a semi-crazy life: 2 babies under two, 18 months a part; I own a children’s theatre; and my husband is a full-time drummer. With our ever-changing schedules, it’s hard to find time to join a gym or be consistent in our eating habits. We both love food, though. I have recently become interested in eating healthier but am HORRIBLE in the kitchen. This sounds like the perfect class for me. I want our family to eat as healthily as possible. I want my children to develop whole-food eating habits as soon as possible.
This seems like an amazing opportunity for me to lose the extra baby weight and start our family on the right track. Thanks so much for opening this class!
I too found your blog through zenhabits, and I’ve been working my way through your recipes. While I love to take time to cook when I can, I’m currently a senior in college on the last leg of my thesis–your quick, simple, healthy recipes have been a godsend!
I come from an overweight family, so a love of food has always been part of my life. But since I left for college, I’ve been working to improve my eating and exercising habits, and have slowly dropped almost 50 pounds. Now, though I’m by no means skinny, I’m working out 6-8 hours every week, and training to do my first 10k in May.
Challenging myself through exercise has become a habit for me- challenging myself through better dietary choice is not, and it certainly doesn’t help that I live with three guys who can eat whatever they want! I have some good habits (no coffee, no soda, limited dairy, limited processed foods, lots of water) but I think that mentally I’m ready to make some serious changes to the way I think about food. I just need guidance.
I also have an apple body shape, so while my arms and legs (especially my legs, with all the running!) are looking great, I carry almost all of my excess weight in my back and stomach, so my waist is only a few inches smaller than my hips! This is, from everything I’ve read, the worst place to store fat as it leads to tons of weight related issues. I know that diet and exercise can only do so much against the genetics of where you store fat, but I’d love to give your class a shot and see where it takes me. I can only keep going down!
Thanks so much, keep up the awesome blogging!
Hi Jules, I’d love to have a spot in your class. I’ve been following your blog for a few months now and I have two of your cookbooks on my desktop. I’m trying to revolutionize the way my family eats (and family means myself, my hubby who has diabetes on both sides of his family, and four small, beautiful sugar addicts, inherited by my family line.) I’ve been playing around with healthy recipes and following Zen Habits as well, but I really need some tips on cooking healthy food that my family won’t all make a face at and refuse to eat. I tried making a butternut squash, spinach, navy bean soup the other day that just got tossed because nobody would eat it. :( 2011 is my year to break free from being overweight, cook simply and healthfully, and get moving, to be an inspiration for the rest of my family. Keep up the awesome recipes. :)
I would love to participate in this class for several reasons. First, I enjoy learning new things. Second, I am noticing how my metabolism has really slowed down now that I’m middle-age. Third, I love to eat and am always looking for great recipes. I’m intrigued with the concept of using only five ingredients. It sounds like fun. :-)
I am a law student in desperate need of help and guidance! Living on next-to no money and spending hours hunched over a textbook have put my health into a miserable state of affairs! I am starting to realize that making changes from cheap fast-food to healthier choices will sustain me for longer and make me feel better. I’m also making progress to being more active, but I still need help and motivation to get to a point where I actually know WHAT I’m doing and HOW to do it!
Inspiration to keep this up would be such a gift!!
I love food, and I have tried and tried on my own but I;m just not losing the weight. Part of that is because I do not know how to cook! Really, I am bad, and I don’t know where to start. I think this class could jump start me – and in time for spring/summer, which would make me super happy!! I’d love to win a spot, because I don’t have the discretionary funding for it right now.
’cause I’m fat.
’cause I’m fat! And getting fatter….
Hi Jules,
I just found your blog and I am so excited to explore further.
I was just diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyorioditis and losing weight is just getting harder and harder. But I refuse to give up! I love the snippets of information in your little teaser video. I have to believe that if I can learn to eat more as nature intended that I can beat this thing. I’m really excited about the possibilities your class can offer me. Keep up the amazing work, and thanks!
Sincerely,
Libby
I am sitting here with tears in my eyes as I read all the comments.
My first thought was ‘ooh ooh me me’, but reading this has left me knowing that I shouldn’t be in the class. I am fortunate enough to have reclaimed my waistline already, and there are so many more deserving people than I. (this isn’t a pathetic attempt at reverse psychology, I’m serious)
I was never extremely overweight, but I do know how it feels to be unhappy. To hate yourself. And when I read what everyone has written about their own plight to reclaim their waistlines, I sense that hate in their words. I love the community that you have created here, Jules. I hope that everyone who isn’t lucky enough to fall in the chosen 10 still sticks around to enjoy the chatter and the learning as we all share our experiences and our love.
Keep smilin’ everyone :) xxoo
Please Jules
Em, how can I better that comment! You make all this stuff I just wrote sound like such fluff ….!!!
Jules, I really, really like what you make. I really like cooking too and eating …
I have been loving your approach to cooking & how we think about what we eat for about six months now, at the same time I have also been packing on the kilo’s. I used to be normal now I’m fat. Nothing fits me and I feel bad about myself.
I would love some inspiration. Breathe in, listen, breath out … inspire, cooking as creativity! Perhaps The Unbearable Lightness of Being is just around thestonesoup corner for me.
Thanks Nessa
Thanks Nessa
Waistline – sigh. I used to have one of those. It even survived three pregnancies. Not sure how, but somewhere around my 40th birthday, it went away!
I eat better than ever before. I exercise more than ever before.
I weigh more than ever before. My dress size is larger than ever before.
I need help! I despair that I have somehow ended up with a different body shape than I started with and that hardly seems fair! I am 47 and my kids are all in their 20s. I want to be healthy for my second adulthood, not living with an unhealthy body type.
Thanks
Yvette
RECIPE FOR RECLAIMING MY WAISTLINE
INGREDIENTS
love of cooking
love of self
desire to lose weight
free class from stonesoup
willpower
METHOD
1. beat willpower until doubled in size
2. mix all ingredients – adding willpower in a steady stream
3. continue to do so until body feels firm and healthy
(will keep for a lifetime if a little more willpower added daily)
Why I need to reclaim my waistline: Because I’m sick of not being able to see my feet when I need to do up my shoes! It may not be the most creative reason, but it’s the truth.
Hi Jules!
Absolutely love what you’re doing on stonesoup. Your five-ingredients recipe concept is truly genius. I think we desperately need more simplicity in our busy modern day lives. I also love how you’re incorporating the health dimension to minimalistic cooking. That is the best part to me. :) I’m currently studying nutrition therapy, and I’ve found that one of the biggest difficulties many people (myself included) face while undergoing treatment is the area on food. We all know the we need our five servings of veg a day, and that carbs (especially refined, high GI&GL ones) are not beneficial nor health promoting, etc etc — but the challenge is how to integrate such a diet into our daily lives and still enjoy delicious food at the same time… So yeah, please count me in for your competition! I’d love to win a place in your class because this is something I know will not only benefit my family and me, but all the people I’ll be helping & consulting. Your class sounds like something that would be doubly awesome because your minimalistic approach makes cooking and good health very achievable :)
Cheers!
– Christine (from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
I bcame a stonesoup convert last year when I started working and suddenly had to make prepared lunches everyday. Your chickpea and parmesan and chilli tuna in a bag ideas quickly developed a following – perfect for the time poor girl who is not too handy in the kitchen but wants a cheap, nutritious lunch. Unlike many of my slow food friends I don’t like being in the kitchen and I don’t like fussy over elaborate recipes so I’d love the chance to learn about these food philosophies after they’ve had the Stonesoup treatment.
I too would love to win a place in your class. At 61 I am a year out from the third surgery in 2 years to correct the same problem (3 was the charm) and have been doing pilates for 6 months to get back in shape. I feel great but my waistline isn’t budging. Could it be those lattes and cookies, LOL?
OK, Jules, you asked for enthusiasm.
When I signed up for this email after first seeing your site, I was prepared to delete and unsubscribe. But each email has been very unobtrusive and just plain teaching. So, on this busy morning, I was prepared to delete you.
But then I saw your neat idea: One Day a Week to Eat Whatever You Want, I thought, ‘Now why didn’t I think of that for my husband and me!? What a Reward!
It’s a wonderful idea! I just need to lose about 7 lbs., but my husband needs to lose more. He could do that!
THANK YOU. WE’RE ON IT. AND TODAY, VALENTINE’S DAY, WILL BE OUR FIRST DAY OF REWARD. WE’D ALREADY STARTED A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO, WHAT A LOVELY REWARD IN THE MIDDLE. I’M TELLING MY DAUGHTER-IN-LAW IMMEDIATELY.
Sincerely,
Bonnie Weller
Oh hooray! A competition! I love (friendly) competitions!
I’m a working mom with a working (and graduate-student) husband – our son is 5 years old – and I battle life & my schedule (and our thin finances) every day to cook a nutritious meal that we three sit down to every night because I truly believe it is the only way to live. I win the battle – generally speaking – on a frequent basis, but at the moment I’ve lost my waistline because two weeks ago (two weeks ago TODAY, as a matter of fact!) I gave birth to my daughter, Isobel, and despite eating healthily while pregnant with her and exercising on a daily basis, I still have to shift some weight from carrying her around for the past 9 months.
Finances are tight, so I can’t justify spending (healthy ingredient) money on an online class at the moment, so the contest is a thrilling chance for me! As I’m home from work for the next 12 weeks to watch my daughter grow and develop, I’m fascinated by the chance to make myself a lovely guinea pig for the Slow-Carb method of eating, as I’m a – possible- perfect candidate for the new-ish eating method, and am certainly eager and dedicated to getting back into my (non-elastic waist) pants again in a healthy yet rapid manner!
Reclaim my waistline?? Yes! Don’t mind if I do! I have been either pregnant, breastfeeding, and for a minute even pregnant while breastfeeding, for the last 3 years and 7 months (not that I was counting or anything). In the last month my body has become my own again… and I’m wondering why my waist didn’t get returned with the rest of it!
Refusing to believe that I have trade my waistline in for my two kids I began a quest to figure out how to get it back. “Internet destiny” has led me to your blog (amongst other information about low glycemic eating) and it is really hitting home for me. Having had gestational diabetes during both of my pregnancies I know that my body has some insulin issues. So, please, help me in my quest, teach me how to cook quick simple meals that will help me get my waistline back!! I really miss it.
I am so excited about this class! I love the simplicity of your recipes. You’re a terrific writer — fun, encouraging, knowledgeable. I’m so interested in the online course. (The title is brill, by the way). Sounds so empowering. Thanks for running the contest!
Winning a spot in the fabulously named class Reclaim Your Waistline in five easy steps, or less!
1. Crossing all things crossable, fingers, toes, legs, arms, hair braided too just to ensure nothing is missed.
2. Send prayers to all holy entities at once.
3. Pull out every good luck charm known to man, four leaf clovers, rabbit’s foot, lucky crystals, gnome, buddha belly, scarabs, ladybugs, horseshoe, lucky pennies, bamboo plant, cook turkey for wishbone.
4. When all else fails, compliment the teacher!
Jules, you’re inspiring, really you are. I love the blog, love the recipes. So simplistic but so very tasty. Some of the taste combo’s absolutely blow me away. I’m loving the mint, ricotta, pasta dish right now! Thank you and good luck to all, love reading all the inspiring stories!
Cheers!!
reclaim waistline . . . hmmm . . . do i get my life back with it or does that now forever belong to my 2 and a half year old??? Oh well c’est la vie :-) if all your class does it give me back my waisline thats fine – i can fight on my own to reclaim my job, social life, wrinkle free face, tidy house, spotless kitchen – oh hang on now I going too far – never had tidy house or spotless kitchen LOL but I will endeavour to get them as well
Jules, Jules, Jules
Where do I start, I guess my first priority should be to look after my heart.
The next would be to shed the weight that has piled on since some operations and makes me feel a little self hate!
I’ll be an be an awesome walking advertisement and make you really proud cause I’ll tell everyone I know and I’m super super loud!
Read all about it…read all about it… sign up to “reclaim your waistline” and you too can look this fine!!
I am trying myself and have made a start but I need some motivation c’mon let me be a part!
Hi Jules,
I hope I’m not too late to leave a comment (it’s 8:21 am here in Germany)…
Well, I had spent 10 years in the USA and gained over 20 kg, of which the first 10 came down surprisingly fast upon my return to Germany 6 years ago. I then struggled to lose another 4-5 kg, which I finally succeeded in last year and seemed on a good path towards reaching my goal, until about 3 months ago, when I suddenly started gaining again – for no real apparent reason whatsoever?! I have gained 3 kg in 3 months, and do not seem to be able to reverse that trend— help, please!!
I love your recipes and look forward to them and your great videos, so taking part in a cooking school made by you would be just awesome!
Keep up the good work!
Anke :)
Hi Jules!
I would so love to win a place in your cooking school because i have just finished reading Tim Feriss’ book and would like to learn more about slow carb eating. I need to get back in shape this year as i have been slacking the past couple of years due to a stressful job and depression. I am slowly “reclaiming” my life back and as a matter of fact have quit the job that makes me miserable :) and am now preparing to move from luxembourg to london to pursue my dream of working for a museum! I now just need to reclaim my waistline back :) thanks xxx
The day before I read this, I lost my waistline-I need help!!! I decided I needed to buy some new jeans, and found some online that I liked. But….I couldn’t find an actual waistline to measure. And I used to be proud of my hourglass figure. Well that glass is busted. As far as I can determine, my waist is larger than my hips used to be-and of course, my hips are even larger. I need help-desperately!!! I also like the ease of your recipews.
Waistline?! 4 kids in 6 years (including my 2-month-old baby) have made that almost fiction! I do love to cook, but buying and then remembering to use many ingredients is impossible right now. I would love to take this course!
As a busy college student who loves food, it’s difficult to maintain clean, healthy eating while running around like a mad woman with exams at my heels. This sounds like so much fun and the opportunity to learn about what I love to learn about — thanks for the giveaway!
Of all the things I’ve loved and lost, I miss my waistline the most.