Idiot Proof Diet - Day 14

So here I am. Reached my first important milestone and quickly picked up the book to read up on how much wine and what scrummy things I could add to my diet at the end of Phase 1.

And found out I have been had.  These girls each lost 5 stone over a year. I should have worked it out already I guess. I am credited with a fair amount of brain power. That weight loss is about 30 kilos each. My weight loss has not been dramatic. Very sensible amount actually and I prefer that. It gives my skin some time to heal and adjust and hopefully I won't be saggy at the end of it.

The book tells me on Day 14 I should stay on Phase 1 for perhaps as long as six months. Which means one glass of wine every two weeks as a sort of celebration. Also I am told that even after going onto Phase 2 I am going to have to return to Phase 1 every so often throughout my lifetime to keep the weight off. Not quite the walk in the park I thought it was going to be. But let's face it. It took me a while to get here (at this weight) I am not going to lose it all overnight.

I am determined however and I am going to do my level best to make this work. Giving it my best shot.

For lunch today I am taking a good book to any restaurant that cooks with real butter and cream and has a great blue cheese dressing on a side salad. And serves a fabulous wine by the glass. And I am going to sip that wine very, very slowly.

Idiot Proof Diet Day 10 - 13

Not much to report. The diet is unchanged. I have had a couple of omelettes since last posting. Went out for pre-dinner drinks at Angela's newly renovated home. Water of course. Then went to dinner at Dale and Mervyn's home. I took some soda water to make it feel a little special and a plain grilled piece of chicken, some blue cheese and double cream and made a blue cheese cream sauce. Dale and Mervyn had a Portuguese styled roasted chicken and baked potatoes and lots of wine. I stoically sipped on my soda water.  Dieting is not for sissies.

Idiot Proof Diet Days 4 - 9

Breakfast 15 April 2013

Sorry but have been jumping off mountains and getting new clients for SocialWize and have not updated you on progress.

Days 5,6 &7 were in Bulwer on a weekend break and the diet went surprisingly well.

We drove to Bulwer on Friday and I had a stash of cheddar cheese, almonds and salami bites - no carbs of course.

We stopped at Nandos Bergview and I was so impressed. I ordered plain grilled chicken and my friend Tlapeng ordered a salt free meal. We were both accommodated and our meals were delicious. I have had difficulty getting a diet friendly meal at a lot of upmarket restaurants so this was indeed a surprise.

We had to drive through thick mist and only got to Wildsky, our destination after 01:30 and were welcomed by James with cups of tea and warm and inviting cottages. Surprisingly good for the R150 per night we were each paying.

We woke up in the morning to clear blue skies and surrounded by hills and mountains. Breakfast was bacon and eggs and mugs of steaming coffee. I had Rooibos and mint tea. Later I had a decaffeinated coffee with lashings of cream.

Then up the mountain with a stash of boiled eggs, cheese cut into squares, salami bites and almonds.

Wildsky

five hours later all five of us had our 15-20 minutes in the sky which was mindbogglingly awesome. I sadly got a little airsick. Not sure is this was caused by the high fat diet or whether I just am prone to it. So shall have to try again armed with airsick pills.

Dinner was porterhouse steak in a creamed pepper sauce and a large salad. My steak was fried in butter and everyone else had theirs braaied. The rest of the group also had puttu pap and their creamed sauce included some white wine. I am told it was very nice. We were meant to have rib-eye steaks but sadly the butcher, Freer's in Modderfontein, cocked up our order. We also did not have enough bacon for the next day. Tricky when you are up a mountain.

We turned three skinny sausages into six sausages for breakfast and I had a stash of cheese that I donated to the table. The favourite was Kwaito from  Indezi Cheeses in Balgowan.

In the morning we took the R103 Midland Meander and finally arrived at Rawdons where I had a delicious trout salad. It didn't quite have enough protein or fat though so chucked a few of my almonds onto it.

This diet has to be the friendliest to go away on holiday with and the easiest to road-trip on.

Monday morning I had a poached egg on creamed spinach with 5 rashers of bacon.  And the rest of the week has really nbeen a repeat of last week's recipes with a few extra veg allowed this week. For example yesterday I had pumpkin mash with a creamy chicken and mushroom.

This morning however, I tried a Whey protein shake with vanilla seed, sucralose (an "ose" allowed on the diet) and some organic roasted cashews. It made with unsweetened soy milk and double cream. Delicious. Tasted like forbidden fruit so I will only have it when really pushed for time which I was.

My weight is still down. Not as much as Monday, I sneaked a peek again this morning and shouldn't have, but all going in the right direction. I could murder a glass of wine but have to wait until Sunday for that.

Idiot Proof Diet - Day 3

More bacon and eggs for break fast. Salmon and FULL FAT cream cheese for lunch. This evening I am going out to a pub and will have to drink water. Will see how that goes. But I am resolved. Definitely no cheating allowed. As for eating it's a breeze will choose a steak with a cream sauce and a green salad

I have kept up the walking (only 15 minutes a day at the moment) I am walking in the evening as SocialWize is keeping me very busy.

Sneaked another look at the scales today. I know it's wrong but can't help myself. 1.9kgs down. I manage the water actually all the fat makes my mouth feel kaka so keep drinking water to get rid of the taste. Also having herb tea.

So far though feeling great. Could murder a glass of wine though.

Idiot Proof Diet - Day 2

Chose the salad  Nicoise for lunch which had a tin of tuna in oil, two eggs and a selection of allowed salad stuff, lashings of olive oil. I'd already had two eggs for breakfast so felt really weird. Drank lots of water and a cup of Rooibos tea.

Dinner was rib-eye pepper steak cooked in butter and double cream added to the butter and steak jus before serving. The side salad was avocado with a sour cream and blue cheese dressing. I kid you not.

This is the kind of food I have not eaten since the 70s and possibly in the early 80s.

I then went to meet a few people at Baron's in Woodmead and debated, seriously, about breaking the no drinking rule. And very bravely ordered a still mineral water.

I weighed myself this morning. Not meant to but I couldn't resist. I am down 1kg. Celebrating with more water.

The Idiot Proof Diet - Day 1

Strictly speaking, yesterday, my non-diet day is day one. The day I resolved to get on and do this thing. The book advises that the day before you start on the regime you have a blow out day. The suggestions were big slices of cake, hot chocolate before bed, piles of chips and slices of bread.  A last supper, if you like. And so with absolute freedom I went about shopping both for the coming week and for a Sunday dinner of anything I wanted.

Blow Out Wine

Strangely I became a little unstuck at that. The wine choice was easy and chose my favourite Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection Chenin Blanc (2011). But when it came to food choices there really wasn't that much I was lusting after. But in the end settled for Sweet Ginger Pork with Jasmine Rice Pot from Woolworths and a delicious baked cheesecake from Fournos.


I also had to buy a whole array of supplements including whey protein powder which cost R3 shy of R1000.

Day 1 Breakfast

Breakfast this morning was four rashers of bacon and two eggs fried in lashings of olive oil. I could have used butter too but was too lazy. Then the ritual of taking all the supplements for today and my normal  cocktail and washing it all down with at least 500ml of water.

For lunch I have a choice of pepper steak or salad Nicoise. Haven't decided yet.

I went for my wellness test a couple of weeks ago so at least we have something to measure against:
Blood Pressure 125/72
Cholesterol  5.63
Glucose 5.86
 
The diet is high protein (eggs again for lunch probably) and I will have to measure these all again in a month. Will be interesting to see whether there is a change. The authors decreased their cholesterol on the diet.

The Idiot Proof Diet

So, knowing I have nothing to lose, I have decided to embark on Neris and India's Idiot Proof Diet. I have been on a funny diet ever since my hysterectomy in October 2011. The operation left me with symptoms similar to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and my argument with food started. Couple that with the normal onset of weight going through menopause I have endured almost 18 months of bad food energy and have put on a ton of weight. I have hit emotional bottom though. My self confidence is shot.

From being an enthusiastic and dare I say good cook food and preperation of food has become a kitchen war. Nothing works in my old repertoire. So much on the list that I can't eat. And if I do risk eating any of it I feel ill for days. Even a simple bowl of muesli will have me feeling tired and uncomfortable. Then this weekend I picked up this diet book while volunteering at our local Friends of Modderfontein Library booksale. And realised everything that was excluded on the diet is currently excluded from my diet. So maybe here was a way forward. And it only cost me R10. Not only that but there are recipes. And they look interesting and tasty and may ignite my cooking fire.

So what have I really got to lose? I will weigh in tomorrow. I may not reveal my weight but may edit later when I feel better about being public about it. I am looking forward to the adventure. And who knows. I may just get my waistline back at the end of it.