A fit mum who lost 73kg has shared her go-to tuna pasta recipe that helped her get into shape – and the key swaps she recommends everyone makes to their diet.
Chantelle Sisco once tipped the scales at 162kg but cleaned up her diet and started an exercise routine so she could lose weight and ‘enjoy being 21’.
One of the meals the Queensland mum relied on when she was shedding the kilos was her simple tuna pasta meal with cheese, spinach, mushrooms and sweet chilli sauce.
She also revealed she switched white bread to wholemeal thins and canola oil to avocado oil.
‘When on a weight loss journey, where most people go wrong is they feel like they have to cut out all the foods they love when realistically you just need to have it in portions,’ Chantelle explained in an online video.
Before and after: Mum Chantelle Sisco has shared her go-to tuna pasta recipe and the food swaps she made to lose 73kg
One of the meals the Queensland mum relied on when she was on her journey to better health was her simple tuna pasta meal with cheese, spinach, mushrooms and sweet chilli sauce
The 21-year-old shared how to make her favourite pasta dish which is just 458 calories per serve.
She starts by cooking one cup of pasta then adding it to a baking dish with corn kernels, mushrooms, spinach and a tin of sweet chilli tuna.
Chantelle mixes the ingredients up then adds a dollop of sweet chilli sauce and stirs to coat.
She then breaks up a slice of cheese and places it on top of her pasta and puts it in the oven to melt then serves.
Chantelle also revealed the food swaps she made to clean up her diet.
Instead of pure Canadian maple syrup, she went for sugar-free maple flavoured syrup.
Chantelle mixes cooked pasta, mushrooms, spinach, corn, tuna and sweet chilli tuna in a baking dish. She adds sweet chilli sauce, tops with cheese then bakes
The mum opted for light tasty Woolworths brand cheese rather than Bega’s Farmer’s Tasty and swapped white bread for sandwich thins or a linseed and sunflower seed loaf.
Chantelle started cooking with avocado oil instead of canola oil and switched chicken thighs for leaner breasts.
Not wanting to give up her favourite foods for good, she bought FroPro’s protein pizza with 50 per cent less carbs over McCain’s meat lovers frozen pizza.
Before focusing on her health, Chantelle could barely walk around the block with her baby son without feeling breathless and wanting to sit down.
Chantelle is preparing for a bodybuilding competition after shedding 73kg so she could ‘enjoy being 21’ and run after her son
Speaking to FEMAIL, the determined mum said she had always been ‘a big girl’ but it wasn’t until after she saw a photo of herself after giving birth that she felt she needed to change.
‘I will never forget it, I was at my friend’s baby shower. I had already given birth and was the biggest one there,’ she said.
‘I saw the photo and thought “do I really look like that? I am disgusting”.’
At the time, she weighed 162kg and was feeling unfit for the first time in her life.
‘I put on 30kg when I was pregnant, I wanted to lose that and I wanted to be able to play with my son,’ Chantelle said.
Chantelle said she would ‘eat anything that would fit in her mouth’ before deciding to change her habits.
Chantelle said this was the photo that made her reassess her lifestyle: ‘I will never forget it, I was at my friend’s baby shower. I had already given birth and was the biggest one there’
‘I wouldn’t have set meals, I would just eat everything all the time. Kind of like one continuous meal of pizza, McDonald’s, chicken schnitzel, whatever was in the fridge and always anything deep fried,’ she said.
She still enjoys eating all of those foods, but does it in moderation.
The busy mum is sharing her story to help inspire other people to hit their health and fitness goals – and wants them to know they don’t have to hit the gym everyday to get results.
Chantelle lost her first 10kg by ‘going for five minute walks around the block’ with her mum, who joined her in her weight loss journey ‘whenever she could’.
Chantelle was 162kg at her heaviest and couldn’t walk around the block without getting puffed out
Now she works out every day – and is confident – even when it comes to showing off her legs – which she’s always been insecure about
‘I had tried to lose weight before, but fell for quick schemes and crash diets and it never worked and I never stuck to anything,’ Chantelle said.
Her most important diet change was not ‘throwing it all away’ the first time she ate or drank too much.
‘One bad day isn’t going to undo everything you do,’ she said.
‘I used to fail because I would eat one small thing I wasn’t supposed to and think I had ruined everything – so just devour everything else in sight,’ she said.
Chantelle has consistently lost weight with this more realistic and flexible approach.
‘I want to enjoy my life, I want to have pizza with my family but now I know how to balance that.’
Chantelle said she used portion control to lose weight by limiting the size of her meals rather than counting calories. Instead of a whole pizza she would have two or three slices.
However people who follow her journey on Instagram might be confused by her advice – as her grid shows a woman dedicated to heavy gym workouts and counting calories.
Chantelle wants people to know they can ‘start small’ and don’t need to try dramatic diets to see results
‘I am only watching macros and calories now because I am keying up for a body building competition,’ she said.
Chantelle will need to lose up to another 39kg and work on getting as much definition as possible for the competition.
‘This is just an extra challenge for me, I know that the (body building) weight isn’t sustainable and I don’t want to do it long term,’ she said.
Chantelle says her biggest tip is ‘don’t start Monday’.
‘If you want to do it you will. You won’t wait until you have eaten all the junk food in the cupboard, or until next week, or until after the event.
‘You’ll start straight away,’ she said.
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