Lately I’ve been eating a large cooked breakfast, having a protein snack for lunch – bit of chicken, ham, cheese or cottage – and then a very light supper. One night last week my evening meal consisted of literally two thin slices of ham, an ounce of grated cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and a cupful of balsamic vinegar dressing. Plenty.

I am eating in a reverse pyramid! I begin the day eating well, have a bit more at lunchtime though really it’s just for the sake for it and then a light supper. There’s probably no need at all now for me to eat three meals a day and I may try skipping lunch entirely with just a piece of cheese, say, or chicken to keep me going. I find it odd I can last the day on a large breakfast but it seems to be the case. Even with my appetite returned! I like to think this is healthy. Sure feels like it. If I lose weight too, well, so much the better. Even if it is a slow, gradual, process. Read More→

Unlike our supremely stupid government – whooops, bit of politics! – my plans are working and not hurting. I have measured my waist this lovely Saturday morning and it appears to have shrunk a bit more. About another quarter of an inch in a week. So three quarters of an inch in three weeks. Thus I hope to hit a full inch (or three centimeters if you prefer) in my first month. An inch a month would be fab. I need to get my waist down to 35 (89 centimetres) or less for health reasons. So I am nearly a quarter of the way.

Weigh-in

I won’t however be weighing in till March 6th when I need to visit the doctor’s for a test. May as well get weighed on same scales as before. I was 15 stone 4 pounds, 97 kilos, (height is 5’7/1.70m) when I began this regime so I am hoping for a few pounds/kilos off at the next weigh-in. I don’t mind how little has come off. So long as something has. I am after a slow, steady, reduction here. One that I can maintain and keep up. And keep off. I’m very overweight with a BMI of 33. Which is officially obese – yikes! If I can get below 30 sometime this year, that will be good. Read More→

Today my appetite returneth with a vengeance! No idea where it went. On holiday perhaps. Well I hope it had a good time because it’s sure as hell come back wanting lots of food. Feed me feed me feed me. So I’m feeding it. I figure on Paleo, you can do this. I also rather like the idea of just “going with it”. Letting my body dictate when I eat and how much I eat.

Of course on your normal starvation-style diet (which is, let’s face it, what most diets are) this would be a disaster. A response to semi-starvation with a binge to make up for it. Your actual yoyo in action. Not this time. Alls I have to do (and I hope like hell I’m right about this!) is eat protein. Feed my returning appetite with protein, not processed carb as I might’ve once done. Read More→

So the sun remained for another day yesterday and what a glorious sight it was. Four days in a row of sun, we Brits think our Summer has started. Now you’ll be hearing, “Oh well, s’pose we’ve had our Summer then!” with a wry grin that depicts a not really minding it at all.

I recall the appalling Winter of 1963, Jack Frost on the windows, snow piled up outside for months on end. But what I also recall is the Summer that followed. In 1964 it began early and went on and on and on. A truly glorious sunshine year. Maybe we’re due for one of those this year to make up for a long wet cold miserable Winter last year that went on all year? Read More→

Well what a weekend that was. If you’re in the UK, you’ll know we had glorious sun all weekend long. And have it again today. Is this the end of a very long hard Winter? Dieting is of course always easier when it’s sunny. Well, if you accept that dieting can ever be easy! Which of course it isn’t.

Today I am kind of having a 2 from the 5:2 diet plan which many will be familiar with. I didn’t intend it that way. But I had a very small breakfast, one-egg ham omelette with tomatoes. And didn’t have lunch till 2pm which was a piece of cheese, a tomato, some ham slices and, er, that’s it! I’m just not very hungry today. So I’ve decided to go with it. My body is saying don’t feed me so, fine, I won’t! Bar the necessities to stop my blood sugar plunging. Read More→

When I began Paleoing my greatest concern was that carb cravings would kill it stone dead. I assumed I’d get longings for lashings of hot-buttered toast, salivation at pastries, dreams about pasta. Hasn’t happened. I will admit to strong sugar cravings – very intense during my recent stressful times. But a quarter of a teaspoon of sugar in a cup of tea or coffee seems to sort.

Today I was in a well-known supermarket chain, one of the ones that hasn’t – yet? – been mentioned in the horse meat scandal. I walked past the patisserie counter. It has a very fine patisserie counter. I breathed in deeply thinking thinking, well, if I can inhale a few flakes of gateau, it surely won’t count. Must’ve looked a right sight breathing in very deeply as I, very slowly, walked past the cake counter.

But walk past it I did! Straight to the steak section. Okay so you can’t have cake. But you can have fillet. Read More→

Toughest thing about the Paleo diet, or indeed any kind of high protein/low carb regime, is that you have to Be Prepared! If you’re used to coming downstairs – or going across – to the kitchen and just shoving a piece of bread into the toaster which pings as the kettle boils, or pouring out cereal into a bowl, you need a major change of plan.

This, for me, was the hardest part about switching to Paleo. Well, that and doing without milk and sugar in my tea and coffee which (BIG CONFESSION) I haven’t entirely managed to do. Read More→

I’ve debated long and hard whether to blog about this. But it happened. It affected me very powerfully so I feel I must. I hope it’ll help anyone else who faces a sudden shock, trauma or unexpected change in their life. And then inevitably thinks, the last thing I need to worry about right now is my diet!

No names, no pack drills as I want to respect this person’s privacy and that of his family but suffice it to say, someone from my past whom I once loved very much died on Saturday and it sent me into a tailspin which shook me horribly and from which I am only just emerging.

I knew his death was imminent. His family were kind enough to keep me in the loop for which I am very grateful. It would’ve been far worse to hear out the blue. With his passing, it’s like my youth suddenly came rushing back in one huge whooosh and then went again. I’m also faced with a touch of what psychologists call cognitive dissonance: holding two different thoughts at the same time. Read More→

This is day eight of my diet. Bit of a giveaway starting it in February and blogging each day. After this post I will scale the blogs back a bit to two or three times a week. I wanted to capture the feel of it for the first full week but we’ve got there now and I’m wondering if the novelty is now over and it’s on with the slog!

Crash diets

This is why I think crash diets are so popular. So many dieters want an instant result, a magic bullet. Kickstart some of the plans call it. Get you going seven or 14-day programmes. The magazines are always yelling at us about a way to lose 20 pounds in two weeks or drop two dress sizes in a fortnight. Read More→

D’you remember I said lasht night I wash having champagne tonight? Well I did and I just want you to know you’re my besht friend and I really really love you. You’re sho kind to read my blog, hic, I really appreciashte it.

Can’t write mush tonight as the bubbles have gone right to my head… nah, just kiddin’. I did drink my glass of champagne and, oh boy, am I glad I only bought one tiny teeny bottle – you can do that you know. Buy champagne in tiny bottles! Isn’t the 21st century jussht great! Read More→