MELBOURNE (Reuters)
Australia's captain Steve Waugh is giving up two of his favourite snacks as part of a new diet preparing him for the forthcoming three-Test series against New Zealand, he said on Thursday.

Waugh, 36, who is recovering from a deep-vein thrombosis injury to his calf muscle, is on a new low-fat diet. That means specially-prepared meals with a strong emphasis on red meat and vegetables.

"I am strong-willed when I play cricket, but food is my weakness," Waugh was quoted as saying in the Herald-Sun newspaper.

"I needed a bit of guidance, so we are getting my meals made up for [wife] Lynnette as well.

"I can't eat Maltesers [chocolates] or Twisties [cheesy snacks], which are definite weaknesses. The only foods I won't eat are celery, anchovies, parsley and olives. There is plenty of scope for the dietician and it tastes good.

"With the DVT I was not allowed to do any exercise, so I put on weight in that four- to six-week period [after the 4-1 Ashes series win in England which ended in August]."

Waugh said he had lost 1.5 kilograms and he would stick with the diet for the Australian summer.

He will make a low-profile start to his domestic season with an appearance for Bankstown, his Sydney club side, on November 3-4 ahead of the first Test.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd