Day 2 - 2nd time round

Felt a bit better yesterday but I did have the withdrawal headache on and off all day which was a bit annoying but I have lost another 1.5lb - got to love it :).

The bacon and egg still seems to be working for breakfast, I'm tolerating black coffee until I introduce milk next week but the real treat yesterday was discovering iced black americanos.  Actually felt like a treat, oh how times have changed.

We are off to the zoo today and the salads are chopped and the water bottled and we just have to try and avoid any temptations while there.

Sorry for the short blog but we are going to the Zoooooooo!!!!!!

Stats:-

Start weight - 15st 10lb
Today's loss - 1.5lb
Total loss - 3.75lb

Day 1 Phase 1 (2nd time)

Checked my weight and I've lost 2.25lb since yesterday morning.  I'd like to say it was easy but I did find it hard yesterday.

It set off well, the bacon and boiled egg worked really well for breakfast and is something that I will do for the rest of phase 1 but then it got near lunch time and the car really wanted a Big Mac meal.  It was quite a battle to make it just go home but I finally won and beat the craving.  I don't very often eat McDonald's but it was so hard to shake the image of the burger and yet I managed to wait another 90 minutes before I had lunch so I can't have been really hungry.

I have got cold, I know not a good time to be doing the diet but it had to be done and yesterday evening I felt awful, the cold combined with the withdrawal symptoms did not go well together.  I can't say I am feeling much better this morning but I know from before that once these initial symptoms go then I will feel so much better than when I am eating junk.

And a 2+lb loss in 1 day always makes it worth well :)

This is last night's dinner.  I couldn't eat it all because of not feeling well but it was scrummy.

Stats so far:-

start weight - 15st 10lb

Weight loss to date - 2.25lb

New weight - 15st 7.75lb

And I'm back

Having gone wild over the last 2 months it is time to get back on track with the diet.  Starting to eat chocolate and cakes and bread over Easter just threw me and I could never pull it back together.  I tried a few times but struggled with breakfast, which left me hungry and by lunch time the diet had gone out of the window.  Just been on holiday for a week and knew that I had to start the diet again properly, so had a little bit of a feed in with the meals yesterday and a bit of a blow out while finishing a few things off but today is where it all starts.

We hadn't totally reverted to our old ways.  We still drink mainly decaf coffee and tea, so we don't have to worry about caffeine withdrawals this time and on normal days we don't have carbs with our main meal and with it being nice weather we are eating lots of salad anyway, so shouldn't be quite so hard as before.

I do have a couple of concerns about this week.  Firstly we have a school trip to the zoo on Wednesday and I am concerned about what we are going to eat but also about how I will be feeling on day 3.  If I feel really bad a coach load of 4 and 5 year olds might not be such a good idea.  Will have to see how that goes.  Then on Saturday I am getting confirmed and I have tea with the Bishop.  I'm fairly sure that there won't be anything that I can eat, no idea how I am going to get out of that one yet but hopefully inspiration will befall me.

Breakfast has always been my problem on this diet, on phase 1 particularly.  I'm funny with breakfast and as much as I like to eat it every day I do normally have cereal or toast.  The porridge made with water is still something I really struggle with eating and I can't seem to face scrambled egg first thing.  So, this week I am going to try with cold bacon rashers and a hard boiled egg.  I can eat this a bit later if I need to or take it to work and snack on it rather than have to face it at 6.30.  I can prepare both in advance, so if I can be a bit organised then getting it ready is quick and simple.  Just hope I can manage to eat it and that it keeps me full until lunch.

So here goes:

I got weighed and I am 15st 10lb which is 2lb lighter than when I started doing it before, so haven't quite put it all back on, which is a miracle because I have gorged a lot.  I will do the same as before and weigh every day during phase 1.

Food plan for today, bacon and egg for breakfast, ham and veg sticks for lunch and pork loin and salad for dinner.

Just need to keep my head on it and try to survive the first 5 days.  Wish me Luck!

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!

Week 4

That is another week over and done with, I promise I will try and post more often than once a week but had a few technical difficulties this week.

This week I have lost another 2.25lb, so that is a total loss of 1st 3.25lb, not too shabby for 4 weeks effort and I have just bought a new pair of size 18 jeans because I find that if my clothes feel baggy I'm more inclined to eat more as I feel really slim.  Clothes that fit or feel a little bit too tight make me much more motivated to carry on.

I've faced a few difficulties this week, firstly the family gathering.  That went really well, managed to avoid all the bad stuff but had a couple of whole milk decaf cappucinos, so didn't feel too deprived.  I'm not sure when a cappucino became a treat, just goes to show how your mindset can change in such a short space of time.  We also went out for a meal on Sunday but we had a carvery and I avoided the yorkshire pudding, potatoes and condiments, so felt really proud and gave my halo a bit of a polish.

I'm back to work since I've been off ill and that is a whole new set of challenges.  Serving cakes and sandwiches all day can be difficult but to be honest it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be.  I actually look forward to my salads that I take.  The problem I do have is I only get a 10 minute break so I find eating a reasonable amount of salad very difficult in that time plus sometimes it is really early and I don't want carrots and celery.  I'm starting to use The Harcombe Diet Forum and although I don't pay so that I can post, I do have access to read it all and there are some very interesting ideas and recipes on there, so going to do a bit of research when I get chance to look at my lunch options.

I'm trying one of those recipes today, going to have a cottage pie with a cauliflower mash instead of potato.  If it tastes as good as it looks then I will post the recipe and a photo tomorrow.

Week 4 stats

Start weight 15 st 12 lb
Current weight 14 st 8.75lb
Week 4 loss 2.25lb
Total loss 1 st 3.25lb

Week 3

Got weighed yesterday morning and I've lost 1lb this week. I'm happy with that after the chip and pie incident. I now weigh 14st 11lb and I've dropped a dress size.

We have a few challenges this weekend, tomorrow we are on a daytrip to visit my northern relatives.  Normally this involves a very nice picnic made by my mother but this time I am making us a seafood salad to take and some natural yoghurt.  How will we cope watching everybody else tucking into sandwiches and quiche? Only time will tell I guess.  Sunday we are going to an exhibition and we wont be able to take anything with us to eat, I'm hoping there will be a jacket potato van but just incase I am going to take a small bar of dark chocolate to tide us over until we can get to food.  Now that might sound like a strange thing to do but having read the Harcombe Diet book it is better to have good quality dark chocolate than a sandwich, definitely my kind of diet.  But if I can lose a pound a week I will be happy.

Foodwise, this week has been a bit more adventurous. We have had cheesy veg a couple of times this week, which has really livened the meals up and today I made a parsley sauce to go with some fish.  I made it using cornflour instead of normal flour as according to Zoe Harcombe the amount of carbs in the cornflour is so slight compared to the quantity of sauce eaten.  Don't get me wrong, there are still times when I would love to be able to just grab something quick to eat but overall it does seem to be getting easier.

Week 3 stats

Start weight - 15st 12lb
Current weight - 14st 11lb
Total weight loss - 1st 1lb

Ah oh!

Not blogged for a bit because not really been much to say and I'm still not 100%.  The diet is supposed to make you feel really great and full of vitality, so I would like the cold to go away now so that I could see some evidence of that.

We've had cheese! How fantastic is that, I don't think I have ever been on a diet where you could have cheese, well not enough worth bothering about anyway.  It is just because it is a fat you can't have it with the usual stuff like pasta, jacket potatoes or bread but it does not stop it making vegetables gorgeous.

We had it as a cheese sauce poured over vegetables.  Now because cornflour can be used in tiny amounts for thickening sauces but recommended you don't until further into the diet, the sauce was made with just milk, egg and cheese.  I was putting the sauce over broccoli, cauliflower and leek so I doubled up the recipe but the outcome was still very runny, think I need to tweek it a bit until it becomes thicker, however it tasted good, like a proper cheese sauce and we are going to have it again tonight.

Cheese sauce

240ml milk boiled and left to cool for 2 minutes
Whisk one egg and stir it into the cooled milk
Grate cheese and add to milk and egg until thickened
Pour over veg, fish or meat and bake in oven for 30 minutes
(Harcombe diet recipe book)

That was on Saturday and on Sunday we had a total blow out.  None of us felt well, all of us was exhausted and we wanted chips.  Not just chips though, I ended up with chips, pie, beans and gravy, a glass of coke and a kitkat. If I was doing it, I was doing it good.  I did not enjoy it.  None of it tasted nice and everything tasted different to how I remember it tasting.  I'm not sure if the chips just weren't nice or if my taste buds have changed but either way we threw away more than was eaten and I'm not really wanting to repeat it.  So straight back on the diet I went.  I'm probably supposed to repeat phase 1 again but I'm not going to unless I sruggle getting back into the diet.

And I don't think that will be a problem.  Went to a coffee shop and ikea yesterday and stuck to the diet to the best of my ability. While the others tucked into meatballs and chips, I had smoked salmon and lettuce with water to drink and I surprisingly found I enjoyed it and it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would.

I'm not expecting much of a loss this week for obvious reasons but if I can not gain too much I will be happy.

Love is .........

I've lost afurther 3.25lbs in the last 4 days meaning I have lost a total of a stone in 2 weeks!

That is great but not sure how I really feel about it. I've always considered losing more than a 2lb a week as wrong and not safe yet I know that during the past 2 weeks I have eaten well, lots of vegetables and meat, limited carbs and for the past few days milk. It is what I consider to be well balanced.  The one thing missing is sugar and during the first 10 days there weren't even natural sugars.  Maybe that says a lot about the quantity of sugar in our normal diet.  I knowingly ate a lot of sugar, I loved sweets, cake, chocolate, but the amount of sugar we are all eating without knowing is frightening. Just look through your shopping trolley at things you would least expect, crisps, cereal, bread and check the ingredients, I bet you find sugar!  No wonder I craved sweet things all the time, my groceries conditioned me to.

Saying that I've treated myself for valentines and had 2 squares of 90% dark chocolate - doesn't sound much but I really enjoyed it. The good thing was I could have gone without it, which is a good sign I guess, means I'm not craving it.  Does mean that I'm expecting a slight gain or at least stay the same but you need a little pleasure or you would go insane.

Made a soup for lunch, it was lovely and so easy to make. Definite favourite.  It is from The Harcombe diet recipe book.

Red pepper and tomato soup

Fry 2 onions, 3 red peppers and 2 garlic cloves in some olive oil (I used garlic infused oil instead of fresh cloves).
When soft add a tin of tomatoes, 700ml of vegetable stock, 2 tbsps tomato puree, 2 tbsps parsley, 1/4 tsp basil and 1/4 tsp oregano and season to taste.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
Blend with an handblender until smooth and serve with a swirl of natural yoghurt

This can be used in stage 1 and 2 but for stage 1 you would need to use wheat free stock cubes and the yoghurt should always be live all the way through the diet.

Enjoy if you try it!

Not more broccoli

Well I am 2 weeks into the diet. In some ways it is still hard but in others it isnt causing me a problem. I have difficulties on days like today where I've felt a bit nauseous again and don't want to eat veg but not a lot of other choice at the moment but on days where I'm feeling okay and I manage the meals fine then it is easy. Not really physically craving anything but would love to do a nice valentines meal tomorrow with some wine and chocolate, just not possible.

I'm enjoying the real food part but the losing weight part is very restrictive.  Long term I would like to lose my weight and then go to just using real food so that I can bake etc but the food is made properly. I follow an interesting blog called 100 days of real food on facebook.  It is American but it is a mum who stopped feeding her family additives. It is very interesting reading and somewhere that I aim to be.

I don't appear to have had problems with milk this week and I will get weighed in the morning at the 2 week mark and if things look good will introduce cheese at the weekend.  As much as I thought it was frustrating to introduce things so slowly it does help to get your head around the combining aspect, so makes it easier to work out where foods fit one at a time.  It was really strange starting to have milk again, felt almost wrong but so nice to have porridge made with milk for breakfast. I don't even miss having anything in it.  I was planning on adding fruit once I had introduced it but to be honest I don't think I will bother.  Maybe the diet is working in changing my tastes after all.

Fingers crossed for my 2 week weight!

Bye bye phase 1

Total weight loss for 10 days of phase 1 is 11.75lb. My new weight is 15st 0.5lb.  I'm impressed but the 2nd 5 days I found really hard but I was ill so hard to know whether I would have found the diet easier if I had been up and about.

I've had chocolate today! Was not the plan but was in a big hole of despair about the diet. I'm still not well and now my daughter is ill so stuck in the house. It got to lunch time and I could not face anymore salad so I didnt have lunch. Probably not the best idea but the thought of more salad just seemed .... sad.  I spent an agonising hour craving for a packet of milk chocolate digestive biscuits that are in the cupboard.  I don't mean just one biscuit, I wanted the packet. I read more about the diet but I just felt so down about it.  In the end I ate a small sample bar of Green & Black's 85% dark chocolate. It is the chocolate you are allowed further down the road in the diet but I decided that it was better for me to have that than to blow it altogether on the biscuits.  I have to admit I enjoyed it but I can't say that all those biscuits have stopped calling me. I just need to be strong.

Still just introduced milk to our diet so far but just being able to have tea and coffee with milk is quite liberating and I'm going to have porridge with milk again in the morning. What the diet does teach you is how to appreciate food. I never thought I could have got so excited over a bit of milk.  Think if things are fine on the milk then cheese will be the next thing to introduce as that will allow for quite a taste explosion in our meals.

Today's food

Bacon and scrambled eggs for breakfast (fat meal)
Skipped lunch
85% dark chocolate
Roast chicken dinner and various veg, followed by full fat natural yoghurt (fat meal)

Just working on the meal plans for the next few days. Planning a vegetable chilli one night, might even push the boat out and serve it with a jacket potato!

Cake, cake and cola

Had to face a challenge today - a children's birthday party! I went without even a thought that it could be a problem, only to discover that the first thing that happened was the offer of a glass of coke or orange squash to drink and I so wanted to say yes.  Then I was faced with a plate of crisps leftover by my child and I picked one up without thinking, it never touched my lips I promise. The final thing was special made cupcakes for the adults, which I sadly turned down.  It was a testing 90 minutes but does show some of the challenges. 

I'm feeling very bloated today and I'm hoping it isnt the milk. I've had 3 cups of decaf coffee today with a little bit in each time, so not a lot but the diet does say that bloating is one of the signs of intolerance.  I will moniter it and see. Might try not having any tomorrow and see if the bloating improves.

Today's food

Bacon and fried eggs for breakfast
Ham salad for lunch
Homemade korma curry and chicken followed by natural yoghurt for dinner

I'm finding that I cannot eat much at each mealtime but I'm also not getting hungry between meals, which I suppose is a good thing but it just seems weird. I've never eaten large meals but would have eaten a large amount of chocolate and cake inbetween.

Weigh day tomorrow.

On to phase 2

Sorry about no blog yesterday but as I started to feel a bit better the rest of the household decided to go down with it, so an early night was called for.

I have to be honest, I really struggled with the diet yesterday. I still felt quite nauseous and I really wanted something sugary, the chocolates and cakes in Tescos were just shouting at me to buy them....all of them.  And I was very tempted.  I was strong but could have cried at the thought of what to eat at the next meal.  I asked the forum for the diet for some advice and it sounds like I could have been experiencing candida die off. This is where I would have had a serious overgrowth of candida (which is possible when I look at the symptoms) and suddenly starving it by following the diet starts to kill it off and it creates a lot of the symptoms I felt for the last couple days.  This could also explain the sugar craving as the candida was trying to get something to feed on.  Or it could just be that I had a virus and being ill made me feel like that.  Either way I made the decision to start stage 2 a bit early.

I've started by introducing milk.  I had porridge made with milk for breakfast, I can't say it was scrummy but much nicer than made with water and I've had a decaf coffee with a bit of milk in this afternoon. Having read about phase 2, it is more complex to get your head round. The main rule is not mixing fats and carbs at the same meal. This is because of the way your body breaks them down and stores them.  Once I get my head around it it will be fine but at the moment it seems very strange.

As for the greater variety of food on phase 2, it is advised to introduce them slowly over time so you can see if any of them give you symptoms or stops weight loss. This would indicate an intolerance and you leave them a few weeks before trying them again.

My weight loss will slow and as some of it came off while I was ill I am expecting I might gain a little or plateau during the first couple of weeks.  But as much as I want and need to lose weight,  it is also important to me that we eat real food, so we don't inadvertently eat horsemeat or worse!

Today's food

Porridge with milk for breakfast
Tin of tuna and cucumber for lunch
Salmon, crudites and homemade zatziki for dinner

I'm going to cook a curry tomorrow from the recipe book, see if we can make anything exciting.  We can't have chicken and rice with it as that would be mixing, it is one or the other. Fingers crossed that it is tasty

Phase one total weight loss......

..............is 8lb!!!!  Cannot believe it, seemed so easy.

Sorry I didnt blog yesterday but I've been really ill for the last 24 hours with a cold/flu type thing. Still not great but well enough to do a quick update.

I've asked on the diet forum about whether the illness could be linked to the diet but looks unlikely and that I've just been unlucky in getting ill while starting it.  As always trying to follow a diet while ill is difficult, I've been off my food but trying to eat as much as I can at each meal. The thing that has surprised me is usually if I'm ill I live on junk and yet I have chocolate biscuits in the house and never entertained eating them.  I've not gone off the diet at all other than not being able to eat much.

The recipe book arrived yesterday so if I feel better tomorrow I am hoping to be able start planning phase 2. We should be starting it on Sunday and I am looking forward to introducing a variation to the food.

So to recap my start weight was 15st 12lb and in the first 5 days on phase 1 I lost 8lb so my current weight is 15st 4lb.  I will next weigh on Sunday morning at the end of the 2nd round of phase 1.

How much can I lose in 10 days?

Day 5 - nearly the end

The weight this morning was 15st 5.75lb, which is a loss of 6.25lb in 4 days. I'm pretty impressed especially as it hasn't been that hard to do.  Tomorrow morning will be the last weigh in to find out the total weight loss for phase 1 but I have concerns about tomorrow's weigh in. I'm made up with a stinking cold and I've hardly eaten today because of it. I have tried to eat something at every meal but don't know if it will be enough to have a weight loss.

As it has been easy we have decided to do phase 1 for another 5 days until I have read and understood phase 2. Quite a few differences in phase 2 and a bigger selection of food.

Sorry for a short and sweet blog tonight but feeling pretty rubbish.

Fingers crossed that I've not done too much damage today.

Day 4 and T.M.I (sorry)

This morning I had put 0.25lb on, I was a bit disgruntled until I remembered that .....here it comes......I hadn't poo'd for a couple of days (told you it was t.m.i) and there we had the challenge of the day. How do I solve this?

I have continued with the diet as planned but started doing a bit of research.  It turns out that this problem isnt uncommom during phase 1 because of how the diet is adjusted. We are mainly eating meat, vegetables and eggs.  We can have the dreaded porridge or 50g brown rice which didn't much appeal but both of these could have helped with my problem.  The other cure which is recommended by Zoe Harcombe is vitamin c.  Now I have never heard of this as a cure for constipation but found loads of information on the web about it. Turns out that because it is water soluble your body takes what it needs then dispels what it doesn't need along with whatever else is there.  Tah-dah, I've learnt something today.

Another t.m.i moment now, but this morning I disovered that I had been suffering my p.m.t days for the last few days and I hadn't noticed! No cravings, no 'I need chocolate NOW', nothing. Normally I eat non stop during this last week and yet I've still survived. I'm feeling more and more confident that this diet is better for my body and is the way to go.

Feeling much less fuzzyheaded than I have done for a few days but I have started with a cold so feel rubbish from that but otherwise I think I'm starting to feel brighter.

We tried the brown rice tonight.  I was worried it was going to be bland but I boiled it and then fried it in chilli olive oil with some celery, spring onions and peas and it was very tasty. Will definitely be using brown rice again.

Now, fingers crossed that there is a little bit less of me in the morning.

Day 3 - still going strong

I now weigh 15st 6.75lb, which means I have lost 5.25lb in just 2 days and yet I've never been hungry and eaten real food the whole time. The diet seems to be what it says on the tin so to speak.

Today is a Saturday and usually that is where any diet we do goes to pot but we had planned this weekend carefully knowing that we wouldn't feel good but also because we didnt want to put temptation in our way. And guess what.....we survived it!  And that includes an unscheduled visit to McDonalds, aren't we doing well? Already watching people eating burgers and drinking fizzy drinks were stomach turning, reading Zoe Harcombe's book Stop Counting Calories and Start Losing Weight explains what processed foods do to your body and it really makes you think.  I found it hard to even buy the food for my 4 year old daughter but as much as we would like to have her eat the healthy food, I think it best to do it a bit at a time. I would like her to eventually choose healthier options for herself.

We have to be very careful when we talk about diets as our daughter often talks about what she can and can't eat and I worry that she is too young to be focussed on food. So we try to talk about healthy eating rather than diet and hope she learns by example.

Today's food

Scrambled egg and bacon
Ham salad with olive oil and herb dressing
Roast chicken with roast parsnips and mixed veg
Natural full fat yoghurt for desserts (yummy, I'm serious I love it)

No cravings at all and don't even feel hungry, just need to break the habit of eating whenever I feel like it.  Still feeling tired but hard to tell if that is a cold, or poorly child or diet.

What will tomorrow's weight be? I'm stupidly excited about getting weighed in the morning.....think I need more of a life!

Day 2

After finding yesterday relatively easy, it was a pleasant surprise this morning to discover that I had lost 1.5lb already. Now weighing in at 15 st 10.5lb. Could not believe it, in previous diets that could be a full weeks weight loss. I'm not naive enough to think that that size of weight loss will continue but as a start I am loving it. I was hoping for a 1lb a day during phase 1, so running ahead at the minute.

Spent a couple of hours at the hospital with my poorly daughter during last night, so was feeling pretty rubbish this morning. In the past I would have used this as an excuse to spend the day drinking coffee and eating biscuits and cakes but I was determined I wasn't going to do that this time. I've stuck to it again and finding that I don't need such big portions even though I'm not hungry between meals. I had 2 scrambled eggs for breakfast at about 9am and had 1.30 had lunch because I thought I should.

It is still hard not to just put things into your mouth, a couple times today I nearly had a crisp or a bit of biscuit. It was done without any thought and I just stopped at the last minute. It will be a hard habit to break.

I've had headache today but not sure if that was down to lack of sleep or withdrawal symptoms but either way it has gone now and day 2 is completed without any problems.

Here is to day 3 - bring it on

....go! DAY 1

Here we go, it has started.

First job was to be weighed.I'm the heaviest I have ever been at 15st 12lb. The first 5 days are supposed to be a big weight loss.  I will weigh every morning for those 5 days, just to see what happens.

Breakfast was a bit messy. I made the porridge but could not eat more than a few mouthfuls so ended up doing a couple of scrambled eggs with black pepper. I really enjoyed them and might consider that tomorrow. It was quick, tasty and filling.

Food I've eaten today

Tiny bit of oats and hot water
Scrambled eggs with black pepper
Omelette with mixed herbs and salad, followed by live natural yoghurt

Dinner is roast pork with mixed veg before I go to work and the pork smells lovely.

Feeling a bit rubbish but not really hungry. I know that I could eat cake or chocolate but I'm not hungry and I need to keep focusing on that. Been to town and it was really difficult not to just pick up a goody to eat. I'm tired and I have the start of a headache but I guess the worse I feel now the better I will feel afterwards. My blood sugar levels are probably protesting that they've had no sugar of  any kind all day.

Tomorrow, I'm working in the morning and this will be where things are going to be a rush and possibly don't work. I'm going to take a tuna salad but I only get 10 minutes which isnt that long and working at Starbucks with all the temptation is going to be hard.

But it will be worth it

Ready......set......

Did my first shop for the diet yesterday, just look at my fridge!

It was quite a simple shop, the trickiest item to buy was ham.  I initially decided to get meat from the deli counter but on closer inspection found that the third item on the ingredients was sugar. I am actually shocked to discover that what I had always considered to be real food had what I think of as an unnecessary ingredient. I ended up buying a packet of top range ham which doesn't list any sugar or other -ose.  It does however contain nitrates so I need to check if they are ok to have. 

The shopping wasnt cheap so once the diet is up and running, I need to find cheaper places to buy meat and veg. At the moment offers in Tescos will have to do but I will be sourcing from more economical places eventually. Well, this is it....the last day of junk and processed foods. Going out with a bit of a bang, making a quick curry from a jar with pilau rice and poppadoms with a sponge pudding and custard for dessert. I'm feeling very positive and excited about these changes to our life. Fingers crossed we survive the first 5 days

3 bears

After yesterday's post I was determined I was going to try and improve on the porridge and water meal. I had another dish of it for supper and the tiny drop of golden syrup vastly improved it but also the last few mouthfuls were better as they were creamier.  So off I went to the google box in search of a way to improve it.

I had no idea that porridge was so complex, the varies types of oats, types and quantities of liquid, methods of soaking and toppings. I read pages and pages of people's 'perfect porridge' every one  is different but apparently every one is  perfect.

So started with soaking the oats, seemed the easiest thing to do.  Added enough cold water to cover and left overnight.This morning they had mushed up a bit and following more google advice, I rinsed them before adding them to a pan with a bit more water and cooked until the rest of the water absorbed and do you know what.........it was more palatable. I even added a pinch of salt to mine and it did take the edge of the blandness but I do believe I could get used to my porridge like this.

Who would have thought it?

2 days to go and the worse porridge ever

Well, it was decided to start the diet on a Thursday, the idea being that day 1 will be hard in any new diet kind of way, day 2 is when we will start to feel rubbish, and that should peak over the weekend while we are off work and things should start to feel better for Monday. I will let you know if that plan works.

I've written a very comprehensive meal plan for the 5 days, including snacks. I've started to finish things up that we have around the house and to try things that we are going to need to eat. Which leads me to......

.......what can I say about porridge made with water with nothing added for sweetness? VILE! VILE! VILE! I couldn't eat more than 3 spoonsful and I'm going to be having that for breakfast on Thursday.  Going to half the quantity and add a lttle syrup tomorrow to help the transition. I'm also thinking about trying different porridges. I bought a supermarket's best line one and it is all oats that don't mush up. Going to try a more basic one and see if that is better.

So, 'the glass half empty' me sees only 2 days of tasty convenient foods left but 'the glass half full' me sees 2 days to go to a healthier, lighter me.

The books arrived - eeeeeek

The postman brought me a great treasure yesterday - the Harcombe diet book! I couldn't wait to start reading it. Very sad of me but I went and sat in Tesco cafe with a large mocha and some biscuits.  Nothing like reading a diet book while indulging in some caffeine and chocolate.

Ive read the history behind the diet and the conditions and also the first phase of the diet. I'm really excited about starting it. Stupidly so seen as it is going to be so difficult.

What Zoe Harcombe says about calorie counting makes so much sense and explains why obesity rates are continuing to climb. It is too complicated to explain but anybody interested in knowing more about how restricting calories encourages weight gain as well as candida, food intolerance and hypoglycemia should read Zoe Harcombe's book "Stop counting calories and start losing weight".

The diet consists of 3 phases. Phase 1 is the detoxing part to cleanse the body and lasts just 5 days. This is followed by the second phase which you do for as long as you need to lose weight and the final phase is for maintenance.

Phase 1 is going to be hard, no caffeine, no chocolate, no processed food at all. I want to plan it down to every mouthful. For me to stick to it I need to allow for plenty of snacks and extra meals, anything to get me through it.  Withdrawal symptoms are going to leave me feeling rubbish and ill but I need to plan for that so going to find a time in the diary that is going to work best.

In the mean time I'm indulging in cake, chocolate, bread and the laziness of just being able to grab whatever I want to eat.

I need to keep focused on weight loss and being healthy.

I WANT THIS TO WORK

Newish year new diet

Well it's 3 weeks into 2013 and I have had to admit that this blubbery body has got to go. Like most women in the Western world I have been on many diets and I really prefer to make lifestyle changes and calling a eating plan a diet can put me off trying it.

Many years ago I saw a nutritionist and spent a month eating whole foods with no sugars or additives.I cant deny it, it was hard. Not just cutting things out but tryng to fit our new regime into our busy life routine. Saying that, I loved the concept of eating unprocessed food. I came off the diet with a bang by eating pizza and pepsi max and let me tell you that after a month of no sugar, it was one crazy evening. As always one slip led to many and that was the end of the diet.

I still read about and longed to eat real food but just never got my act together to plan it.

Then my husband was talking to somebody about The Harcombe diet. That was a week ago and we are now waiting for the book to arrive, research has started and attempts at dietary changes made.  The diet should start at the beginning of February.

I know little about the diet apart from it involves not eating sugars, additives or anything you can crave. And it involves some kind of food combining.

I thought the blog might be interesting to show my journey of discovery and frustration in trying to be healthier while working part time shifts, doing PTA, church events, and looking after a husband and four year old.

For more information on the diet visit www.harcombediet.co.uk