Week 2 of my fasting diet

Ok, it's Monday; fasting day and I'm pretty hungry right now!

Week one of the diet didn't seem too bad, in fact, the second fasting day had me in a much chirpier mood than usual at work. Not sure if the two things are related but I guess I'll find out if it continues. You generally wouldn't confuse my face with a ray of sunshine (especially not at work) but for some reason I just had a some new energy from somewhere- I was wearing a yellow top instead of the usual black frock so maybe it was also a little bit of colour therapy.

Today I think I may have over-indulged in some strawberries and mistakenly thought that a piece of salmon would have about the same amount of calories as chicken but it actually has more! Baked salmon 100g is approx 190 calories so I have gone over a little to around 550 calories today. I had the same breakfast and dinner as last week but for tea I had salmon (marinaded in soy sauce, lemon and chilli) with cabbage, carrots and peas. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't check the calorie content before I made my tea and I hope that this has not been a wasted fasting day.

What the scales say:

Scales show a couple of pounds lost but it's only been a week so I'm not too bothered about that just yet. I'm usually a scale addict and weigh myself in the morning everyday but I've been trying to not get too obsessed with the morning step on, step off, have a wee, take off my socks and step back on! Maybe I should get the measuring tape out but I have a problem with misplacing it. I don't know why, I must have at least 5 tape measures in my house but they all end up missing (in a place where the pens and odd socks hide).

The other days:

On the days when I've not been fasting I have still been eating reasonably healthy. I'm still weighing out carbs as I had done before in my healthy eating plan. I've also had a couple of treats; a slice of carrot cake, a packet of crisps and a few gin and slimline tonics.... OK so I've had a few treats.

I shall end my post with a pic of my fasting-spoiling-calorie-laden dinner of salmon and veg whilst kicking myself for not checking first. Lesson learnt: do the math.

New diet... Fasting 5:2

So the diet up to my holiday had me stuck at scale mate. I managed to hit 8 stone but only for one day (after a big poo). Saying that, I did find myself fitting into size 10 jeans in some shops. I'm still not confidently a size 10, I'd say I'm a 10-12 and the mission is to be a size 10.

I've been reading recently about an intermittent fasting diet, eating only 500 calories two days per week and eating normally the rest of the week. Today is the day that I try to fast. I've worked out a 500 calorie day plan (using the quick calorie guide found in the book 'Cook Yourself Thin' and google searches for anything not included in the book) and I'm going to do this twice a week (if I can) to see how this goes.

Here is what I plan to eat on my fasting day:
Breakfast: Poached egg = 82
1 slice of wholemeal Toast, Warburtons 400g loaf = 58 (no butter or spread)
Coffee with Skimmed Milk = 20
Total 160 cal

Lunch:
Half tin of tuna = 70
Lettuce, 60g = 10
1 Tomato = 15
Total 95 cal

Dinner: Grilled chicken breast, 100g = 120
Steamed broccoli, 90g = 22
Boiled carrots 50g = 12
Total 154
Total for day = 409

This leaves 91 calories for a couple of cups of coffee and I may snack on a tomato or carrot if I'm feeling starving.

All in all, this doesn't sound too bad, three meals... lets go..

Some links to further reading on the fasting 5:2 diet research/ news articles:

Telegraph
Some nice 250 cal recipes:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/9483381/52-diet-healthy-recipes-250-calories-or-less.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19112549

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2183677/Why-starvation-diet-actually-good--make-live-longer.html

Holiday diet part 2!

So it has been about 5 weeks since my scales and I reached a stale mate. My healthy eating for the last few weeks has been not so strict. I tried to contribute to saving the high street by shopping local at butchers and green grocers however I ended up having to go to several shops and never having everything I needed! One Saturday I tried to stock up on the weekly packed lunches but the local shops were out of brown bread, ham & tuna. To cut a long story short, I've done a big diet shop at Tesco, ordered online to avoid picking up anything I didn't need.

For the last few days I have been in the diet zone. I know when I first started the holiday diet again I was eating low fat/salt bacon a few times a week for breakfast; not this time. I'm having bacon as a weekend treat. I'm still sticking to the old GMTV bikini diet that I printed off the Internet a few years ago, it worked for me before so I'm hoping that it works for me again. It's varied and doesn't always feel like a diet but portion sizes are noticeably small- unless you fill the plate with greenery.

My breakfasts have so far been: 2 poached eggs on 1 slice of toast (no butter or spread), low fat yoghurt with banana, goji berries and (no added sugar/salt) muesli.

Today it's Saturday so I've had a 'grill up'- pictured below.

I've also been starting the day with warm water with a slice of lemon- I have no idea where I read that this was good but I quite like it and it increases my water intake. I haven't given up the coffees though- but always with skimmed milk.

For my tea I've been eating chicken salad and brown pitta bread. One night I had tarragon chicken in a creamy creme fresh sauce (tasty). I've planned the rest of the weeks meals as: turkey stir fry, grilled meatballs, ratatouille on brown toast, tuna pasta and mackerel salad.

Doesn't sound too bad, let's see how this goes!

Holiday diet + bank balance diet =

So, my holiday quest continues! I've been trying to combine healthy eating with money saving and the first step is:
Take my dinner to work with me! I do this usually however I've been a bit lazy recently and had started to buy Boots meal deals for my lunch. They cost about £3.25, so if I kept on buying one everyday I'd be spending £16.25 per week on my dinners! There's 8 weeks left till holiday so that's £130 spent on my dinner... And probs sushi everyday! I reckon buns and ham or pasta salad costs less than a fiver per week, so I'd say I'm spending about £40 in the 8 remaining weeks making a holiday savings diet amount of £90! Which I will more than likely spend on the first day in a scrumptious steak on the stone restaurant!

Wowzer I have to say, I never thought that those long winded maths questions would ever be useful......apparently they are! I will now enjoy my little tiny brown bun ham sarnies whilst thinking of the huge fillet steak I'll be eating in the sun!

I also went to a friends house last Friday for a gathering of drinks instead of hitting the bars in town, staying in is the new going out you know! This potentially saved me £50 just paid for a taxi there and back and alcohol. A bottle of vodka and diet coke- no beer even! A pint is about 170 calories, vodka diet coke is about 70 cals (single measure) so not only am I saving pennies I'm cutting down on calories. If I stay in for at least 4 weekends out if the remaining 8 that's £200 towards my holidaybobs.

Wowzer I'm saving £290 quid already! I also bought a metro pass saving £3 per week on travel do that's £24 taking me to a grand total of £314! Amazing work.

I also managed to avoid Yorkshire puddings on Sunday and had pork & couscous instead!

Bank balance diet....

So, my mortgage is on the up. Water rates have gone up, tv licence increase. April brings such disappointing post. I'd like a nice letter next please mr postman!

The delightful pending summer holiday not only means trying to achieve a leaner waist but also means saving some cash to spend on hols. I opted not to shop online this week, to try the local butcher and green grocer to save some pennies.

Veg: defo cheaper than the supermarket but less choice. I did get some gapes and blueberries at a fraction of the cost of the supermarket. It was a bit crazy really, some things literally only cost pence! Two full bags of fruit and veg for less than a tenner!

Butchers: bought some minted pork chops that were both cheap and tasty and without much fat. I also picked up some chicken breasts and intended to eat them on Sunday. I found myself out with friends instead on Sunday so didn't cook the chicken.... A day later... I checked some food standards website and it says that fresh chicken can be kept in the fridge for 1-2 days! Oooops shopping at the butchers FAIL!! I didn't check on the Internet how long the chicken was safe to eat until AFTER I had a pot of chicken soup bubbling away. The chicken didn't look off or ruined or smell bad but I wasn't going to risk it.

So although the meat was cheaper at the butchers I actually wasted money when I had to throw the chicken out. Hmmm lesson learnt I'll probably stick to the supermarket for meat from now on.

Scale Mate

I have reached a stale mate with my scales; a scale mate you could say. Yes, I know that my healthy eating has not been very strict and I didn't omit beer or alcohol in general. There is still time to have a t-total week of green tea, however this needs to be strategic. I have a cocktail night planned this Friday and a visit to some lively friends over Easter so it will have to wait.

I still have 10/11 weeks till the holiday so I'm hoping that continuing the healthy eating and portion control will encourage slow but long lasting weight loss.

I wish I had taken some measurements before I started my plan because although I've reached a scale mate I still feel a bit leaner. A few people have also started to comment that I've lost weight! With the glorious sunshine out in this freak English March I decided to get my maxi dress out the other day. As I was walking along the street I felt my knickers starting to slip! I spent the rest of the day checking my bum to make sure I still had my panties on! It could just be that I bought them too big, or the elastic has gone (they were fairly new) OR I have actually lost some inches (or cms). Either way I shan't be wearing those knickers again!

A month or so into the healthy eating holiday non diet!

A surprising step onto the scales today shows no extra weight gain despite the cakes, pies, beers and pizza!! As much as I'm delighted to see this I currently feel like a bloated pig!! Oink oink.

I did my shopping online this week to make sure nothing naughty got into my cupboards, I do feel bad for the local veg shop on the high street but I'm sure I'll be back.

I've also been out on very early morning walks with the dog, before 7am even, in my toning trainers. Still bouncy but not sure they aid any kind of toning. I actually started a jog today (when no one was looking). I'm still in need of some fitness attire as getting up and trying to walk in jeans is no good, I've been wearing leggings for the last few days but then need to find something long enough to cover my arse.

In usual fashion I'm finding it hard to go to a sports shop and pick up some jogging bottoms or similar (the thought of this makes my face twist) I've been trying to hunt out some vintage joggers but I might give up on this as somebody else's sweat puts me off.. Urgh!! If anyone can recommend some thing I'm happy to listen?

I've spent the morning procrastinating really, I should be carrying out research for my final assignment however I've reached the stage where I'm scared to try hard in case I don't do well. So, my rubbish effort will mean that when I get my bad results I can say "oh I knew my work wasn't up to standard". Weird I know.

Anyhoo, yesterday's healthy options were:

Breakfast: scrambled egg on brown toast, no butter or spread. Coffee with skimmed milk.

Dinner: mackerel pate on brown toast, again no spread or butter.

Tea: fried chicken breast, (small amount of oil and lid on the frying pan, lemon juice squeezed in the last minute or so of cooking) with a brown pitta bread and piles of salad. I also made a garlic yoghurt dip and it was kinda like having a kebab. Tasty indeed.

During the day I also had a bag of quavers AND a penguin biscuit! I really should have only had one or the other!

But now I shall research....


Update: still not researching but I just reminded myself that I was 1 stone and 4 pounds heavier in 2009, almost to the day!! That's when I first started the healthy eating although I was very strict for the first few weeks and managed to lose a stone. I'm pleased I kept it off!! Pic below of the wii fit showing me I was on my way to being overweight.

Cream cakes and scones

Oh crap. Since I stopped writing down what I've been eating I have started on a slippery slope to naughty calorific piggy-ness. I have been quite good through the day, healthy omelettes, salad.... But followed by something naughty at night like pizza or fish fingers!!

Today was particularly bad.

I also need to go buy some good food. This morning I ate biscuits for breakfast then followed up with biscuits as a snack but only because I have nothing in at all to eat. All there was at work was biscuits.... And then I had an 11 o'clock meeting so I had to eat a biscuit to stop my tummy rumbling.

I had a healthy dinner, tuna pasta salad that I made last night.

BUT an afternoon meeting involved a plate of tiny cream cakes!! Eeeek!

I've had quorn spaghetti.... Uh oh see just realised I've had pasta twice today!! If I had written this down earlier I would have made something else.

Lesson learned: must keep up the food diary!!

I miss Sydney

There are days like this, when the sun filters through the blinds and warms my face, I miss Sydney. I only lived there for a few months but at the time it felt like home; I think I left part of me there because now and again I miss it so much. I miss my local Duffy Brothers store. I miss the coffee shop where I would stop and have warmed banana bread. I've tried to make banana bread myself but failed. Nowhere in Newcastle seems to have it (I haven't found anywhere yet) if you know of somewhere please let me know!!

I miss the sun of Sydney and miss sitting out on the balcony taking in the views of the city. I miss Betty's soup kitchen and I miss the noodle bars.

I didn't think that I could lose my heart to a city but I think I really did. I want to go back.


Picture below: nothing like proper banana bread! Soreen banana loaf with chocolate spread...... Naughty snack!
A pic of Gloria Jean's coffee shop ... A trip down memory lane via google maps!! If you zoom in enough you can almost see the banana bread in the counter!!

The diet turns into healthy eating

So, I've given up counting the days of my diet. My food diary for a month or so clearly shows the problems:

• weekends
• beers
• alcohol
• takeaways

The question is, what am I prepared to give up for the bikini body? The answer seems to be: not a lot. Between now and my holiday I'm going to concentrate on 'healthy eating' and I'm going to stop saying I'm on a diet. I'm not really giving anything up, just  concentrating on regular meals and portion control. There are some things that have been easy adjustments, some of them I will keep with:

• skimmed milk
• lean meat
• low fat everything (cheese, yogurt, salad cream etc)
• creme fresh for sauces
• portion sizes of carbs (50g rice or pasta, 100g potato, small brown buns)
• Eat breakfast every day!!
• fresh fruit and veg
• allowing a 100 cal ish snack

Hmmmmm that kinda still sounds like diet rules but I'm sticking with 'healthy eating'.

The scales today show no movement from the last weigh in, I'm hoping that maintaining the healthy eating will result in a gradual weight drop that lasts.

I'm also going to do more exercise.... this is my worst bit as I have every form of physical activity, I have no balance, co-ordination or motivation so this is an actual challenge.

I did buy some cheap tone up trainers so I can walk the dog and feel like I'm training (ha ha ha ha) I got some AVIA itrain. To review their effectiveness I guess will take a few more tries but so far (and from the second I tried them on) they are the most comfy trainers I've ever tried on. Admittedly, I haven't worn trainers from about five years. I find that walking in them is bouncy as the heel is soft and squishy, it makes me walk faster! I also noticed that I can feel a bit more of a muscle working in my legs, particularly the fronts of my thighs.... this could all be in my head but lets see.

I haven't done any yoga since my last blog post, maybe I'm going to have to schedule this into my life as its not working out right now (I'm too lazy). Walking the dog though has to happen twice a day so I can happily bounce around the streets in my training shoes without any extra effort!

Tea today, baked salmon with spinach, salsa and baked potato...... Followed by an apple and black currant FAB; only 90 cals!!

Day 29 holiday diet

Well, I started the day with some yoga again.... This is how every fitness attempt goes.. I will do the yoga for a week or so very enthusiastically but then will stop forever!!

Breakfast was a crumpet with one slice of lean bacon and some mushrooms.

Dinner: jacket potato with tuna and spinach, instead of dressing the tuns I had lime juice and chilli flakes.
I also discovered that I have been massively over eating on the carby potatoes at work!!! If I don't take dinner to work I'll buy a jacket potato from the canteen. Today I picked a potato that was smaller than I'd have from work and it was well over 200g! So I'd been eating those twice a week usually! I couldn't believe the size of a 120g potato! Much much smaller than one you would buy at a cafe.
I also had more tuna than I normally would, I thought some extra protein might be good for me.

Tea: no tea, was at the pub so drank beer and vodka but not both at once. Supper: dixy chicken and chips

Day 28 of the holiday diet

I started the day with some more yoga, I got a Geri halliwell DVD from eBay!! My arms feel like they are going to ache tomorrow!

Breakfast: scrambled egg on tiny toast again!

Dinner: Tuscan bean soup

Tea: delicious pizza at a lovely Italian restaurant! A beer and a cocktail!

Nectarine & apple

I did also have a fab delivery from O2 (in picture) as you can see I have some rugby pies and beers..... Will they last until the rugby??? oh dear it's fair to say that my diet has absolutely no urgency at all! Closer to holiday time I will be strict!

Day 27 of the holiday diet!

Today is college day, not work day, but lectures are over now I just have my dissertation to do. I have the motivation of Kevin the teenager. I am 31 and have so much work to get done for my course but I just dont wanna do it. I don't wanna do anything. I know my attitude stinks but what does one do to improve it? Har? I even have a teenage pimple on my wrinkly old face.

I have done 40 mins of yoga from the free daily yoga app, cos apparently people say that exercise makes you have more energy and feel better about yourself........ really? I'm not feeling it.

Breakfast: tiny brown toast with scrambled eggs, coffee (skimmed milk as ever)

For dinner I'm making some spicy sweet chilli soup cos that sounds healthy and 'good for you'.

Tea: quorn cottage pie that I made and froze last week. Had this with mushy peas!!

Day 26 of the holiday diet

After having such a naughty weekend I got up and did some yoga today (only about 10 mins) before the morning doggy walk then off to work. I've had exactly the same as yesterday for breakfast and dinner. I have to eat chicken for tea though and don't fancy it. I'm just about to search for some healthy chicken recipes.... I don't really have anything to go with it!! Any ideas?

OK so back to the good old itv diet recipes and I had this for tea:
http://www.itv.com/lorraine/lifestyle/real-bikini-diet/real-bikini-diet-recipes/dinners/super-sticky-chicky/

I maybe I didn't use the right measurements... it wasn't so sticky! I did however use a lemon with a sticker on it saying fanny!! I was a little amused.... Lemon fanny or Fanny's lemon?

Uh oh a few hours later and I was eating cereal for supper..... whoops a meal too many. The diet seems to be going further down the pan!!

Days 23, 24 & 25 of the holiday diet!

Friday night was good, no beers or even vodkas. Sat & Sun= bad!! Chips, chips, nachos, chilli, curry............. Beers

I am trying to redeem myself today by being a good dieter! That 20 mins of yoga also rendered me useless, I was barely able to move my arms or legs for 2 days. Must do that again.

Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs on tiny brown toast.

Dinner: tiny brown bun with a slice of beef, mustard and salad.

Banana, nectarine and 70 cal crisps.

Tea: prawn & veg stir fry with rice.

I'm too scared to stand on the scales today, I might even have some bean soup for supper on the hope that it creates a colonic irrigation effect again!!

Day 22 of the holiday diet

Weight check this morning shows some progress, I've lost 5/6 lbs in 3 weeks. It seems like slow progress but I never really cut out the beer, but let's face it, when I get to my holiday destination I'll probably have ordered a beer before I get my bikini out. I'm sure I would do better if I cut out the beer but then I would balloon up on my hols anyway!! Let's keep it realistic! I have decided that my weight goal is 8 stone, I'm hoping that this results in me being a comfortable size 10. I've noticed that my regular jeans are feeling a bit loose, my slouchy jeans are a bit too slouchy now. The jeans I bought that I could barely fasten are feeling less of a squeeze but still create a muffin top (not pleasant) I know that some toning up is needed *dread*.

I've downloaded a free daily yoga app and have managed 20 mins of yoga without too much of a drama, no falling over or falling asleep, slight ache in the arms. I opted for a green tea with lemon too (still had a wake up coffee), lets not pretend that this is going to last, it's Friday!!

Breakfast: 1 bacon medallion with grilled tomatoes in a brown breakfast muffin.

Dinner: ham and low fat hummus wrap & packet of skips.

Tea: pesto pasta (50g pasta) with a tomato and mozzarella salad and some lettuce..... Still craving a bit of meat tho!

Cuppa tea and a kitkat.

Day 21 of the holiday diet

So, 3 weeks of occasional healthy eating, still consumed too many beers. I will weigh myself tomorrow to discover the very likely non-change in my weight!! Woops. I've, so far, also developed no motivation for physical activity, one could say I couldn't even bring myself around to even trying. Still the holiday will still go ahead in approximately 3 months, plenty of time to do better.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs on small brown toast. Coffee with skimmed milk.

Dinner: ham and low fat hummus wrap.... I even down graded the size of my wrap to a weight watchers one?! I do prefer a big seeded one tho.


Tea: pasta (50g) with a home made tomato, mushroom and spinach sauce. I had a big bag of tomatoes that needed to be used so opted for another meat-less day, half way through eating it though I remembered yesterday's meat cravings. Maybe I'll have a nice slab of beef this weekend, yummy or lamb even!


Ok so the other half fancied a beer, so I had one (well I actually had 2).

Day 20 of the holiday diet

Breakfast: brown breakfast muffin with 2 bacon medallions, mushrooms and a coffee with skimmed milk.

Dinner: tuna salad with low fat dressing. Half a tin of spicy bean soup.

Apple. Coffee. 85 cal crisps.

Tea: mackerel with broccoli, boiled egg and potato salad (made with 100g tatties, a spoon of creme fresh, low fat salad cream and spring onions.


I want a big mac tho!! I don't actually ever eat big macs but since starting to eat more healthily I am craving one!! I feel that I'll have to have one to get it out of my head, but not today. Woooo I also got a lovely pair of shoes delivered today!

..... Oh dear, my craving for meat took me to the shop. I ended up with a bowl of some frosted wheat cereal with probably too much sugar in but mo meat. And since the footy is on there is now a beer in front of me. I thought it was all going so well.

Day 19 of the holiday diet

Wooooop did you see the lovely sunshine today? I want to say that spring is on it's way in but it'll probably snow in March!

Breakfast: 1 bacon medallion, 1 fried egg (tiny drop of oil) in a brown breakfast muffin.

Dinner: tuna salad with mixed beans and low fat dressing. Eaten at my desk!

Tea: cottage pie made with quorn mince, I followed this recipe, but with half the amount of potato:

http://www.quorn.com/recipes/Quorn_Cottage_Pie.

It was surprisingly tasty for a non-meat pie! I had it with some spring greens.

Day 18 of the holiday diet

Dear food diary,

I have been a bingeing, pig out, naughty, eyes bigger than my belly girl. The weekend involved pizza, beer, wine and gloriously fried eggy bread. There was an "oh no I have no food left, only pizza.... 2 of them" moment on Saturday. This was rectified on Sunday but only after having no breakfast, and raging my trolley around Tesco trying to pick up healthy things when all I wanted to do was gnaw on a tiger bread loaf or stick my face in a custard slice. I am one of those people who are annoyingly irrational and grumpy when I'm hungry, so put together hungry, rag week and hungover and I become a venomous witch.

I've also been considering ways to motivate myself into exercise (obviously just lying on the sofa in a pondering like manner) I was looking at those shoes that tone your legs and bum, shape ups, but the only ones I can find come in absolutely hideous colours and they are massive like Spice Girl shoes! Maybe if they were just one colour (like black and not shocking pink, or silver) I could consider walking the dog in them, I would still worry about bumping into anyone I knew incase they witnessed the ugly shoes. I couldn't go to a gym because there are other people there, eeeew sweaty people in fact. I have a wii fit, Xbox kinect, yoga DVDs, gym ball (deflated), weights and a skipping rope, I even had some machine that also acted as a clothes hanger..... All of this potential to become a fitness fanatic yet no motivation! I don't even have a pair of trainers! I do walk about a mile to the metro to go to work, and walk my cutie dog and take the stairs to the third floor; is that enough?

Today's food stuffs:
Breakfast: scrambled eggs on toast (2 eggs, skimmed milk on tiny brown bread)

Grapes, banana and a packet of skips.

Dinner: ham sarnie with salad and a dollop of low fat salad cream.

Tea: stir fried veg, prawns and rice.

I've also had 1 coffee and 1 tea. I'm also not going to weigh myself now until Friday.

Day 16 & 17

Time of month, grump grump grump. Don't wanna eat good things.

Day 15 of the holiday diet

Breakfast: bacon sarnie made with small sliced brown bread.

Dinner: beans on brown toast.

Tea: lightly dusted bassa with 100g of good for you oven chips (no, I don't think that they really are good for you) and mushy peas (pump alert).
Snacked on some gherkins, it was Friday so I had a bottle of white wine.......... Followed by a trifle *whoopsy*

Day 14 of the holiday diet!

Breakfast: scrambled eggs (2 eggs and a dash of skimmed milk) on 1 piece of brown toast (no butter).
Coffee w skimmed milk.

I downloaded a calorie app and discovered that my coffee with skimmed milk is only 13 calories compared to 30 with semi skimmed! I probably have 4-5 cups of tea/coffee a day so I'm cutting down approx 85 calories a day on hot drinks alone.
I would also usually have olive spread on my toast (I don't like butter), which can be up to 50 calories, it seems that the small changes really do make a difference.

Dinner: mackerel pate on 2 bits of toast. To make the pate, put a tin of mackerel in a bowl with a tablespoon of low fat cream cheese, half a tea spoon of mustard and pepper. I'd usually add a squeeze of lemon but I had none!

I also had a bag of 98 cal crisps, and half a tin of baked beans (maybe I have pmt a bit there)!

Tea: I'm gonna make this sea bass with sesame noodles

Sea bass with sizzled ginger, chilli & spring onions recipe - Recipes - BBC Good Food

Sea bass with sizzled ginger, chilli & spring onions recipe - Recipes - BBC Good Food


Also had a cup of tea and 2 segments of Terry's chocolate orange!

Managed 10 girlie push ups too.

Day 13 of the holiday diet

Today was college day, talking about chi squared so I need extra fuel to take in the knowledge (another excuse to not diet).

Breakfast: 2 eggs on a small piece of brown toast, no butter.

Dinner: pre-packed egg cress sarnie in brown bread, the pack said it was about 300 cals..... I did also have a packet if walkers guess the flavour crisps, pack B. they tasted of maybe paprika or chorizo?

Tea: Jamie Oliver's pollock fish cakes, they were about 200cals for 2 fish cakes so didn't seemed like an ok quick option, I'll buy them again cos they were pretty tasty too! I also had some spinach, peas and 100g of low fat oven chips (the girl can't give up the chips)

Day 12 of the holidaaaay diet

I did weigh myself last night and didn't like the result.... I'm blaming the time of day and not the pizza or KFC!

Today:

Breakfast: bacon sarnie from work due to the empty fridge at home! I didn't eat all of the white fluffy bun though.

Dinner: Boots meal deal I got a shapers prawn wrap, sour cream wheat crisp things and a bottle of diet coke!

Tea: it's pancake day..............

Day 11 holiday diet

I'm busy busy busy, got home from work, walked the pooch and now I have to do Uni work!! Didnt weigh myself at the usual time today so will do before bed!

Breakfast: crumpet with tiny piece of half fat cheese

Dinner: tuna & mixed bean salad with low fat balsamic dressing.

Gorged on a chicken leg.... And a thin slice of baguette! Must do work!

Tea: chicken, spinach and mushroom curry. Made with leftover chicken, spices and a little spoon of creme fresh. Served with 50g rice.

Day 10 holiday diet

It is a lovely sunny day in Newcastle today!!

Breakfast: bacon medallion & egg in a small bun. Coffee w skimmed milk

Long walk to the quayside, one beer for the thirst!

Dinner: chicken, salad and a couple of thin slices of baguette.

Tea: eeeeek it was more like supper.... A pizza with even more calories in than a KFC bucket 😳

Day 9 holiday diet

Eeeeeek that bean chilli resulted in a colonic irrigation effect bathroom visit this morning!! My belt is now on the next hole- I think this may be linked to the beans!!!!

Breakfast: 2 egg omelette with ham, tomato and spring onion with a tiny grating of half fat cheese. Coffee

Dinner: 50g pasta with left over BEAN CHILLI........………

Tea: whoops some KFC chicken and fries.... Uh oh

I also bought a pair of size 10 jeans that I can barely zip up, I'm sure that this is a bad diet strategy, however they were in the sale and they were the last pair! Must practice breathing in to wear them. I have also done my 10 girlie pushups and will do some leg lifts before I go to bed.

Day 8 holiday diet

Woo I'm feeling good today, lots of energy to put into another study day. It could be that I am simply over caffeinated today, 2 early wake up coffees with skimmed milk. I have just been speaking to my best friend, who lives in london, she is having a more interesting day than me!! She is recently broken up with an ex of 3 years, rebound has found her 3 ladies who are all making an effort to fix her. But alas, it's too soon, too confusing and picking between 3 wrongs doesn't = the right one..... Well not just yet!

That is so much more interesting than by breakfast..... But anyway.... Breakfast: tomato & mushroom 2 egg omelette and all the coffee!

Dinner: grilled garlic tortilla wrap filled with ham, sundried tomato and 30g of half fat mozzarella..... Tasty!

Cuppa tea and a mint club.

Tea: vegetarian chilli with 50 g rice and a tortilla (I probably should have had one or the other).

It was Friday night so I did also have a couple of beers. I did do some leg lifts and 10 girlie pushups!

Day 7 holiday diet

So, I have clearly demonstrated that not sticking to the diet doesn't help to lose weight!! Ha ha!! Today I plan to be a good dieter!!

Breakfast: bacon & egg muffin. Made with English breakfast muffin/ 130cal, 1 bacon medallion 65cal, and a fried/steamed egg I used a tiny drop of rapeseed oil in a frying pan, cracked the egg in and covered with a lid till just right!

My house still has no heating so I hope that being freezing will not tempt me to eat lots of nice warm food!! Well maybe some soup!

Dinner: sliced beef with salad & mustard in a tortilla wrap. Half tin of tomato soup (didn't like it)

I have also snacked on an apple, slice of ham, can of diet cloudy lemonade and a coffee!

It's only 4pm but I can now only think about eating my tea- you'd think I was starved!

Tea: spag bol from earlier in the week (I froze a portion) with a pile of lovely salad with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Another cup of tea and a 62cal chocolate bar (whoops, but it was just little)

I also did some more leg lifts and managed 10 whole feeble girlie push-ups! When I say girlie, I mean push ups for women; I don't wanna look like a wrestler! Push ups on knees with feet in the air, I'm not strong enough to do real pushups!

Day 6 of the holiday diet.... Must do better

Let's be honest here, my holiday diet has been a bit of a non-diet. I have made a mental note to do better!! My holiday is also actually ages away (June) so maybe the motivation is not all there yet.

Breakfast: porridge........ YACK I might also add, I hate it. And a cuppa coffee, all with skimmed milk.

Ok, so it is 10.25 and I'm trying to write a proposal for my assignment and I could only think of crumpets..... So I ate one in the hope that my focus could be on my work. On another note. I cancelled my laptop insurance yesterday, today I dropped the laptop..... Must remember never to cancel the lotto direct debit!!

Dinner: little brown bun with beef & mustard. Lots of tea made with skimmed milk because I'm freezing! Erm some cold Singapore noodles uh oh and I was meant to be being good today!?!?!

Tea: roast chicken breast, no skin or oil with 50g rice and spinach.

More cups of tea to cope with the cold.... Left over prawn crackers.. Left over valentines chocolate.... Meh!

I also found a bit of sunshine today whilst walking the dog!

Day 5 of the holiday diet!

Woo a new excuse not to stick to the diet.... it's valentines day!!!

Breakfast: 2 poached eggs on a piece of tiny seeded toast!

Dinner: small brown bun with some topside beef slices, rocket and mustard. I also had a handful of cherry tomatoes!

Tea: just looking through Chinese takeaway menus and I also have a bottle of pink fizz in the fridge! Tee hee


So....... Singapore noodles surely are not classed as diet food!

Day 4 of the holiday dieting

Is it me or are the scales creeping up today?? Whoops, well I'm not surprised with all of that vodka!! More excuses today..... I woke up and the boiler had gone on the blink so I messed about with it for half an hour instead of making breakfast. So, for breakfast I had a low fat yogurt. Then for dinner I had the pasta I made yesterday.

Tea was prawn stir fry with weird wiggly drum wheat noodles (about 40g). I made it with ginger, chilli, some low salt soy sauce and a little dash of oyster sauce.

Im gonna have a nice cuppa tea and think about doing some leg lifts or something in the freezing cold cos I have no heating!!

Eeeeeeeek 2 cups of tea later (with skimmed milk) And I could really scoff a big mac!!!!!

Not doing very well at this diet- day 3

Oh dear, so last night after the vodka I also had a chicken wrap!!!! Whoops no mayo or anything, just chicken, cabbage and chilli sauce! This may be why you shouldn't have alcohol when dieting!

Breakfast: lots and lots of warm water with a slice of lemon. I'm telling myself that this will fix the hangover. I have woken up to an old 31 year old dehydrated face. I've smothered it in ponds cold cream then some body shop vitamin E cream in the hope that tomorrow I will be youthful again! I also ate a bacon sarnie made with bacon medallions and very tiny seeded bread! Oh and excessive amounts of tomato sauce!

Dinner: 50g pasta with tuna, mixed beans, celery, tomato, rocket and a squeeze of lemon, a small amount of extra virgin olive oil and chopped chilli. I've made double of this and I'll take some for my packed lunch tomorrow.

Tea was pork steak with some mashed sweet potato and green things!!

Food diary day 2

Picked the wrong time to begin a diet diary... I did start the day with some leg lifts and 8 feeble girlie push ups! I hate to do anything that could be considered exercise but today I can feel that yesterday's leg lifts may have worked.... There may be an ab in there somewhere.

For breakfast I had boiled eggs and soldiers made with seeded bread- one slice no spread. Coffee with skimmed milk.

For my dinner I ate 5 chicken wings..,. This is bad; whoops. I also had a small brown bun with ham and peas pudding.
I've just been for my weekly shop, no crisps so I'll surely be dreaming of prawn cocktail flavour soon.

Tea: roast chicken breast with onions and chillies, 100g of 'good for you' oven chips...… ok so this doesn't sound like a diet- it also gets worse!!

Since it was the weekend I went out, had 2 beers followed by too many vodka diet cokes¡!

Holiday diet time day 1

So, the time has come to start the holiday diet. I plan on keeping a diet diary to see if it works and also to stop myself from eating naughty things.... I'm only 5'2" ish and I don't have a set weight goal, I just want to feel comfortable wearing a bikini in public! I've weighed myself on my manky old scales, I should really buy new ones but I'm too scared to find out that my old scales have been telling me lies for the past few years.

Today's breakfast was one slice of seeded toast with scrambled eggs. I used 1 whole egg, 1 egg white and a dash of skimmed milk.
I've also had 2 cups of coffee, again with skimmed milk.

Lunch: tuna salad with 100g of new potatoes and low fat balsamic dressing. Plus some 64cal crisps- we all need treats to keep going!

Ooops picked the wrong day to start a diet blog!! For tea I had spag Bol..... But from this diet recipe:
http://www.itv.com/lorraine/lifestyle/real-bikini-diet/real-bikini-diet-recipes/food-at-a-glance/

It was delicious! BUT I also had a glass of wine and a can of beer........ But it is Friday!

I also attempted some leg lifts and managed 5 feeble girlie push-ups...... Then lay on the floor for a while!

New yeah!

It's a new year, Jan has passed without any hiccups. It's time to made a new 'to do' list, so here goes:
Finish my degree
get a proper job/ set up a business
do fun things
revert back to diet for holidays

Thats it!