With Australians piling on more than 60 million kilos since 1995, we have teamed up with CSIRO to help Australians shed the excess weight by bringing you the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet online for the first time and now featuring low GI carbohydrates.

The move online is the biggest update to the Total Wellbeing Diet since it first launched in 2005, and will provide Australians with a more flexible approach to weight control. The scientifically tested, higher protein diet and its best-selling books have already helped more than half a million Australians lose weight.

To encourage Australians to take action now, those people who complete the 12-week online program and fulfill the conditions will have the full program membership costs refunded.

According to Professor Manny Noakes, Research Director for CSIRO’s Food and Nutrition Flagship and co-author of the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, Australians are getting fatter, with estimates showing that the amount of fat gained since 1995 is enough to feed over 656,000 people for an entire year. “Australia is rapidly reaching a tipping point where an enormous collective and individual effort is now necessary to address our nation’s increasing weight problem. Despite all of the warnings, we keep getting fatter and this trend could have profound health implications in the coming years unless we do something now.

“Too many Australians overeat highly processed foods and don’t get enough nutritional value out of their daily food intake, resulting in excess weight gain. We hope that by making the Total Wellbeing Diet available online more Australians will benefit from easy to follow and flexible menu and exercise plans that can be personalised to suit individual needs,” said Professor Noakes.

Total Wellbeing Diet online has been enhanced with the support of the GI Foundation, with the higher protein meal plans now having a focus on healthier low GI options to help manage hunger and cravings. “The new and improved Total Wellbeing Diet takes the glycemic index seriously, building on research undertaken by CSIRO and the Glycemic Index Foundation. It gives you the best diet for long-term, sustainable weight control and wellbeing by helping you make smarter choices,” said Professor Jennie Brand-Miller, President of the Glycemic Index Foundation.

The Total Wellbeing Diet online offers:

• Higher protein intake: to promote satiety and moderation in carbohydrate and fat intake.
• Low GI: the program will point out low GI options to help you make smarter choices when selecting carbohydrate-containing foods.
• Online diet, exercise and weight trackers and no calorie counting: rather than counting calories, a food diary tallies your food groups and guides you to healthier eating.
• Customisable meal plans and shopping lists: the meal plans can be personalised to suit your tastes and lifestyle with a dynamic shopping list that updates instantly.
• 1,000 family-friendly recipes: the much-loved recipes from all five best-selling Total Wellbeing Diet books are included as part of your membership.
• Menu plans: Weekly menu plans that make it easy to follow the diet.
• Daily indulgence: the program is flexible and realistic, giving you the option to choose one indulgence each day, or save up your indulgences to splurge on the weekend.
• Exercise program: choose from a variety of practical exercise programs suitable for working out at home or the gym.
• Online community: connect with a supportive community of digital dieters to stay motivated.
• Mobile: use your smartphone to check meal plans, track your latest snack or look up a workout while on the go.

The original Total Wellbeing Diet was created after accumulating evidence from several clinical trials conducted at CSIRO and internationally, which show that higher protein dietary patterns for weight management have metabolic advantages over high carbohydrate patterns in overweight people. A more recent international trial has shown that incorporating low GI carbohydrates along with protein assists with maintaining that weight loss.

To sign up for the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet online program click here.

The personalised 12-week program is available from today for $149, however those who complete the program and fulfill the conditions will be refunded the full membership fee.