Boredom

I've discovered that I'm more likely to eat rubbish when I am on my own.  I don't think that is unusual or that I am on my own with the fact that I snack when bored.  I used to use food as treats, so I would say to myself "once I've done that pile of ironing I will have a coffee and some biscuits" and as much as I still have a coffee, it isn't quite the same and that is when my will power is at its weakest.  I haven't made things easier for myself as I've put chocolate eggs and bunnies out ready for Easter.  I can't deny that I have eaten the little eggs on occasion but I'm pleased to report that the bunnies are still there, looking smugly at me from the mantelpiece.

It is habits like this that are hard to break because it isn't about a craving for a certain food or hunger but an automatic response to certain times or situations.  Some of them have gone without me knowing why or how.  I always had a dessert of some kind, even if it was just a fruit yoghurt or a biscuit but now I rarely have anything other than a cup of coffee and I don't want it and if I do, natural yoghurt is normally sufficient for me.

But I need to get daytime boredom snacking under control.  Now don't get me wrong, I don't sit around when I'm at home on my own but the will power isn't as strong when there is only me to impress.  I need to find ways of stopping it and I'm short of ideas at the moment.  This is obviously going to be the week 6 diet challenge.

End of Burger King

Had an extra weigh in this morning because of finishing Phase 1 again following the Burger King incident and I can definitely say it has gone.  I've lost a further 3lb since Thursday morning!  Meaning not only did I get rid of the 3lb I had gained over last weekend but lost another 4.5lb besides.  If you ever need a quick weight loss for a short time then Phase 1 will definitely work.

I can't say that it is all from dieting though.  That infamous time of the month happened which means some of it must have been due to fluid retention and some medication I take for that has a.....how shall I put this......cleansing effect.  Just goes to show that it isn't always about what you eat.

But whatever the reason it gives me a good start for the next week, as today's weight loss will be shown on next Thursdays stats.

I will be needing new clothes at this rate.

Current weight 14st 4.25lb

Week 5

A return to phase 1 seems to have done the trick because I managed to lose the weight I had gained plus a bit more.  Yesterday morning was the end of week 5 and my weight is now 14st 7.25lb, making a total loss of 1st 4.75lb.  I'm pleased with that after the blow out weekend, I honestly thought I was heading for a gain this week and I do think if I had stayed on phase 2 I would have but I managed to pull it back.

In some ways this week has been easier than the first time but in others it has been hard.  I've found that I've been hungry a lot but I think that is more to do with the infamous time of the month and having to only have small lunches at odd times at work.  I've tried to just stick to 3 meals a day but I have had to have a snack a couple of times because the hunger was bad.  They weren't cravings though, but real stomach growling hunger pangs.

Today is the last day of doing the return to phase 1, so I will report any further weight loss in the morning.  I'm hoping for another pound but won't be upset if I don't.

I have found a couple of phase 1 meals that we can have during phase 2 which were really enjoyable.  Firstly   we had liver, bacon and onions with broccoli, nice and tasty and healthy and last night I made some meatballs in tomato sauce which we had with diced vegetables.  I will be having both of these meals again, particularly the meatballs which were enjoyed by all the family.

I have found the hardest bit is trying to find recipes that all the family will eat.  My husband isn't keen on liver, my daughter won't even try it.  My daughter loved the meatballs but not the tomato sauce they were in.  I try and get my daughter to try everything we have as I would love her to eat an unprocessed diet but don't want it to become a big issue, I would rather she chose to do it.  So for now, it is just about letting her taste and try things in the hope that she will start to enjoy it.  She loves mashed potatoes, which we can't have with a roast dinner but she can, but boiling 2 potatoes is a lot of messing around, so going to look at how well mash potatoes freeze and plan on making a big batch to freeze in ice cream scoop sizes, so that it is less wasteful on the days that we have roasts.

Week 5 stats

Start weight 15st 12lb

Current weight 14st 7.25lb

Week 5 loss 1.5lb

Total loss 1st 4.75lb

A bad....bad...weekend

The diet had been going really well until Saturday.  We had visitors round who turned up bearing Battenberg cake, mmmmm, one of my favourites.  I had intentions of being strong but made the fatal mistake of having a tiny piece and that was it, I ate most of it and as far as the diet goes it was really bad.  The amount of sugar in the cake and marzipan must be huge.  The rest of the day went as best as possible, I was at work which always makes the timing of meals difficult.  Then Sunday happened..

..the only thing I could think of was a Burger King and when the rest of the household agreed, we went crazy and had a burger meal, drink and ice-cream - whoops.  I can't say that I enjoyed it as much as I thought I would but the coke was nice to drink.  While we were off the diet we decided to have some chocolate and I had bread and butter with Jam for tea.  So many thing wrong with that as far as Harcombe that I can't even count.  2 days later and I am still suffering from the ill effects of our binge, sleep pattern a mess, stomach ache and nausea and cravings.

So on that note, we went back to Phase 1 for 5 days to try and get back on track.  We are now on day 2 of that detox phase and it is so much easier than last time because a lot of things we are used to now and I have my recipe books so I'm doing different things and it isn't so boring.  Don't get me wrong I am missing milk again, so very restrictive without but I can drink black coffee and tea easier this time and I don't miss flavoured cold drinks so much.  I'm still not happy with phase 1 breakfasts, some mornings I can't tolerate eggs and the porridge with water is still vile.  I've just bought some nutmeg to try and give it a bit of flavour in the morning but the good thing about Phase 1 is that it is only 5 days.

I'm not promising a weight loss this week.  I checked my weight on Monday morning and I had gained 3lb over the weekend.  I'm hoping the 5 days will get rid of that gain if nothing else.

Cheesy cauliflower and leek cottage pie

For the people who asked, here is the recipe for the cottage pie that I made last week.  It was created and shared on The Harcombe Diet Forum and there are lot more lovely looking things on there for me to try in future weeks.

The seasonings in this recipe can be adjusted to your particular taste.  I just used mixed herbs rather than all the individual ones listed and I didn't use the chilli powder and mine was plenty tasteful.  This recipe serves 2 but I doubled it and we just had it on its own.

Ingredients

250g beef mince
small head of cauliflower
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, diced
1 medium leek, sliced
50g mature cheddar, grated
1-2 freshly crushed cloves of garlic
1 tsp mustard
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp sage
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp majoram
100-150ml beef stock
splash of worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp rice flour or cornflour
butter and double cream to taste
salt and pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan/gas 4

The Topping

Cut the cauliflower into even sized chunks and steam or boil until it is tender

When it is tender, chuck it in a bowl, add butter and some double cream and beat until smooth thick and creamy.

Keep adding double cream to get the right consistency, it needs to firm to sit on top of pie.

Add salt and pepper to taste

The Filling

Heat butter in a pan over a moderate heat then add the onion and carrot to soften but not brown.

Add the mince and brown it all over

Add 1/2 the beef stock and all the seasonings

Whisk the other 1/2 of the stock with the rice/corn flour and stir in to the mince meat.  Add a splash of Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to taste and simmer for 15 minutes

The Pie

Put the filling into a baking dish, add the topping, and level out with the back of a spoon

Chop the leek into 1/2 inch slices and sprinkle over the topping, scatter the cheese over the leeks

Place in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes or until topping is crusty and golden.


This is a phase 2 fat recipe due to the cream.  I have to admit the butter and cream in the cauliflower made a huge difference to the taste, more than I was expecting if I am honest.  I did have a few problems trying to find the ingredients that was suitable for the diet.  Mustard was a big challenge, most mustards have sugar as one of the main ingredients and I ended up with Dijon Mustard in the end as the sugar was towards the end of the ingredients but it doesn't mean the quantity was any different.  Beef stock was another problem, all have wheat and some have sugar, I ended up with the supermarket's own brand as that didn't have sugar in it but I think I need to spend some time sourcing items like this from alternative places such as a health food shop.

I also discovered that Sainsburys only sell lean mince beef.  Now before I went on the diet I would have seen that as a really good move for our Nation's health, however doing this diet we are encouraged to eat the animal fat as it is a natural fat and as we aren't eating any other fat that our body needs.  It left me feeling short changed as the option to choose full fat mince had been taken off me.  People should be able to choose whether they eat healthily or not.  It is also worth noting that Sainsburys haven't removed cream cakes and chocolate from their stores, which I'm sure is a bigger seller than mince beef!